An Israeli man won first place in one of the high-stakes events at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

Tomer Berda, formerly of Menlo Park, where he ran his own software research and development company, took home the gold bracelet in the no-limit hold ’em event last week. Berda defeated 197 others to win the $825,976 first prize. Ynet reported that Berda is the first Israeli to win a World Series of Poker event.

According to the World Series of Poker website, Berda started playing poker in 2003 and enjoys playing online, but started playing more live tournaments in the last year. He previously had two final table appearances and four cash wins at the World Series.