Ross Boatman is one of the most celebrated actors in contemporary Britain. For eight years he played Kevin in the smash series "London's Burning." In Mike Hodges' 2003 film, "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead," Ross acted alongside Clive Owen and Charlotte Rampling. He has appeared in a variety of theater pieces and films, ranging from costume dramas to light comedies, which coincidently includes an award winning West End production of "Dealer's Choice," a show based on a poker game!

That Ross has additionally established himself as one of the world's leading poker players is grounds for the highest admiration. He first learned the game from his older brother Barney and Barney's friends, who would mind him when their parents went out. Ross says of those days: "I saw these shiny coins and colorful cards. I said 'please let me play.' Sure I didn't have a clue what I was doing. Barney and his friends let me sit in. I just remember raking in these big piles of shiny coins. And that was it . . . [I was] hooked for a lifetime."

In 1992 he began to play poker professionally. Ross' talent for acting most certainly has informed his powerful presence and confidence at the poker table; he is a formidable and respected opponent, known for an uncompromising poker style that gives nothing away. On a personal level he is relaxed and good-natured, which results in him being as well liked as he is feared.

Ross made four consecutive finals, 1998 to 2001, in Vienna's World Series trial. He has come in first in the Late Night Poker Series 2, in Cardiff, The Irish Winter Tournament, the 2001 Christmas Cracker Tournament and the 2002 European Poker Classics in London. He has also been the Irish Open Omaha champion, the Austrian Open Omaha champion and British poker champion. During the year of 2002, he was the top money winner on the European tournament circuit, a year in which he did not exactly abandon his acting.

Ross points out that among the members of The Hendon Mob, only Joe Beevers is actually from Hendon. It was Joe who used to conduct a private poker game in London's Hendon neighborhood; that was where the four met. Other people dubbed them the Hendon Mob and the name stuck.

Ross can be self-effacing in regards to his position in the poker world. His brother Barney was once explaining the impact of their Prima Poker-sponsored tour, he said, "Basically, this tour forms a bridge between live poker and online poker. Prima Poker has brought poker up to a proper sport. It's big news in poker, big news in sports and big news in television."

Ross' comment on that was: "It's big news in Hendon anyway." Ross claims that poker players get more respect in America than in Europe. He claims that, "In Europe, they don't try to bring you up but try to bring you down actually. If you're a poker player, Las Vegas is the place you have to be."