Gregory Raymer, nicknamed "Fossilman," is a professional poker player and author. He is best known for winning the 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event. Early life Raymer's family moved numerous times during his childhood, from his birthplace of Minot, North Dakota to Lansing, Michigan, where he lived until age 10. He then moved to Clearwater, Florida, attending Dunedin Middle School, and would move later once again, this time to St. Louis, Missouri. After Raymer graduated from Parkway South High School in St. Louis, he enrolled at the University of Missouri–Rolla, where he majored in chemistry and became a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a master's degree in biochemistry in 1989, and then again from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1992. He then practiced law as a patent attorney for more than a decade, spending the last six years of his legal career at the pharmaceutical company Pfizer. Raymer is nicknamed "Fossilman" because of his fossil collecting hobby. He uses a small fossil as a card protector while he plays poker. Poker Raymer first finished in the money of a World Series of Poker (WSOP) event during 2001 in the $1,500 Omaha hi-lo split 8 or better event won by Chris Ferguson. At the 2004 World Series of Poker, he defeated David Williams to win the $5,000,000 first prize in the $10,000 no limit Texas hold 'em WSOP main event. The following year, as defending champion, Raymer finished 25th (out of 5,619 entrants) in the 2005 WSOP Main Event, earning him $304,680. Arguably, this two-year accomplishment ranks as one of the most impressive performances in the Main Event in recent history, along with Dan Harrington's. Both players posted deep runs in consecutive years (Harrington finished 3rd and 4th in 2003/2004), and both looked to repeat as world champion within a ten-year span (Harrington won the Main Event in 1995). In 2005, Raymer entered the inaugural British Poker Open, which was filmed in London and was the UK's biggest live poker event in history. As one of the favourites, he made the final table and came in third in a live final, worth around £20,000. On September 17, 2007, Raymer won his first World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) bracelet by winning Event #6 of the 2007 WCOOP, a $320 Pot Limit Omaha with Rebuys event. The victory netted him