The Top 5 Georgia Poker Players Have $47M in Winnings

Georgia is the 24th largest state in the US but the eighth-most populous. The sheer number of Georgia residents means it was odds on the state would produce some excellent poker players. It certainly did that.

Twelve Georgia poker players have won more than $1 million from live poker tournaments. The state’s five biggest winners have accumulated a shade under $47 million in earnings. They own seven World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets between them, also.

Who are those five excellent poker players? Keep on reading to find out.

Cary Katz: The Biggest Winner in Georgia By a Country Mile

Cary Katz is the biggest live poker tournament winner hailing from Georgia and by some margin. The businessman resides in Las Vegas, but Atlanta, Georgia is most definitely home.

Katz learned poker from his grandmother so it’s she we have to thank for Katz’ prowess. He began playing competitively in 2004 and has since racked up $28,481,460 in winnings.

Six of Katz’s scores weigh in at over one million dollars. The first came in 2014 courtesy if an eight-place finish in The Big One for One Drop. His largest prize weighs in at $2,610,317, his reward for winning the Super High Roller Bowl London event.

Have you ever watch poker streams via PokerGO? Katz is the co-founder of this fantastic company, hence him residing in Las Vegas.

Josh Arieh Was Born In New York But Raised in Georgia

Josh Arieh was born in Rochester, New York 46-years ago but moved to Atlanta, Georgia when he was eight. Arieh is one of the game’s elite pros and is vastly experienced, having starting grinding MTTs in 1999.

His first recorded live cash was at the 1999 WSOP. Arieh entered the $3,000 Limit Hold’em event alongside 168 opponents. He outlasted them all and bagged himself a bracelet and $202,800.

Arieh won his second bracelet in 2005 in a $2,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event. That impressive victory saw Arieh’s winnings swell by $381,600.

Bracelet number three eludes the opinionated pro, but he’s come close several times. Four runner-up finishes, 12 WSOP final tables, and $8,127,221 in winnings speak volumes about Arieh’s skills.

Three-Time WSOP Bracelet Winner David Bach Calls Georgia Home

David Bach of Athens, Georgia is something of a mixed game specialist, one of the best in the world. He cashed in a $1,500 Seven-Card Stud for $3,855 in 1997 and now has $4,216,030 in winnings.

The first of Bach’s WSOP bracelets came in 2009 in the $50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E event. The heads-up battle with John Hanson lasted for 492 hands over more than 20 hours!

Bach waited eight more years before securing more of poker’s gold. 2017 saw him win two bracelets, both in non-Hold’em events. He won the $1,500 Dealers Choice 6-Handed for $119,399 and the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship for $383,008.

WSOP Regular Jason DeWitt

Some poker players are drawn to the WSOP like moths to flames. Jason DeWitt is one such player. Head to any WSOP and you’ll find DeWitt grinding as many events as he can fit in.

All that grinding resulted in DeWitt winning a pair of WSOP bracelets. The first saw him defeat Sam Trickett heads-up in the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em event in 2010. That result was worth $818,959. A six-year wait ensued for DeWitt’s second gold bracelet. It came in the $1,500 Millionaire Maker, which banked him a career-best $1,065,403.

That pair of impressive wins helped DeWitt amass $3,180,810 in winnings. This places him fourth in the Georgia all-time money listings.

Mid-Stakes Grinder Daniel Weinman

Daniel Weinman of Atlanta Georgia is best known for a spell of hot form in 2017. Weinman won the $3,500 WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open for a cool $892,433. Winning that event awarded Weinman a $15,000 seat in the WPT Tournament of Champions. Amazingly, Weinman won that for an additional $381,500!

Weinman has $2,976,507 in live tournament winnings, but only $162,528 from 2018 onwards. This is because he spends most of his time on the golf course these days.

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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