Stephen Reynolds

Stephen Reynolds, best known online as "SizzlinBetta," hails from New Jersey. Before Black Friday, he was regarded as one of the top online Sit & Go players, ranking in the Top 5 for 5-6 man Sit & Go's on Sharkscope in both 2008 and 2009. His online tournament career totals over $2 million in earnings.

Following the US government crackdown on online poker on April 15, 2011, Reynolds relocated to Mexico for three and a half months and Canada for a month and a half to continue playing. He later used a VPN to access European sites and PokerStars. In 2012, PokerStars banned him after detecting the VPN, a ban he described as "rightfully deserved." To regain access, Reynolds paid two individuals $12,000 per year for a foreign-registered account (under the name "Celtik112") and financial services to cash out funds.

Reynolds has close to $400,000 in live tournament earnings. His biggest live score came in September 2012, when he finished 30th in a WPT event at Borgata for $14,665. He has also cashed in the 2023 WSOP Event #18: $300 Gladiators of Poker (1,176th for $994) and the 2023 RGPS RunGood Poker Series Main Event at Jamul Casino (36th for $1,010).

In 2014, Reynolds won the WSOP.com Online Championships Main Event, taking home $60,000. This victory highlighted his dominance in New Jersey's regulated online poker market.

Despite his success, Reynolds is a harsh critic of the industry. He publicly condemned OnGame (now part of Amaya Gaming) for licensing issues, claiming that the network's skin GoalWin owed him $10,000 and should have disqualified OnGame from New Jersey licensing. He also expressed frustration with PokerStars' confiscation of profits from banned accounts and the high costs of circumventing geoblocks.

Reynolds is known for his analytical approach, leveraging a strong mathematical background. He has coached several winning online players. While he maintains a relatively low public profile, his outspoken nature and high-stakes online exploits have made him a notable figure in the poker community.