| Steve Vladar | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Smokin' Steve |
"Smokin'" Steve Vladar is an English professional poker player.
Vladar has been a regular at European poker tournaments since the mid-1990s, with numerous finishes in the money in London, Dortmund, Vienna and Birmingham before the end of the decade.
This led to him playing in the Late Night Poker television series' third season in 2000. Vladar finished 2nd in his heat to Phil Hellmuth Jr and earned a place in the semi-finals. Vladar also played in the fourth season, finishing 3rd in his heat (ahead of Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott and Charalambos "Bambos" Xanthos.)
In January 2002, Vladar won the £750 no limit hold'em event at the Grovesnor Grand Challenge in Luton.
In 2003, he cashed 3 times at the Dundee Spring Poker Festival in Dundee and 6 times at the St Maarten Open.
In 2004, he won the €500 no limit hold'em event at the World Heads-Up Poker Championship, defeating a field including "Rocky" Ross Boatman, Kirill Gerasimov, Surinder Sunar, Barbara Enright and Nic Szeremeta.
More recently, he won the $1,000 no limit hold'em event of the Caribbean Poker Classic over a field including Marcel Lüske and Tony Cascarino.
As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $480,000.
Vladar is married to fellow poker professional Xuyen "Bad Girl" Pham. They are both sponsored by William Hill Poker.