The Five Biggest Tournament Winners From Florida

The Sunshine State of Florida may have a reputation for being a retirement haven, but it has produced some phenomenal poker players over the years. Some of the biggest poker tournament winners of all-time hail from Florida.

Looking down the list of Florida’s biggest winners you find Daniel “Jungleman” Cates and Noah Schwartz. Matt Waxman, Robert Mizrachi, Harrison Gimbel and Vanessa Rousso also call Florida home. These huge names don’t make it into the top five biggest winners, but these five stars do.

Jason Mercier is the Biggest Tournament Winner From Florida

Former Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier is the biggest winner to call Florida home. His live poker tournament winnings weigh in at $19,757,227, enough for 28th place in the world.

Mercier doesn’t play as much poker as he once did since he became a father. He does still dabble in the tournament world on occasion.

Mercier won a $50,000 buy-in event at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open in August 2019 for $715,860. This result came after a one-year hiatus from the game, proving he’s still a force to be reckoned with. He followed that result up with a $73,855 score a week later and a $111,150 prize in December.

Five WSOP bracelets adorn Mercier’s wrist. He would have more but for two runner-up finishes and 14 final table appearance.

Michael Mizrachi is number Two on the Florida All-Time Money List

Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi was born in North Palm Beach, Florida and now lives in Hollywood in the Sunshine State. Mizrachi’s $17,215,157 in winnings place him second in Florida and 32nd in the world.

He’s infamous for a very loose-aggressive style, which often borders on reckless. It’s a style that obviously works for “The Grinder” because his results speak for themselves. Mizrachi has five bracelets, like Mercier, but three of these are extra special.

The $50,000 Poker Players Championship is considered the toughest live event on the calendar. It attracts the world’s best mixed game players, yet Mizrachi won it three times! You don’t win this tournament without being an exceptional talent.

Sean Winter Has $15M in Winnings From His Florida Base

Sean Winter hails from Jacksonville, Florida and is a major threat to Mercier’s crown. Winter spent his early poker career grinding low-to-mid stakes event. Not anymore because Winter now plays in the biggest, richest tournaments around the planet.

2015 was Winter’s breakout year. He banked $1,696,417. Another $2,287,036 followed in 2016, a drop to $944,621 the following year before inning $5,022,576 in 2018. Last year resulted in Winter adding another $4,393,338, taking his total to $15,078,573.

Sam Soverel Is a Potential Threat To Mercier’s Crown

Sam Soverel lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, but calls Florida home. It’s fair to say Soverel is probably the best poker player you’ve never heard of! He goes about his business in a quiet, efficient manner that’s helped him rack up $13,712,877 in winnings.

His record in $25,000 and higher buy-in tournaments is nothing short of amazing. Soverel has 22 victories, including one worth $1,024,364. This was Soverel’s reward for winning the $100,000 Aria Super High Roller in October 2016.

Soverel is another player who is likely to overtake Mercier, if and when the live poker circuit resumes.

John Racener’s Huge WSOP Score Puts Him at Number Five

Almost exactly half of John Racener’s $10,138,489 lifetime winnings stem from his deep WSOP Main Event run. The man from Dunedin, Florida finished second in the 2010 Main Event and banked $5,545,955.

Racener isn’t a one-trick pony, however, He’s won more than $400,000 from poker tournaments in five of the past 10 years since his massive score. You’ll always find Racenet at the WSOP as he loves it there. Eight cashes in the past two years speak volumes for his talent. It’s just a shame he won’t be playing at this year’s postponed 2020 WSOP.

Matthew Pitt

If it’s something you can play online for real money, chances are Matthew knows a bit about it. He’s been writing about slots, craps and poker for the better part of the last decade. He’s written for PokerNews, PartyPoker and many other respected online gambling websites during the last nine years.

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