Poker Boom Stars of the 2000s: Where Are They Today

Jennifer Harman 

Jennifer Harman was the most popular female poker player at the height of the 2000s poker boom. Now, over twenty years later, though, she has stepped back from the spotlight. So, where is she now?

Although Harman has largely stepped away from tournament play, she remains active in poker. She has been spotted playing high-stakes cash games alongside legends like Todd Brunson and David Benyamine. However, her tournament appearances have been rare, with no recorded live tournament cashes since June 2024.

Her career earnings total $2.92 million, including 44 WSOP cashes. Harman’s contributions to poker were recognized in 2015 when she was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame alongside John Juanda.

A major reason for Harman’s reduced poker presence is her dedication to her family. Now a mother to twin boys, she has shifted her priorities, spending more time with them and stepping away from the limelight.

However, she hasn’t entirely left poker behind. Her recent tweets suggest she still plays, although more casually. In October 2024, she posted that she was playing $5 and $10 home games with her sons and their friends, joking about a child calling his hand “Queen of Diamonds and 3 of Mushroom.” 

She also recounted a late-night poker session that ended with her getting accidentally locked out of her house by her kids at 2:30 AM after a losing session.

Playing another $10 tournament with my boys and friends. @phil_hellmuth called with his name showing and everyone was like wow. I guess he is more popular than any A list actor. Stroking Phil’s ego. #pokerlegends

— Jennifer Harman (@REALJenHarman) October 22, 2024

Even though she no longer plays high-stakes poker, Jennifer Harman is still iconic. Instead, she plays poker for fun while caring for her family and other obligations.

Viktor “Isildur1” Blom

Few names in online poker have gotten as much attention as Viktor Blom, who goes by the screen name “Isildur1.” His move into the online high-stakes game in 2009 was truly remarkable. Many famous poker players, like Patrik Antonius, Tom Dwan, and Phil Ivey, challenged him on Full Tilt Poker.

Blom’s bold and aggressive approach also resulted in big wins and losses. He played in some of the biggest pots in online poker history and accumulated around $6 million in wins at his best. 

However, his bankroll suffered just as fast as he had ascended. Blom lost $4.2 million in one day in a famous session against Brian Hastings, who, along with other professionals, had studied thousands of hands of Blom’s play. Despite the absence of any official policy violations at the time, this sparked controversy.

His most recent win was in the 8-max Super High Roller game during the 2020 SHRB Online series, and he won $407,500. 

Blom appears to have stepped away from the high-stakes poker scene. His last post about poker was in 2018, when he posted his trophy after winning the partypoker Millions Germany Main Event.

Thanks for all the support I`ve received winning the Party Poker Millions Germany Main Event!! pic.twitter.com/vRoR3XkTBu

— Viktor Blom (@ViktorBlom) February 22, 2018

We can all assume that he values his privacy based on how Viktor kept his identity hidden for many years. His personal life is thus not much known.

Tony G

If we had to say one thing, it would be that Antanas “Tony G” Guoga was entertaining when he played poker. The poker player from Lithuania, born in Australia, became famous for his aggressive table talk. He often used his table talk as a tactic to scare his opponents.

Tony doesn’t play as much as he used to, but he occasionally plays in high-stakes tournaments. In 2022, he cashed in several tournaments, showing he can still compete with the best. He came in 10th in the $200,000 Coin Rivet Invitational at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in Cyprus and earned $485,000. 

Earlier that same month, he won the $10,400 MPP High Roller and earned $257,500. In May, he came in second place in the €25,500 PGT Italy Pot Limit Omaha event in Venice and won $86,563. Just days before that, he won runner-up in the €100,000 Short Deck Main Event at the Triton Poker Series in Madrid and earned an impressive $1,389,436.

Apart from poker, Tony G seems strongly involved in Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs.

Dutch Boyd 

Among the most controversial players of the poker boom was Dutch Boyd. Boyd, a talented and aspiring young player, made a name for himself with his bold style of play and straight approach in the early 2000s. 

Some people think he is one of the most controversial people in poker history because his career had great and bad times. 

Boyd first became known when, after a long run, he finished 12th in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in 2003. Poker players noticed how bold he was and how he acted at the table. Soon, he was one of many rising stars after Chris Moneymaker’s famous win. On the other hand, Boyd didn’t have a smooth road through poker like some of his peers did.

While Boyd’s presence in high-stakes poker has faded, he still occasionally plays. In 2023, he finished 2nd in the $10,000 Mixed Games: Dealer’s Choice Championship (Bracelet Event 10) at the WSOP, earning $192,479. He also sold action for the Wynn WPT main event that same year. 

Just bought into the Wynn WPT main event day 1C. Still have 20% left at 1.3 markup if you want a sweat. https://t.co/ziriKXHfAm

This tourney is bound to be one of the best three of the year and tomorrow figures to be the best value of the three starting days. Let’s get it!

— Dutch Boyd (@DutchBoyd) July 11, 2023

Chris Ferguson

Chris Ferguson stood out earlier with his cap and long hair. Ferguson helped start Full Tilt Poker in 2004, quickly becoming one of the biggest places to play poker online. Full Tilt did well until disaster struck. It was advertised as a place where amateurs could come and compete against professionals.

On April 15, 2011, the popular online poker site Full Tilt was shut down by the U.S. government on “Black Friday,” which became infamous in poker.

According to investigations, the company was more like a Ponzi scheme than a legit business and had not taken care of the player funds. 

Ferguson started playing poker again in 2016, and he won WSOP events and was named Player of the Year in 2017. Many people didn’t like his return because they thought he hadn’t entirely accepted that Full Tilt had failed. Many people said that his 2018 apology video wasn’t transparent or honest.

His last recorded tournament results came in 2020 when he played in several WSOP Online events on GGPoker. Notable finishes included 9th place in the $600 No Limit Hold’em 6-Handed People’s Choice Event (Event #80) for $14,405 and 54th place in the $10,000 WSOP Super MILLION$ (Event #83) for $29,160. 

Ferguson’s also cashed that year with a 100th-place finish in the $1,050 Beat the Pros Bounty event for $2,891 and a deep run in the WSOP MILLION$ (Event #84), finishing 1,749th for $437.

Since then, Ferguson has largely stepped away from the poker spotlight, no longer making headlines as he once did. Furthermore, he has no social media presence and prefers to live privately.