Poker Where Are They Now
A lifelong poker player who moved online in 2004, Josh founded Beat The Fish in 2005 to help online poker players make more-informed decisions on where to play and how to win once they got there. He hopes to counter the rampant dishonesty in online gaming media with objective reviews and relevant features.
MasterChef US season 7 features MasterChef judges Gordon Ramsay, Christina Tosi and a number of guest judges including Aarón Sanchez testing the culinary skills of amateur chefs from the USA with a number of challenges and dishes to prepare, with those failing to impress being sent home.
MasterChef US Season 7 aired June 01 to September 14, 2016 on Fox Network, there were 20 contestants and the prize for the winner was $250,000, their own cookbook and a MasterChef trophy.
- The World Series of Poker has played host to its fair share of interesting personalities and characters. While some names made famous by the WSOP are still well-known today (Johnny Chan, Phil Hellmuth, Chris Moneymaker), others who once had captured the stage are have now faded into relative obscurity. Here's our list of five once-familiar WSOP names and what they're up to now.
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Alejandro Toro was a Voice Over Artist from Miami, Florida. He was eliminated in MasterChef season 7 episode 9 after his triple layer birthday cake landed him in the bottom three.
After MasterChef, Alejandro is a film maker, photographer, host and voice over artist, best known for the voice over on Spanish Southpark episodes. He is also a vlogger and has done a number of cookery events. He is a producer and has his own company Toro Productions and has two programmes syndicated on Amazon Prime.
Andrea Galan was a Student from Miami, Florida. She was eliminated in MasterChef season 7 episode 10 after being disqualified from a sausage making pressure test for serving her sausages seconds too late.
After MasterChef, Andrea briefly returned to her role in talent scouting. She later moved to Barcelona and was a Stagier at ABAC Restaurant, a restaurant with three Michelin stars. She appeared on Chopped season 24 episode 9 and was the winner of the episode.
Barbara Savage was a Investigator from Denver, Colorado. She was eliminated in MasterChef season 7 episode 4 after landing in the bottom five during the MasterChef special wedding episode.
After MasterChef, Barbara was a Pasta Chef briefly but due to a wheat allergy had to leave the position. She runs her own catering business and teaches cookery classes at Wholefoods.
Brandi Mudd was an Elementary School Teacher from Irvington, Kentucky. She was a MasterChef season 7 runner up.
After MasterChef, Brandi quit teaching to be a part of the MasterChef cruise, where she was champion and she also appeared at MasterChef Camp. She started catering business Southern Flair with Chef Brandi.
Brittany Craig was a Server from New Hartford, New York. She was eliminated in MasterChef season 7 episode 5 after landing in the bottom three of a pie elimination challenge.
After MasterChef, Brittany offered private dining experiences and was a dog sitter. She is also an amateur power lifter.
Cassie Peterson was a Bakery Clerk from Clear Lake, Iowa. She was eliminated in MasterChef season 7 episode 3 after a potato themed Mystery Box challenge.
After MasterChef, Cassie launched Nameless Gourmet, a catering and meal delivery company Gourmet To-Go. In August 2017, she opened Bread & Buttercrème in Clear Lake, Iowa but this closed in July 2019.
D'Andre Balaoing was an Engineer and Model from Lexington, Kentucky. He was eliminated in MasterChef season 7 episode 8 after an offal elimination challenge saw him in the bottom three.
After MasterChef, D'Andre is a Pastry Chef at Scarpetta in Las Vegas and on the Street Team for True Cooks, a chef wear company. In 2020, he was a chef for Virgin Voyages, Richard Branson's cruise line.
Dan Paustian was a Server from Charlotte, North Carolina. He was eliminated in MasterChef season 7 episode 16 after an ingredient swap during an elimination challenge lands him in the bottom two.
After MasterChef, Dan is Head Chef/Owner at Flavor City Catering. He is also an actor, TV writer, comedian and food vlogger.
David Williams was a Professional Poker Player from Las Vegas, Nevada. He was a MasterChef season 7 runner up.
After MasterChef, David returned to his previous career as a professional poker player.
Diamond Alexander was a Web Designer from San Diego, California. She was eliminated in MasterChef season 7 episode 11 after a Korean bibimbap elimination challenge landed her in the bottom three.
After MasterChef, Diamond returned to her previous career as a web designer and is also a blogger. She is currently a Product Designer at AdvicePay.
