New York is the fourth most populous state in the U.S. with 19.45 million residents. Some of the world’s elite poker players are part of that massive group. “The Big Apple” has produced some exceptional poker talent over the years, especially in the live poker world.
Combine the live poker tournament winnings of the top five earners and you reach the astonishing figure of $162,468,363! This is the biggest sum of any of America’s 50-states. All five of the biggest winners from New York are among the top 21 winners of all-time. Let’s check out who this amazing quintet are.
Bryn Kenney: Number One in New York and the World
Bryn Kenney
The number one earner in New York is also the world’s biggest winner, ever. Bryn Kenney has amassed $56,403,502 from live poker tournaments over the years. The man from Long Beach first recorded a cash in May 2007. He finished second in a $1,070 tournament that day. Fast-forward to August 2019 to discover Kenney’s gargantuan £16,890,509 ($20,563,324) score!
Kenney locked up that ridiculous prize for finishing second in the £1,050,000 buy-in Triton Million for Charity event in London. It is the largest single prize ever won by a poker player.
The best part of Kenney’s story is he claims to have never read a poker strategy book. Kenney also said he’s never undertaken any formal poker training. He plays his own style, which is often seen as crazy and nowhere near GTO like the game’s other big star. It obviously works for him so don’t expect Kenney to change anytime soon.
Erik Seidel: From Underground Poker Games in New York to World Domination
Erik Seidel
Erik Seidel is the most successful New York player if you base your judgement on WSOP bracelets won. Seidel’s first bracelet came in a $2,500 Limit Hold’em event back in 1992. He’s gone on to secure a total of eight WSOP bracelets, the last coming in 2007.
Seidel is highly intelligent and was a stock trader and professional backgammon player before turning to poker. He’s one of the group of famous players who frequented the Mayfair Club in New York City. Others include Stu Ungar, Howard Lederer, and Dan Harrington.
The 60-year-old now resides in Las Vegas, but travels the world playing for the highest stakes. He now has $37,748,126 in winnings, enough for fourth-place in the all-time listings.
Isaac Haxton: New York’s High Roller Specialist
Isaac Haxton
Isaac Haxton is one of those poker players who is equally dangerous in cash games as he is tournaments. It’s the latter he primarily focusses on these days, particularly the high and super high roller events.
The Team partypoker pro has racked up $27,670,939 in live tournament winnings. $3,672,000 is the most Haxton’s won from a single tournament, his reward for winning the $300,000 buy-in Super High Roller Bowl in 2018.
Haxton seemingly finds it easy to win live in the online poker world. He recently won $437,000 from a $25,500 buy-in online at his sponsor’s site. There’ll be more scores like that to come.
Scott Seiver: The Big Apple’s Mixed Game Superstar
Scott Seiver
Scott Seiver was born in Columbus, Ohio, raised in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, and now lives in Las Vegas. He’s been a major force in the live poker world since 2006 and a regular at the WSOP since 2007.
Seiver started his career by specializing in No-Limit Hold’em. Fifteen of his first 16 cashes came in NLHE tournaments. He now plays, literally, any format and poker variant. His last seven WSOP cashes are in five different formats: Mixed Triple Draw, 8-Game, Limit Hold’em, Seven Card Stud, and Razz. Seiver won bracelets in the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship in 2018 and the $10,000 Razz in 2019. These complement his $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em bracelet from 2008.
Seiver has $23,828,659 in winnings, almost $16.1 million came his way between 2013-16. His largest score to date is $5,160,000 for a second-place finish in the inaugural $500,000 Super High Roller Bowl.
Alex Foxen: Part of a Poker Power Couple
Alex Foxen
Alex Foxen hails from Cold Spring Harbor, New York and resides in Huntington. We say that but Foxen spends most of his life travelling the world competing against the game’s best players. He’s a regular feature in Canada, so he can play online poker at PokerStars and partypoker.
Foxen has cashes dating back to 2012, but really broke through in 2017. He won $1,716,078 that year, $6,632,556 in 2018 and $6,3466,433 in 2019. He’s even managed to win $1,608,690 in 2020 despite casinos around the world being closed since March.
Foxen is part of a seriously powerful poker couple. Kristen Bicknell, the world’s number one female poker player, is Foxen’s long-term girlfriend.
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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.