Top 10 US Poker Players
| Rank | Player | Winnings |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Justin Bonomo | $58,526,196 |
| 2nd | Bryn Kenney | $57,221,865 |
| 3rd | Erik Seidel | $41,993,297 |
| 4th | David Peters | $41,456,868 |
| 5th | Jason Koon | $40,287,726 |
| 6th | Dan Smith | $39,339,327 |
| 7th | Phil Ivey | $38,281,866 |
| 8th | Jake Schindler | $35,449,524 |
| 9th | Cary Katz | $35,361,247 |
| 10th | Steve O'Dwyer | $32,546,166 |
All images courtesy of Hendon Mob and/or PokerGO
#1 - Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo - $58,526,196
The current leader for American players in Hendon Mob winnings is Justin Bonomo. Bonomo is actually the overall leader in cashes for global players at the moment as well, so the #1 player in the US is also the #1 player in the world right now.
Hailing from Fairfax, VA but now living in Vancouver, BC, Bonomo is living in Canada to be able to have a better selection of online poker games to play. Bonomo came to the game of poker through another card game, Magic the Gathering, as he was a competitive MtG player before breaking into the poker scene.
Bonomo’s top lifetime score was a $10 million win at the WSOP Big One for One Drop in 2018 when he defeated Fedor Holz heads-up for the title. He has 10 scores of more than $1 million and 33 total wins in his career, including four WSOP Gold Bracelets, as well as three WPT final table appearances.
#2 - Bryn Kenney - $57,221,865
The current #2 on the all-time American earnings list is Bryn Kenney, but Kenney and #1 Justin Bonomo have been swapping places at the top of the list over the past few years. At the moment, Kenney has dropped about $1 million behind the current leader.
Kenney grew up in New York state and was also a Magic the Gathering player before hitting the professional poker felt. His biggest lifetime score came in 2019 at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series London when he finished second in Event #2 for £16,890,509 or just over $20.5 million. In fact, his top three scores all come from Triton Poker events and he has 22 lifetime wins including one WSOP Gold Bracelet.
Kenney is currently embroiled in a cheating scandal after Martin Zamani accused him of being the head of a stable of players who colluded for financial gain in online play. Among the accusations are that Kenney or others would “ghost” players in deep runs to improve their results. Kenney has vigorously defended himself against the allegations and continues to play in the live and online poker scenes.
#3 - Erik Seidel - $41,993,297
Erik Seidel is one of the “old guard” in the poker world with his first official score on Hendon Mob dating back to the last century in 1988 when he was second in the Main Event to two-time winner Johnny Chan. That cash scored him $280k and started a journey on which he has so far amassed a total of almost $42 million in live earnings.
Seidel was born in New York City in 1959 and that makes him the oldest player on the top ten list for US players. He currently lives in Las Vegas where he is a regular in high-stakes games.
Seidel’s biggest score came in 2011 when he bagged nearly $2.5 million USD for winning the Super High Roller at the Aussie Millions that year. He has 32 wins in his career including 9 WSOP Gold Bracelets, and one win each on the WPT and EPT making Seidel the highest-ranking triple-crown winner on this list and fifth on the all-time global earnings list.
#4 - David Peters - $41,456,866
Born in Toledo, Ohio, David Peters now lives in Las Vegas, NV and is just a hair behind Erik Seidel for fourth place on the all-time US money list. That puts him 6th on the all-time global rankings as well with almost $41.5 million in earnings.
Peters’ biggest score was almost $2.7 million at a Triton Poker event held in conjunction with the WPT in 2016, while his biggest win was just over $1.2 million in 2019 when he won the Event #10 in the 2019 US Poker Open. In fact, Peters’ biggest win is only sixth on his all-time scores list with three second-place finishes, plus a third and a fifth rounding out his top six scores. Peters has 36 wins in his career including four WSOP Gold Bracelets, however he is yet to win a WPT or EPT title. Peters also has just shy of $7 million in online earnings according to Hendon Mob.
#5 - Jason Koon - $40,287,725
Born in Weston, West Virginia, Jason Koon comes in fifth on the US ranking list and seventh overall in the world. Koon rounds out the $40+ million club on the US list with just over $40 million in lifetime earnings.
