Eight times a charm. Or at least it is for venture capitalist and investor David Daneshgar.

Having cashed in seven WSOP events since the 2005 Series, David elevated his stellar tournament record to new levels when he took home gold in the final 2008 WSOP $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event, Event 52.

With 2,693 entries and more than $3.5 million in prize money, the three-day Event 52 was not for the faint of heart - or mind. But luckily for Daneshgar, he is strong in both areas.

In addition to the 51 major tournament cashes and more than $2 million in earnings Daneshgar has notched since August 2004, he has also taught a college-level course on poker, "The Probabilities and Statistics of Gaming."

His tournament achievements come in the form of WPT, EPT and WSOP wins, along with cashes in many prestigious standalone events such as the World Heads-Up Poker Championships, the Paris Open and the California State Poker Championship.

David's poker beginnings can be traced to his days as a student at the University of California at Berkeley, where he picked up his first poker hand. From the local college home-game scene he graduated to cash games at the Hollywood Park Casino in L.A.

Soon after, he began entering WSOP Circuit events and netted $1 million in earnings his first year. His second year on the tournament trail was less successful but he was not deterred; WSOP gold was always on his mind:

"... I wanted to win one of these so bad I can't even explain it," he told PokerListings.com in a post-win interview. "I've been playing [WSOP events for] two or three years and I just never thought it would happen."

By far the most experienced player at the final felt of Event 52, David's ability and distinct resume afforded him an advantage over his opponents. And, despite coming into heads-up play with the smaller chip stack, David kept his cool and picked his spots, eventually winning the WSOP gold and $625,443.