Formerly, Ulliott was a minor figure in the Hull underworld, but went on to become a World Series of Poker bracelet-winner, and a mainstay of televised poker.

Ulliott was born the son of Stanley Ulliott, a World War II paratrooper turned truck driver and his wife Joyce ( née Jefferson ).

Ulliott was unmotivated throughout his education and left school at the age of 15, without any O-levels, to take his first job making trophies for G K Beaulah.

At the age of 19, Ulliott was involved in a fight on the way home from the Golden Nugget Pool Hall in Kingston upon Hull.

Ulliott was set upon by five men and their wives ( one of whom slashed his face with a steel comb ), after protecting his younger brother.

Ulliott later claimed that he was proud of the experience and the incident made him realise that he could not be beaten in a fight " inside ".

Ulliott became involved in a safe-cracking team soon after, after being advised by the rest of the team that everyone was involved in the operation, including the shops, which carried out insurance fraud, and the police, who turned a blind eye.

One of the team was eventually caught, and informed the police that Ulliott was involved.

Ulliott was arrested again aged 28 for a fight outside a nightclub, and served 18 months in Leeds and Durham Prisons.

However, on the day it was planned to happen, John was arrested by the regional crime squad, and Ulliott was advised by John's wife to go straight.

The first series was won by Dave Ulliott who became the UK's first poker celebrity.

Following this, John was invited onto the Late Night Poker television series in its sixth season, but was unable to progress through his heat which featured Ken Lennaárd, Victoria Coren, Tony Bloom, Gary Jones, Dave Ulliott and Ross Boatman.

David A. Ulliott ( born 4 April 1954 in Kingston upon Hull ), known by the nickname Devilfish, is an English professional gambler and poker player.

His biggest cash win to date is FF 250, 000 ($ 40, 750 ) for winning the 1998 Euro Finals of Poker no limit hold ' em poker tournament, defeating a field including Padraig Parkinson, Dave " Devilfish " Ulliott, Patrick Bruel and Surinder Sunar.

He explained in an interview that whilst playing a tournament and getting down to the final three players, Dave " Devilfish " Ulliott approached and told him that Princess Diana had died.

On March 4 2007, his 30th birthday, Helppi won the inaugural Premier League Poker title, defeating some of the all-time greats along the way, such as Phil Hellmuth and Dave " Devilfish " Ulliott.

He is also good friends with professional poker player Dave " The Devilfish " Ulliott.

On one occasion, when Ulliott lost over £ 5, 000 at the bookies, he robbed that safe too, and took it home in a pram.

Not long after Ulliott met his second wife, he did indeed go straight, and there is no evidence he has committed a crime since.

The field contains 5 former Late Night Poker champions, Dave Ulliott aka Devilfish, Simon Trumper, Padraig Parkinson, Peter Costa and John Duthie.

He admires Dave " The Devilfish " Ulliott, T. J. Cloutier and Erik Seidel above all other poker players.

In 2004, he won the Poker Million tournament, overcoming Dave " The Devilfish " Ulliott in the eventual heads-up confrontation.

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By 1902, however, due to the Governor of ` Akka being supportive of ` Abdu ' l-Bahá, the situation was greatly eased ; while pilgrims were able to once again visit ` Abdu ' l-Bahá, he was confined to the city.

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His reputation was not confined to Europe ; a Chinese mandarin sent him a letter addressed to " the illustrious Boerhaave, physician in Europe ," and it reached him in due course.

The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition, thought the term was derived from the Spanish barrueco, a large, irregularly-shaped pearl, and it was for a time confined to the craft of the jeweller.

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This potential has not been fully developed because of the ease and speed in building with other materials ; in the late-20th century brick was confined to low-or medium-rise structures or as a thin decorative cladding over concrete-and-steel buildings or for internal non-load-bearing walls.

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