Bobby Levin
Encyclopedia
Robert J. Levin (born November 19, 1957) is an American
professional bridge
player. He is best known as the youngest winner of the world championship for national teams, namely the 1981 Bermuda Bowl
, and as five-time winner of the Cavendish Invitational
with his regular partner Steve Weinstein. As of May 2011, Bobby Levin ranks number 14 among Open World Grand Masters and his wife Jill ranks number 14 among Women World Grand Masters.
Levin–Weinstein are one-third of a team that will represent the US in the 2011 Bermuda Bowl (October). Beginning 2012 they will play for Nick Nickell, whose professional teams have won four of the eight biennial Bermuda Bowls since 1995.
Levin was born in Southampton
, Long Island
, New York
. As a 13-year-old, he won the first tournament event he ever entered – the Men’s Pairs at a New York sectional – making him the youngest winner in the history of the event.
When Levin was 15, the family moved to Miami
. In March 1973, not long after arriving in Florida
, Levin became the youngest Life Master in the history of the American Contract Bridge League
(ACBL) at the age of 15 years and 4 months old. This record has since been broken. Once in Miami, Levin met two players – Billy Seamon and Russell Arnold – who had a profound influence on his bridge career. By the age of 17, Levin was playing professionally on teams with Arnold, sponsored by Bud Reinhold.
In 1979, his team (Reinhold, Arnold, Jeff Meckstroth
and Eric Rodwell
) tied for first in the Reisinger Board-a-Match Teams
. Since the Reisinger was a qualifying event for the team trials to determine ACBL’s representative for the world championships, a playoff was necessary. The team lost the playoff in the wee hours of the morning to Ira Corn's Dallas Aces (Ira Rubin, Fred Hamilton, Bob Hamman
and Bobby Wolff
).
The following spring Reinhold team won the Vanderbilt Knockout Teams
in Fresno, California
, qualifying for the team trials. The squad easily won the right later that year to represent the United States in the 1981 Bermuda Bowl
in Port Chester, New York
. The team added John Solodar and defeated Zia Mahmood
-led Pakistan for the championship. The win made Levin, at 23 years old, the youngest world champion at the time.
About a year later, Levin moved to Chicago
to work as an options trader
. When the market crashed in 1987
, Levin was back to Florida, entering the real estate business with one of his brothers. He moved to the Orlando
area in 1988 and lived there for twelve years.
His regular partner is Steve Weinstein, who is also a world class poker player. When forming their partnership, they spent a week with Marty Bergen
in Florida to put together their system.
Levin and his wife of twelve years, Jill, who is also a world champion bridge player, reside in Lake Ariel
, Pennsylvania
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional bridge
Contract bridge
Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...
player. He is best known as the youngest winner of the world championship for national teams, namely the 1981 Bermuda Bowl
Bermuda Bowl
The Bermuda Bowl is a trophy awarded to the winners of the Open series in the World Team Championship in contract bridge and is named for the site of the inaugural tournament held in 1950...
, and as five-time winner of the Cavendish Invitational
Cavendish Invitational
The Cavendish Invitational is the largest money bridge tournament in the world. The , which concludes the tournament.-History and format:The Cavendish Club, whose name is associated with the event, was founded in 1925 in New York City...
with his regular partner Steve Weinstein. As of May 2011, Bobby Levin ranks number 14 among Open World Grand Masters and his wife Jill ranks number 14 among Women World Grand Masters.
Levin–Weinstein are one-third of a team that will represent the US in the 2011 Bermuda Bowl (October). Beginning 2012 they will play for Nick Nickell, whose professional teams have won four of the eight biennial Bermuda Bowls since 1995.
Career
Levin was born in Southampton
Southampton (town), New York
The Town of Southampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, U.S., partly on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the town had a total population of 54,712...
, Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. As a 13-year-old, he won the first tournament event he ever entered – the Men’s Pairs at a New York sectional – making him the youngest winner in the history of the event.
When Levin was 15, the family moved to Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
. In March 1973, not long after arriving in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Levin became the youngest Life Master in the history of the American Contract Bridge League
American Contract Bridge League
The American Contract Bridge League is the largest contract bridge organization in North America. It promotes the game of bridge in the United States, Mexico, Bermuda, and Canada, and is a member of the World Bridge Federation...
(ACBL) at the age of 15 years and 4 months old. This record has since been broken. Once in Miami, Levin met two players – Billy Seamon and Russell Arnold – who had a profound influence on his bridge career. By the age of 17, Levin was playing professionally on teams with Arnold, sponsored by Bud Reinhold.
In 1979, his team (Reinhold, Arnold, Jeff Meckstroth
Jeff Meckstroth
Jeffrey John Meckstroth is a multiple world champion in contract bridge, winning the Bermuda Bowl representing the U.S. five times. He is one of only ten players who have won the so-called triple crown of bridge: the Bermuda Bowl, the World Open Pairs and the World Team Olympiad...
and Eric Rodwell
Eric Rodwell
Eric Victor Rodwell is an American professional bridge player. He has won the Bermuda Bowl representing the U.S. five times and is one of ten players who have won the so-called triple crown of bridge: the Bermuda Bowl, the World Open Pairs and the World Team Olympiad...
