These Are The Five Biggest MTT Winners From Nebraska

The Cornhusker State of Nebraska is the only state in the US that is triply landlocked. This means its citizens must travel through at least three US states to reach an ocean, gulf, or bay. This has not put off Nebraska’s top poker players judging by how they have $7,319,593 in winnings.

These are the five biggest live poker tournament winners who call Nebraska home.

Daniel Sindelar Is The Biggest Winner From Nebraska

Daniel Sindelar tops the Nebraska all-time money listings with $2,198,891 in earnings. Sindelar lives in Lincoln, the capital of Nebraska, but spends much time on the road.

Sindelar locked up his first six-figure score in only his fifth recorded live cash. He finished top of the tree in a $1,080 No-Limit Hold’em event in Shakopee in 2007 and returned home $105,312 richer.

The grinder has almost 120 cashes recorded on his Hendon Mob profile, many stemming from Las Vegas. It is Vegas where Sindelar banked the largest prize of his career. Sindelar finished seventh in the 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event and walked away with $1,236,084. That was an incredible result, considering the talent at the final table.

Ryan Phan Is From Vietnam But Lives in Nebraska

Ryan Pham was born in Vietnam but calls Omaha, Nebraska home. Pham won the first tournament listed on his public profile. His victory in a $900 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event at Council Bluffs in 2012 yielded a $22,583 score.

Pham racked up more than 100 results, but it was 2018 that saw him shine the most. He finished 11th in the WSOP Main Event for a career-best $725,000. Pham followed that up by finishing second in a $1,700 WSOP Circuit event in Cherokee a month later, a result that padded his bankroll with an additional $182,990.

Bob Slezak The WSOP Bracelet Winner

Imagine how awesome it would be for your first live MTT result to be a WSOP bracelet victory. That is precisely what happened to Bob Slezak of Omaha, Nebraska. Slezak took a trip to Las Vegas in 2001 and entered a $2,600 Omaha Hi-Lo event. Several hours later, Slezak had outlasted 178 opponents, winning $173,625 and a gold bracelet.

Slezak has two other six-figure prizes on his resume. He won a $1,060 buy-in event at the Orleans in Las Vegas, which resulted in a $131,355 haul. Slezak’s biggest result came in the 2007 WSOP Main Event. He finished 15th for a $429,114 payout.

Scott Buller Has a $500,000 Score

Scott Buller of Lincoln, Nebraska, is a three-time WSOP Circuit ring winner with $1,256,801 in winnings. Buller’s first WSOPC ring came in 2016 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He won rings two and three in 2019, both in $250 buy-in events at WSOPC Choctaw, Durant.

Buller’s impressive poker results go back more than 15 years. For example, he finished third in the Card Player Cruises $10,500 partypoker.com Million V. That near-miss won Buller $500,000, which is still his best cash today.

2009 saw Buller come agonizingly close to become a WSOP bracelet winner. He finished second to Michael Davis in the $1,000 NLHE Seniors event and had to make do with a $268,507 score.

Jeff Banghart the WSOP Circuit Regular

Jeff Banghart of Omaha, Nebraska, is a regular on the WSOP circuit. Some 28 of his 43 recorded in-the-money finishes stem from playing in WSOP tournaments. Those cashes weigh in at $779,974, which make up a significant portion of his $1,111,486 earnings.

Banghart became a WSOPC ring winner in 2009. He won the $345 event at WSOPC Iowa. A second ring was almost his in 2017, but he finished second in a $1,675 buy-in Main Event in Hammond. Banghart banked $205,755 that day.

The grinder has another $200,000+ score to brag about. He reeled in a $237,865 prize for finishing 41st in the 2007 WSOP Main Event.

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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