More than 150 poker pros already became millionaires all those years of the WSOP. The names below belong to the top 10 money winners in WSOP history and the events that lead to their triumphs.
1.Jamie Gold – $12,067,292 He captured the largest earnings in WSOP history by winning the 2006 Main Events. The pot of $12 million for the first prize on that tournament has been the hugest pay in WSOP and it made Jamie Gold the number one money maker on this list. He also manages to take home 3 other cashes in the WSOP amounting to $67,000 respectively. It is improbable that the number of participants will reach the 2006 mark in the WSOP (unless the UIGEA is repelled and poker sites from Europe can reach the US market once again), so it only means that Gold will somehow hang on to the first place for the following years. That would be the situation unless someone ended up having his even bigger finish in the Main Event.
2.Peter Eastgate – $9,152,416 The youngest WSOP winner in record won the 2008 Main Event and got hold of the second biggest prize in the history of poker. He advances in this list against everyone except Gold. This is the only cash in he got at the WSOP and what a way to gain a lot of money! Peter Eastgate also has the chance to take over the number one spot on this list in years to come, him being young at the age of 22, its not that impossible to occur.
3.Jerry Yang – $8,250,000 Yang won the 2007 Main Event and only cash in the WSOP once and he got the number three spot here! Many believe that this is only the time that Yang would probably get a high pay at the WSOP. This is due to his lack of poker skill as many have observed. But Yang has a very nice personality to cover up for that kind of poker glitch.
4.Joe Hachem – $7,941,823 He is considered as the one of the finest players to win the WSOP having cashed in 8 WSOP events since winning it; counting 2 final tables where he end up getting the 2nd and 4th place. He also won the WPT Five Diamond in 2007 taking home at least $2 million dollars in the process. The WSOP event in 2005 where Hachem wins is the first time he participated in the WSOP and it’s also the first place wherein the Aussie chant, “Aussie, Aussie, AussieOy, Oy, Oy!!!”, was heard.
5.Allen Cunningham – $6,717,791 Allen Cunningham is the first non-Main Event poker player who made this list. At 32 years of age, Allen already won 5 bracelets and 40 cash in the WSOP to date. He is a long time poker professional who got his big win during the 2006 Main Event where he finished in the 4th place and won a pot of more than $3 million. He may not be one of the most popular names in poker but Cunningham is one of the top tournament players in the poker world.
6.Greg Raymer – $6,487,512 Known as the Fossilman, Raymer is the first person who won the first big field event in the WSOP. He outlasted more than 2,500 opponents to get the title of the 2004 Main Event and the prize of $5,000,000 for being the champion of the said event. Greg already cash in about 11 events including 5 final tables with a 3rd place finished during the 2009 $40k NLHE tournament.
7.Ivan Demidov – $6,468,381 He is the first non bracelet winner who is included in this list. He finished second on the 2008 Main Event and is seen to be one of the most promising stars in the community. He also ended in the 3rd place at the WSOP Europe Main Event in 2008.
8.Paul Wasicka – $6,192,711 Wasicka is known for winning the largest brides-maid payday in the history of poker. He is an instructor for Full Tilt Poker Academy and a pro for the same game. He already cash in 3 events and he’s another player to look out for in the years to come.
9.Phil Hellmuth – $6,054,988 One of the most egotistical players in poker, Hellmuth must be killing himself now that almost all in this list are unknown to him. Well, Hellmuth already made his name in poker by winning 11 bracelets in the WSOP. But his biggest pay check by far in the tournament is only $755,000. He already collected 73 checks in the WSOP but is not lucky enough to win a prize like the others. He is known to be the only hard worker in this list.
10.Michael Binger – $4,853,748 He is another non-Main Event winner on this list, finishing 3rd during the 2006 Main Event. Binger already collected 19 WSOP cashes in his career and still counting. He is also one of the most unknown players in the game. Michael Binger has a PhD in theoretical physics but choose to be a poker player than to be a scientist because simply poker pays better that being in the lab.