) tied for first in the Reisinger Board-a-Match Teams
Reisinger
The Reisinger national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The Reisinger is a board-a-match event.-History:...
. Since the Reisinger was a qualifying event for the team trials to determine ACBL’s representative for the world championships, a playoff was necessary. The team lost the playoff in the wee hours of the morning to Ira Corn's Dallas Aces (Ira Rubin, Fred Hamilton, Bob Hamman
Bob Hamman
Robert David Hamman is an American professional bridge player, among the greatest players of all time....
and Bobby Wolff
Bobby Wolff
Robert S. Wolff is an American bridge player and an original member of the Dallas Aces team, which was formed in 1968 to compete against the Italian Blue Team which was dominant at the time. The Aces were successful and won their first world championship in 1970...
).
The following spring Reinhold team won the Vanderbilt Knockout Teams
Vanderbilt Trophy
The trophy is awarded for the Vanderbilt Knockout Teams national bridge championship held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
in Fresno, California
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
, qualifying for the team trials. The squad easily won the right later that year to represent the United States in the 1981 Bermuda Bowl
Bermuda Bowl
The Bermuda Bowl is a trophy awarded to the winners of the Open series in the World Team Championship in contract bridge and is named for the site of the inaugural tournament held in 1950...
in Port Chester, New York
Port Chester, New York
Port Chester is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The village is part of the town of Rye. As of the 2010 census, Port Chester had a population of 28,967...
. The team added John Solodar and defeated Zia Mahmood
Zia Mahmood
Zia Mahmood is a Pakistani professional bridge player. He is a World Bridge Federation and American Contract Bridge League Grand Life Master. He has a knack for bringing out the best in his partners and is regarded as one of the greatest players of the game...
-led Pakistan for the championship. The win made Levin, at 23 years old, the youngest world champion at the time.
About a year later, Levin moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
to work as an options trader
Options strategies
Options strategies can favor movements in the underlying that are bullish, bearish or neutral. In the case of neutral strategies, they can be further classified into those that are bullish on volatility and those that are bearish on volatility...
. When the market crashed in 1987
Black Monday (1987)
In finance, Black Monday refers to Monday October 19, 1987, when stock markets around the world crashed, shedding a huge value in a very short time. The crash began in Hong Kong and spread west to Europe, hitting the United States after other markets had already declined by a significant margin...
, Levin was back to Florida, entering the real estate business with one of his brothers. He moved to the Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
area in 1988 and lived there for twelve years.
His regular partner is Steve Weinstein, who is also a world class poker player. When forming their partnership, they spent a week with Marty Bergen
Marty Bergen
Marty A. Bergen is an American bridge player and writer. A 10-time national champion and American Contract Bridge League Grand Life Master he retired from active competition in 1993...
in Florida to put together their system.
Levin and his wife of twelve years, Jill, who is also a world champion bridge player, reside in Lake Ariel
Lake Ariel, Pennsylvania
Lake Ariel is an unincorporated community in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was once the site of an amusement park. The main intersection is dominated by Saint Thomas More Roman Catholic Church, lake elementary school, and the Howe Convenient Market.Located in northeastern...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
Wins
- Bermuda BowlBermuda BowlThe Bermuda Bowl is a trophy awarded to the winners of the Open series in the World Team Championship in contract bridge and is named for the site of the inaugural tournament held in 1950...
(1) 1981 - World Open Pairs ChampionshipWorld Open Pairs ChampionshipThe World Open Pairs Championship is one of the competitions held as part of the World Bridge Series Championships. This Pairs competition was initiated in 1962 and is held every four years. It is open to pairs from all over the world, without any quota restrictions being applied. In its present...
(1) 2010 - North American Bridge ChampionshipsNorth American Bridge ChampionshipsNorth American Bridge Championships are three annual bridge conventions sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League . The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven days. They comprise both championship and side contests of...
(26)- VanderbiltVanderbilt TrophyThe trophy is awarded for the Vanderbilt Knockout Teams national bridge championship held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(4) 1980, 1989, 2009, 2011 - SpingoldSpingoldThe Spingold national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 1992 - ReisingerReisingerThe Reisinger national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The Reisinger is a board-a-match event.-History:...
(1) 1979 - Grand National TeamsGrand National TeamsThe Grand National Teams national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(3) 1997, 1999, 2000 - Open Board-a-Match TeamsMitchell Board-a-Match TeamsThe Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(2) 1996, 2006 - Men's Board-a-Match TeamsMitchell Board-a-Match TeamsThe Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 1987 - Jacoby Open Swiss TeamsJacoby Open Swiss TeamsThe Jacoby Open Swiss Teams national bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(2) 2005, 2006 - Master Mixed TeamsChicago Mixed Board-a-MatchThe Chicago Mixed Board-a-Match teams national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The event is a board-a-match team event....
