The Five Biggest Live Poker Winners From Louisiana

Louisiana is not the first US state you think of when asked about winning poker players. It should be, however, because the Pelican State is the home to some incredible grinders.

The five biggest live poker tournament winners who call Louisiana home have $16,237,345 in earnings between them. They have WSOP bracelets, World Poker Tour titles, and more. But who are these poker stars? Let us find out right now.

Brandon Adams of New Orleans, Louisiana

Brandon Adams is the biggest live poker tournament winner out of Louisiana. Adams hails from New Orleans but spends a lot of time in Las Vegas, Nevada grinding cash games.

You often find Adams playing in the Super High Roller events, which is one reason he has $5,198,642 in earnings. $819,000 of that sum came from winning a $50,000 buy-in event during the 2017 Poker Masters.

Twelve of Adams’ 59 recorded live cashes weigh in at six-figures. This includes his WSOP bracelet victory in the $3,200 High Roller Online event that netted him $411,561. Adams won his bracelet in 2019, which is the same year he cashed in a $50,000 and $100,000 buy-in High Rollers events for prizes of $500,282 and $611,258 respectively.

Louisiana Native Kevin Eyster Has Two WPT Titles

Adams may be the biggest live poker tournament player in Louisiana but Kevin Eyster has the most winning when online poker is considered. Eyster has $4,983,713 in live winnings plus an additional $3,632,139 from online poker.

Lafayette, Louisiana is where Eyster was born, although he now lives in Denver, Colorado. His live record is superb. Victory in the 2013 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Showdown banked Eyster $660,395. A second WPT in the 2015 Five Diamond World Poker Classic saw Eyster reel in $1,587,382.

His $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em bracelet victory at the 2014 WSOP was worth $622,998 and was sandwiched between his brace of WPT trophies.

Eyster is known as “1SickDisease” online and he truly is sick. Eyster mostly grinds American poker sites but was a big name on the European scene for some time. His career-best online score of $333,680 came at the now-defunct Full Tilt Poker.

Keith Lehr of Louisiana Has Two WSOP Bracelets

Bossiter City, Louisiana is where Keith Lehr calls home. You may not be overfamiliar with the 58-year-old’s name despite home winning $3,619,390 from live events. The bulk of those winnings come from playing at the WSOP. His record of 34 cashes and two bracelets is impressive to say the least.

Bracelet number one came in 2003 when Lehr won the $3,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em event. Lehr waited 12 years for his second bracelet. He won the $10,000 Heads-Up Championship for $334,430, defeating Paul Volpe in the final match.

Lehr’s largest haul same in the $10,000 Six-Handed event at the 2012 WSOP. He lost to a certain Greg Merson and consoled himself with a $701,757 prize.

WSOP Bracelet and Ring Winner Fred Berger

Fred Berger is usually found in Las Vegas when he’s not at his home in Slidell, Louisiana. Berger has 63 recorded cashes and six of those are outright victories. Berger won a WSOP bracelet in a $3,000 Pot Limit Hold’em event in 2002. He got his hands on a WSOPC ring in 2010 when he won a $5,150 event on home soil in Louisiana.

Berger isn’t as prolific as he once was, but he can still mix it up with the best of them.

Baton Rouge’s Ryan Lenaghan

Ryan Lenaghan comes in at five in the all-time money listings for Louisiana. Leneghan calls Baton Rouge home. Leneghan is best known for his deep run in the 2011 WSOP Main Event. He navigated his way to an incredible 16th place finish from 6,865 entrants and won a cool $378,796.

Leneghan has come close to winning a WSOP bracelet or ring on seven occasions. It is a matter of when not if he wins a major title.

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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