Who Are The Biggest Poker Winners From Vermont?

The Green Mountain State of Vermont is one of the smallest of the 50 U.S. states. It is the sixth-smallest by area, to be exact. It should not surprise you that Vermont is the second-least populous of the U.S. states; only Wyoming has fewer residents.

Vermont is known for its vast forested natural beauty. Others know it as the birthplace of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. We know Vermont as the place the following five poker grinders call home.

Steve Landfish Tops the Vermont Money List

Steve Landfish is the man whose name is at the top of the Vermont all-time money list with $834,037 in earnings. It is quite remarkable that Landfish, of St Albans, Vermont, is still number one because he has not recorded a live poker tournament cash since the 2013 World Series of Poker.

Landfish’s first recorded live cash came at the 2003 WSOP. He finished 15th in the $2,500 Limit Hold’em event for $6,320. The first of several five-figure hauls, $15,447, came eight months later.

The 2011 WSOP is where Landfish shone brightly. A runner-up finish in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship banked him $204,924. Landfish followed that up with a fourth-place finish in a $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship for an additional $125,120.

Several more WSOP cashes followed, but his 10th place finish in the $5,000 Limit Hold’em event in 2013 is the last time Landfish’s name appears in the poker world.

Hal Fowler is a WSOP Main Event Winner From Vermont

Hal Fowler is the only Vermont native to win the WSOP Main Event, doing so in 1979. Fowler was down to 2,000 chips from the 500,000 in play, yet came back against legends including Johnny Moss and Bobby Baldwin.

Fowler found himself heads up against Bobby Hoff, where he cracked Hoff’s aces to take down the title. Hoff’s Ac-Ah was no good against Fowler’s 7s-6d on a 5h-3c-Js-4c-Td board.

$383,500 is how much Fowler won during his short poker career. He suffered from diabetes which played havoc with his eyesight and health. Fowler died in November 2000, aged 73.

Bradley Meyers Came Close to a WSOP Bracelet

Bradley Meyers of Esses, Vermont, almost became a WSOP champion in 2016 but fell agonizingly short. Meyers was one of 2,076 entrants in the $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em event. He managed to navigate his way through most of the field only to bust in third place for a $133,955 score. Only runner-up Wen Long Jin and champion Steven Wolansky outlasted him.

Meyers was quite prolific throughout 2016, although his volume faded after that. His $385,837 in earnings place him third in Vermont’s standings. We have a feeling we may see Meyers during the 2021 WSOP.

Shane Stacey Has Two Six-Figure Scores

Shane Stacey of Hyde Park, Vermont, enjoyed a short but explosive live poker career. Stacey finished 15th in a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em event at the 2007 WSOP for $29,577. The following year, he returned to Vegas and won $166,682 for a fifth-place finish in the same $1,500 event. That impressive score sandwiched a $100,000 haul at Foxwoods a few months prior.

Stacey only cashed in two other tournaments before vanishing from the poker world.

Adam Kornuth is the Brother of Chance Kornuth

Adam Kornuth lives in Atlanta, Georgia, but hails from Middlesex, Vermont. His surname should ring a bell because he is the brother of Chance Kornuth, a grinder with almost $8.1 million in winnings.

This Kornuth has not won nearly as much ($153,498), but his career only spanned 2009 to 2013. During that time, Kornuth secured a quintet of five-figure prizes before leaving the poker world to focus on his business. The biggest of those prizes weighed in at $43,076, which he received for a 12th place finish in a $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event in 2012.

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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