(1) 1987 - Blue Ribbon PairsBlue Ribbon PairsThe Edgar Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 1979 - Life Master PairsVon Zedtwitz Life Master PairsThe Von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(3) 1989, 1994, 2001 - Life Master Open PairsNail Life Master Open PairsThe Nail Life Master Open Pairs national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 1994 - Life Master Men's PairsNail Life Master Open PairsThe Nail Life Master Open Pairs national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 1988 - Open PairsSilodor Open PairsThe Silodor Open Pairs national bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 1978 - Open Pairs IIWernher Open PairsThe Wernher Open Pairs national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The Wernher Open Pairs is a four session MP pairs event, two qualifying sessions and two final sessions....
(1) 1993 - IMP PairsLebhar IMP PairsThe Lebhar IMP Pairs national bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 2003 - Fast Open PairsFast Open PairsThe Fast Open Pairs national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The Fast Open Pairs is a four session MP pairs event, two qualifying sessions and two final sessions....
(1) 2007 - Roth Open Swiss Teams (1) 2010
- Vanderbilt
- United States Bridge Championships (3)
- Open Team Trials (3) 1980, 1993, 2010
- European Open Bridge Championships (1)
- Mixed Teams (1) 2003
- Other notable wins:
- Buffett CupBuffett CupThe Buffett Cup is a bridge trophy which is awarded biennially in an event between teams from Europe and the United States.The tournament is modeled on the Ryder Cup golf competition and is held in the week preceding the golf event at a nearby location. The competition was first held in 2006 and is...
(2) 2006, 2010 - Cavendish Invitational TeamsCavendish InvitationalThe Cavendish Invitational is the largest money bridge tournament in the world. The , which concludes the tournament.-History and format:The Cavendish Club, whose name is associated with the event, was founded in 1925 in New York City...
(3) 1999, 2005, 2008 - Pan American Open Teams (1) 1992
- Sunday Times–Macallan Invitational Pairs (1) 1993
- Cavendish Invitational PairsCavendish InvitationalThe Cavendish Invitational is the largest money bridge tournament in the world. The , which concludes the tournament.-History and format:The Cavendish Club, whose name is associated with the event, was founded in 1925 in New York City...
(5) 1999, 2002, 2007, 2009, 2010
- Buffett Cup
Runner-ups
- World Transnational Open Teams (1) 2000
- World Open PairsWorld Open Pairs ChampionshipThe World Open Pairs Championship is one of the competitions held as part of the World Bridge Series Championships. This Pairs competition was initiated in 1962 and is held every four years. It is open to pairs from all over the world, without any quota restrictions being applied. In its present...
(1) 2006 - World Mixed PairsWorld Mixed Pairs ChampionshipThe World Mixed Pairs Championship is a bridge championship for mixed-gender pairs held every four years as part of the World Bridge Championships.-Results:World meets commonly run for 15 days on a schedule whose details vary....
(1) 2006 - North American Bridge ChampionshipsNorth American Bridge ChampionshipsNorth American Bridge Championships are three annual bridge conventions sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League . The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven days. They comprise both championship and side contests of...
(18)- VanderbiltVanderbilt TrophyThe trophy is awarded for the Vanderbilt Knockout Teams national bridge championship held at the spring American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(3) 1984, 2000, 2010 - SpingoldSpingoldThe Spingold national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(2) 1988, 1991 - Grand National TeamsGrand National TeamsThe Grand National Teams national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(3) 1978, 1992, 2007 - Open Board-a-Match TeamsMitchell Board-a-Match TeamsThe Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 1990 - Men's Board-a-Match TeamsMitchell Board-a-Match TeamsThe Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 1983 - Open Swiss Teams (1) 2008
- Blue Ribbon PairsBlue Ribbon PairsThe Edgar Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(4) 1987, 1988, 2000, 2004 - Life Master Open PairsNail Life Master Open PairsThe Nail Life Master Open Pairs national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
(1) 2005 - Open Pairs IIWernher Open PairsThe Wernher Open Pairs national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The Wernher Open Pairs is a four session MP pairs event, two qualifying sessions and two final sessions....
(1) 1999 - Men's PairsWernher Open PairsThe Wernher Open Pairs national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship .The Wernher Open Pairs is a four session MP pairs event, two qualifying sessions and two final sessions....
(1) 1986
- Vanderbilt
- United States Bridge Championships (1)
- Open Team Trials (1) 2000
- Other notable 2nd places:
- Cavendish Invitational TeamsCavendish InvitationalThe Cavendish Invitational is the largest money bridge tournament in the world. The , which concludes the tournament.-History and format:The Cavendish Club, whose name is associated with the event, was founded in 1925 in New York City...
(3) 2000, 2006, 2009 - Cap Gemini World Top Invitational Pairs (1) 2000
- Macallan Invitational Pairs (1) 1994
- Cavendish Invitational PairsCavendish InvitationalThe Cavendish Invitational is the largest money bridge tournament in the world. The , which concludes the tournament.-History and format:The Cavendish Club, whose name is associated with the event, was founded in 1925 in New York City...
(1) 1994
- Cavendish Invitational Teams