Lee Watkinson

Lee Watkinson

  • Name: Lee Watkinson
  • Current Residence: Tacoma, Wash.
  • Birth Place: Cheney, Wash.
  • Poker Room: Full Tilt Poker

At a 2007 World Series of Poker final table made up of relatively unknown players, Lee Watkinson's name might have been the only one to ring any bells.

The Washington native holds a gold bracelet for winning the 2006 Pot-Limit Omaha World Championship, has nine WSOP cashes and two second-place finishes at World Poker Tour final tables.

Watkinson qualified for the 2007 Main Event through Full Tilt Poker, which meant that he had a shot at an extra $10 million from the poker site if he won. It wasn't to be this time around, though. He went out in eighth place.

A businessman by trade, Watkinson spends his spare time playing poker and the stock market. But the cause truest to his heart are animal rights causes, specifically a project he created with his fiancée.

The couple raise money to rescue and retire chimpanzees living in captivity and being used for movies and as test subjects in research labs. With a few years of work on the project already under his belt, Watkinson is making a commitment to rescue as many as possible to house in an animal sanctuary.

The $585,699 he won for placing eighth in the 2007 WSOP Main Event should go a long way toward Watkinson achieving his altruistic goals.

 

Trivia

  • 2007 WSOP Main Event eight-place finisher
  • Named Player of the Year in 2004 by CardPlayer Magazine
  • Economics graduate

Notable Tournament Cashes

Tournament Place Winnings
2009 WSOP, Event 48 - $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 2nd $141,873
2009 WSOP, Event 4 - $1000 No-Limit Hold'em 36th $22,671
2008 WSOP, Event 38, Pot-Limit Hold'em 5th $63,313
2008 WSOP, Event 13, No-Limit Hold'em 91st $5,784
2008 WSOP, Event 8, World Championship Mixed Event 14th $27,072
2008 WSOP, Event 5, No-Limit Hold'em w/re-buys 51st $9,839
WPT Season 6, Bay 101 Shooting Star 9th $44,000
2007 WSOPC, Harrah's Rincon San Diego North 7th $28,272
WPT Season 6, Borgata Poker Classic 5th $282,779
2007 WSOP, Event 55, World Championship No-Limit Texas... 8th $585,699
2007 WSOP, Event 52, No-Limit Hold'em w/re-buys 60th $8,067
2007 WSOP, Event 27, No-Limit Hold'em 107th $4,108
2006 WSOP, Event 29, Pot-Limit Hold'em 30th $4,524
2006 WSOP, Event 16, Pot-Limit Omaha 1st $655,746
2005 WSOP, Event 42, No-Limit Hold'em Championship 45th $235,390
2005 WSOP, Event 31, $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em, Short-Handed... 40th $6,790
WPT Season 3, Legends of Poker 2nd $578,375
WPT Season 3, Mirage Poker Showdown 2nd $513,038
2004 WSOP, Event 33, World Championship No-Limit Texas... 113th $15,000
2004 WSOP, Event 31, Pot-Limit Omaha 2nd $270,000

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