Lots of individuals have been made millionaires by the WSOP in the past years. Here is a short list of the 10 Greatest Money Makers in the WSOP and how they procure their win.
1.Jamie Gold – $12,067,292
He won the biggest field in the WSOP history beating more than 8,000 participants in the process and successfully took home the biggest prize in WSOP worth $12 million. He also won 3 other cashes aside from his big win worth $67,000.
Many will tell that the number of participants in the 2006 WSOP will not be reach again due to the passing of the UIGEA law which in turn block the entrance of European Poker sites from the US markets. So it is really possible that Gold will hold on to his title for a while unless someone from this list will gain a very good amount of win from the WSOP.
2.Peter Eastgate – $9,152,416
He is the youngest player who won the Main event. He also got the second largest prize in WSOP history at the 2008 Main Event. His first cash in the WSOP is his big.
Since Eastgate is only 22, many assume that he will be the one to grab the number one spot from Gold in the near future.
3.Jerry Yang – $8,250,000
He won the 2007 Main Event and one of the players who got most from their first WSOP cash.
Yang’s improbable win the WSOP as critics will say will be the only big win he’ll get. This is due to his lack of poker skills as others have noted of him.
4.Joe Hachem – $7,941,823
He’s one of the good players who won the WSOP Main event in recent years. He has 8 WSOP cashes in his name counting 2 final tables finishing in the 2nd and 4th place. He also won the WPT Diamond Five event in 2006 winning $2 million.
During his win the 2005 Main event the Australian chant, “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie…Oy, Oy, Oy!!!” has been introduced to the world.
5.Allen Cunningham – $6,717,791
Cunningham is the first in this list who’s not a Main Event winner however he got his biggest prize from the 2006 Main Event as he finish the event in the 4th place. He is a long time pro with 40 cashes to date and also 5 bracelets even if his only on his 30’s.
He’s considered as one of the top poker tournament player even he’s not as famous as the other poker players out there.
6.Greg Raymer – $6,487,512
Raymer is the Main Event champion of the 2004 WSOP wherein the field was the first big one in WSOP history. He wins against 2,576 players and grabbing the title plus the $5 million first prize.
He’s also called the Fossilman and has proven great in staying into the game with 13 cashes fo far counting 5 final tables with a 3rd place finish in the NLHE $40 k 2009 tournament.
7.Ivan Demidov – $6,486,381
He did not win any bracelets from the WSOP but he ended up finishing 2nd in the 2008 Main Event and considered as one of the promising talents in the community. He also finished 2nd in the WSOP Europe Main Event on the same year.
8.Paul Wasicka – $6,192,711
He is popular for winning the largest brides-maid payday in poker history. He is a Full Tilt Poker pro and a teacher in the Full Tilt Poker Academy. He is also one of the rising talents in the poker community.
9.Phil Hellmuth – $6,054,988
He’s the grinder in this list because he’s only biggest win was only $755,000. Maybe this list may kill Hellmuth for he didn’t know about half of the players in here. But he is a full time poker pro and has 11 WSOP bracelets so far.
He also have 73 cashes in his name to date and the only one who didn’t win any big win unlike the other players in this list.
10.Michael Binger – $4,853,748
He’s the 3rd placer in the 2006 Main event and has 19 cashes on his name. He’s also the most unknown player in this list.
He has a PhD in particle physics but chose to play poker as a living due to the big income opportunity in poker compared to working in the lab.