Diana Bilow was a Server from Plainfield, Illinois. She was eliminated in MasterChef season 7 episode 8 after an offal elimination challenge landed her in the bottom three.
After MasterChef, Diana is a Personal Chef. She was also a dog walker and offered private dining experiences.
Manny Washington Jr was a Fireman from Orlando, Florida. He was eliminated in MasterChef season 7 episode 7 after a fried chicken pressure test landed him in the bottom three.
After MasterChef, Manny is still a fireman and offers Private Chef services, pop up dinners and cooking classes. He appeared on Food Network Star season 14 where he finished in third place.
Eric Howard was a Fireman from Queens, New York. He was eliminated in MasterChef season 7 episode 13 after a three part skills test saw him pitted against Katie in a gnocchi cook off.
After MasterChef, Eric returned to his career as Fireman and was a chef at Gramercy Ale House NYC. He appeared on the Food Network show The Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge where he finished in third place. He is currently a food consultant and private chef offering private dining experiences and events.
Katie Dixon was a Fitness Trainer/Retail Associate from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She was eliminated in MasterChef season 7 episode 15 after a three chocolate dessert challenger landed her in the bottom three.
After MasterChef, Katie appeared on Food Network Star, is a private chef, Precision Nutrition Coach and personal trainer. She opened her own restaurant in Hattiesberg called Birdhouse Café and reviews are positive.
Lisa-Ann Marchesi was a Insurance Manager from Gillette, New Jersey. She was eliminated in MasterChef season 7 episode 6 after a lobster tortellini elimination challenge landed her in the bottom two.
After MasterChef, Lisa-Ann initially returned to her previous career as a teacher and regularly posted food pics on social media. In 2018, she started a company selling olive oil called Bella D’ Oliva and is currently Vice President of P&C at NFP.
Nathan Barnhouse was a Tuxedo Salesman from Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. He was eliminated in MasterChef season 7 episode 14 after a picnic basket tag team challenge lands him in the bottom two.
After MasterChef, Nathan returned to college to complete a degree in Theatre and has had parts in local shows.
Shaun O'Neale was a DJ from Las Vegas, Nevada. Shaun was the MasterChef season 7 winner due to his halibut, venison and pear dishes impressing the judges.
After MasterChef, Shaun released cookbook 'My Modern American Table: Recipes for Inspired Home Cooks', has hosted a number of pop up dining events, cookery demonstrations and hosted online cookery classes with other MasterChef winners.
Tanorria Askew was a Credit Union Coordinator from Chattanooga, Tennessee. She was eliminated in MasterChef season 7 episode 17 after a three pork dish cook off with David.
After MasterChef, Tanorria quit her day job and the publicity allowed her to take private chef company Tanorria's Table full time. She also took part in MasterChef Camp and appears on local television cookery segments in Indiana.
Terry Mueller was a Handyman from Long Island, New York. He was eliminated in MasterChef season 7 episode 12 after a canned salmon dish landed him in the bottom two.
After MasterChef, Terry returned to his previous role as a contractor and did a number of cookery events.
Bill Travers was Retired and from Pauma Valley, California. He was eliminated in MasterChef season 7 episode 3 after being in the bottom two of an elimination challenge of recreating one of Gordon's signature dishes from taste alone.
After MasterChef, Bill appears to have returned to enjoying his retirement.
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This post was last updated in March 2020.
Table Of Contents
Few players have endured the poker roller coaster to the degree of Dustin 'neverwin' Woolf.
He's won hundreds of thousands of dollars in a single night, suffered through a superuser scandal, busted monstrous rolls, played the biggest games and eventually walked away burnt out and ready to leave the game for good.
But, there's something to remember about roller coasters: they always bring you back to where you got on the ride. And while Woolf hasn't exactly come full circle poker, he is making a return to the game in a different capacity.
Reaching the Pinnacle
They might not be as glamorous as the $500/$1,000 no-limit hold'em pots that reached high six figures in the Full Tilt Poker glory days or on modern-day GGPoker, but the limit hold'em streets of yesteryear still offered the potential for huge profit.
And profit Woolf did. Playing $100/$200 — the highest stakes offered online back circa 2004 — he ran up a massive bankroll with a hyper-aggressive style that caught his opponents off-guard.
Sometime opponent Todd Wittelescalled him 'one of the first players (if not the first) to win a million dollars online in a short period of time.' Woolf now calls Witteles a friend, but they exchanged tens of thousands of dollars in grueling heads-up matches.