Koon, who is currently living in Vancouver, BC in Canada in order to have a better selection of online poker games to play, bagged his biggest ever score with a win at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Montenegro, Budva in 2018 where he pocketed nearly $3.7 million. Koon has nine scores of $1 million or more, six of which were outright wins. He has a total of 20 wins to his name but only a single WSOP Gold Bracelet and no titles on the EPT or WPT.
#6 - Dan Smith - $39,339,329
Dan Smith comes in 6th on the US rankings and is the first player on the list with less than $40 million in poker winnings. He is just shy of that figure, however, with more than $39.3 million in total earnings so far.
Smith was born in Manalapan, NJ in 1989 and continues to live there. His biggest lifetime score came from a third-place finish in the 2019 Triton Million for Charity event when he bagged more than $8.7 million. He has nine scores of more than $1 million and four scores of more than $2 million.
He has 27 wins to his name so far on the professional circuit, the biggest of which came in 2014 when he won a $100k Super High Roller tournament event in Las Vegas for just over $2 million. Smith ranks 8th on the all-time global money list and has one WSOP Gold Bracelet, one WPT win, and eight EPT wins.
#7 - Phil Ivey - $38,281,867
Phil Ivey is among the best-known poker players in the world and for a time was considered the best player on the live felt. While much of Ivey’s poker career has been spent at the cash game tables, he is no stranger to tournament poker either and sits seventh on the US ranking list right now with a bit more than $38 million.
That puts him ninth on the global list with his biggest ever score coming in 2014 in Australia when he won the $250,000 Challenge at the Aussie Millions for nearly $3.6 million. He has ten scores of $1 million or more and two bigger than $2 million. Ivey’s tournament scores go all the way back to 1998 when he broke onto the tournament scene with a win in a seven-card stud event in Atlantic City. His first of ten WSOP Gold Bracelets came in 2000 when he won a Pot-Limit Omaha event for $195,000 and he also has one WPT title to his name. Ivey is also listed as having just over $1 million in online earnings.
#8 - Jake Schindler - $35,449,523
Number eight on the US money list is Jake Schindler with just over $35 million in total winnings. Schindler was recently banned from PokerGO events over cheating allegations that included the use of real-time assistance (RTA) while playing online.
Prior to the recent allegations, Schindler was a regular on the high-stakes circuit with 31 wins on the live poker felt. His biggest win came earlier in 2022 when he won an event at the Super High Roller Series in Kyrenia in April for $3.2 million. His biggest-ever score came from second place in the 2017 Super High Roller Bowl, Las Vegas worth $3.6 million.
The 33-year-old was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and currently resides in Hollywood, Florida.
#9 - Cary Katz - $35,372,206
PokerGO media mogul Cary Katz comes in ninth on the US ranking list for all-time earnings. The 52-year-old has been a staple on the high-stakes circuit for many years now with his first official score coming in 2004.
While Katz is a familiar face on the felt with 28 career wins including his best score of just over $2.6 million after winning a Super High Roller Bowl London event in 2019, he is likely better known as the owner and founder of the leading poker broadcaster, PokerGO. With a long background in various business endeavors, Katz is likely better known as a businessman who plays poker instead of a professional player, but that hasn’t stopped him from getting to ninth place on the US ranking list and 13th on the global rankings.
#10 - Steve O'Dwyer - $32,546,169
Rounding out the top-ten list for US players is Steve O’Dwyer with a bit more than $32.5 million. The 40-year-old was born in Colorado Springs and currently lives in Dublin, Ireland.
O’Dwyer has six scores of more than $1 million with his biggest ever worth almost $1.9 million, coming from his win at the 2015 PCA Super High Roller 8-Handed event. He has 30 wins with cashes dating back to 2007 when he bagged his first score on Hendon Mob at an earlier edition of the PCA.
O’Dwyer has yet to win his first WSOP Gold Bracelet, but he boasts a WPT title plus two EPT titles. He also has more than $7 million in online earnings listed in his Hendon Mob profile.
