Gregory Raymer was born in Minot, North Dakota in 1964. He is easily one of the most recognizable poker pros, thanks to his holographic sunglasses and his 2004 World Series of Poker main event victory.

Prior to becoming a poker pro, Greg was a patent attorney for over a decade. He got his start playing poker at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut way back in 1999 while working as a patent lawyer for Pfizer.

Raymer is nicknamed "Fossilman" because of his hobby of collecting fossils. He uses a small fossil as a card protector while he plays poker. Early in his poker career he would supplement his bankroll by selling fossils to other players at his table.

He is best known for his 2004 WSOP victory. Greg Raymer was one of 2,576 players going for the top prize. Greg received his $10,000 entry into the WSOP main event by playing in a $160 satellite tournament on PokerStars.

He turned that $160 into $5 million dollars which at the time was the largest prize ever.

He followed that up by finishing in 25th place (out of 5,619 entrants) in the 2025 WSOP Main Event, earning $304,680.

As of 2025, his total live tournament winnings exceed $5,850,000.

Nowadays, Greg Raymer mainly plays in just a few tournaments a year. He has relocated to North Carolina and prefers to spend his time with his family.

Greg Raymer still plays at and is a spokesman for PokerStars.