Woolf wasn't afraid to put that money back in play after he ran it up.
'I was playing the highest limit games live at the Commerce, mostly $400/$800 limit hold'em,' he says now. 'But I have played as high as $2K/$4K, and played as high as $1K/$2K in badugi and 2-7 lowball. Online, I pretty much sat in the highest limit hold'em games usually looking for heads-up action anywhere from $300/$600 to $1K/$2K.'
Even downswings could be erased seemingly effortlessly. Woolf says one of his greatest stories is the time he ran up a roll from $50 to six figures.
'I was on Ultimate Bet and I had just played a 36-hour session and lost somewhere close to $140,000 playing $300/$600 hold'em,' he says. 'I was searching all my online accounts for any money to keep on playing. My buddy of mine told me to go to bed and refused to transfer me any money.
'Literally falling asleep, I ended up finding $50 in my Full Tilt account. Refusing to go to bed, I jumped in $5/$10 heads up until I had the minimum buy-in for the next biggest stakes. I was playing $300/$600 within six hours and then I jumped in some PLO action. In 12 hours I was sitting with just over $450,000 in my account.'
'I Don't Think There Was Anyone Who Played Worse'
There wouldn't be much a story to this if Woolf just crushed the games until he had a comfortable nest egg and rode off quietly into the sunset. So, of course, there was another side to his ultra-aggressive approach to poker both in play style and bankroll management.
'I've always said, I was one of the best at reading other people's tendencies, betting patterns, clicking tells, and emotional state just by playing online and listening to them chat or just watching behavioral actions,' he says. 'My biggest nemesis at the tables was my own mind and discipline. If you talked to people who really knew me, or watched me over the years, I suspect that most would tell you this: when I was playing my A-game, especially heads-up limit holdem, I don't think there was anyone who could beat me. But when I was off my game, I don't think there was anyone who played worse than me.
'I literally gave away $100,000s by mashing the raise button for hours on every hand I was dealt online, and live. I would cold cap every hand blind for 24 hours straight. I have so many crazy maniac stories, we would be here for days if I told you them all.'
Eventually, the unrepentant blasting took its toll. And it wasn't the only factor.
Woolf was among the players who sued UB alleging that a chunk of $20 million in cheat-aided winnings came from his account. He held real estate at the time of the 2008 market crash that lost heaps of value. He says he also had personal difficulties, including an encounter with a pitbull that resulted in serious physical harm.
By the time Black Friday hit, Woolf says he was 'banged up mentally, physically and financially.' Once up an estimated $4-$5 million, a burned out and battered Woolf walked away, something he calls not even a decision by that point.
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Crypto and then Back to Poker
Woolf became acquainted with Bryan Micon during his star run and the two created NeverwinPoker together, a site that was eventually sold to PokerNews.
That association bore fruit for Woolf when Micon became an early adopter of cryptocurrency. Woolf tailed his friend and bought a pile of bitcoin at $70, according to his Facebook, which would have corresponded to its early 2013 value.
His newfound interest swelled in value and Woolf took things a step further, starting a bitcoin escrow company that he says did over 10,000 transactions and acquired more than $10 million worth of the cryptocurrency.
Poker Stars Where Are They Now
While that venture found success, 2018 brought another downturn with the massive market crash as bitcoin went from $20,000 in value to around $3,000 before the year ended. That alone would have been bad enough for Woolf's finances, but he also had a hand in launching a cryptocurrency hedge fund that would up getting rolling at the market's peak.
'Needless to say, couldn't have been worse timing,' he says now.
It's clear he still believes in crypto.
'Time to build a decentralized world that’s completely automated and strives to destroy corruption and end the reign of the banks,' his Facebook still says.
But the financial downturn has resulted in a return to his previous love. Only this time, he'll no longer be sitting at the felt risking hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Poker Now Club
Instead, he'll be wearing a suit. Partnering with 2007 WPT champ and Turks and Caicos native Rhynie Campbell, Woolf will head down to the island destination and open a poker room, where Woolf will 'run the show.'
Perhaps it's time for a stable income and the occasional jaunt to the beach. Woolf says he has 'zero regrets' about his poker career, and whatever the next chapter holds, it seems certain to bring less stress after a lifetime of swings.
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Where Are They NowDustin WoolfPoker PlayersCash PokerOnline PokerHigh Stakes Poker