Top 20 Finalists: Mark Willeke (razello)

Germany's Mark Willeke (razello) was once an aspiring politician, but he gave up a government job to pursue his dream full time. He is very committed to teaching and both studying poker, and devotes several hours a day to both activities in addition to playing online over six hours everyday. You can even check out a bit of Mark Willeke's video poker blog on YouTube! Within the Everest Poker community, Mark is well-known and a master at social networking, and one of his favorite parts about qualifying for Live the Dream was that he got to reunite with many of his poker friends.

Mark plays at Everest because he loves the live event offerings, the MTT structures, the VIP Summit Club, and most of all his fellow players. "I love the community, and everything Everest stands for," says the WSOP, SPT and Montesino Grand Slam qualifier. "Everest is not only where I started playing poker, but it is also where I have gotten to know many of the players, who I now consider my friends."