The first $10,000 title of the 2011 WSOP has been claimed by Amir Lehavot, winning the Pot-Limit Hold ‘Em championship for a $573,465 first place prize. Lehavot hails from Weston, FL, but was originally born in Israel. The poker professional moved to the U.S. when he was 16, and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin.

Lehavot is the founder of poker training site pokerwit.com, and his big win at the 2011 WSOP will do wonders for his credibility. He said, “I wanted to create a site that would facilitate people talking about the game in a more efficient way. My site focuses more on poker hands. It’s not made up of standard message boards. It is a much more efficient way to do it.”

Lehavot has been interested in technology his entire life. He moved to Silicon Valley following his stint at University of Texas and has worked in the software development industry for 10 years. He says that he tired of the work and, while taking time off, became interested in poker and began a study of the game. As Lehavot’s skills grew, he decided to combine his background in technology with his love of the game and became a professional poker teacher.

Runner-up Jarred Solomon, from Johannesburg, South Africa, earned a healthy $354,460 second place prize. Third place finisher, Sam Stein from Henderson, Nevada, came away with $264,651. 22-year-old Stephen Chidwick, coming in from Deal, Britain, came in fourth place with $198,927. Several past WSOP bracelet winners also cashed include Nenad Medic (25th), Jennifer Tilly (21st), Mike Matusow (20th), Jason DeWitt (13th), and Robert Mizrachi (12th).