Which U.S. State Has Produced the Best Tournament Poker Talent?
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There are skilled tournament poker pros everywhere from the Pacific to the Atlantic, in all U.S. states (even Nebraska, surprisingly). But there's one state that has produced the largest quantity of superstars, and it might surprise you a bit.
Determining which state tops the charts is based on a few factors, mostly using The Hendon Mob results, and also taking into consideration World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and other major tournament victories.
Only one state has at least 10 players who've reached $10 million in lifetime cashes. This same state's top 10 earners include five of the top 10 high rollers in the world today, two Poker Hall of Famers, and at least six others who will likely one day reach the PHOF.
Editor's Note: Player home states are based on their Hendon Mob profile, not where they currently reside. For example, Daniel Negreanu, a Canadian, is not included among the Nevada pros despite having lived in Las Vegas for decades. The Hendon Mob only lists cashes and doesn't include overall profits and losses. As such, it is impossible to avoid some subjectivity, but Hendon's rankings serve as a useful tool.
Close But No Cigar
The biggest states, such as California and Florida, tend to produce more talent than others. One exception to that rule is Nevada, of course, given that the Silver State is home to Las Vegas, the de facto gambling capital of the U.S.
But Nevada, home to the WSOP and most of the biggest high roller tournaments in the U.S., is the runner-up. There are nine Nevadans with over $10 million in The Hendon Mob cashes, led by Dan Smith, who is seventh all time with just over $60 million in cashes.
Smith has an almost insurmountable lead over the competition, with six-time WSOP bracelet winner Jeremy Ausmus in second place, posting $27.9 million in earnings. Many other tournament legends reside in Nevada (or previously did), including Antonio Esfandiari, Scotty Nguyen, Allen Cunningham, Mike Matusow, and Ted Forrest, just to name a few.
Nevada isn't the only state with a strong case as the best in the country. You can add Florida, Texas, California, and New Jersey to the list of states that have produced a plethora of superstars and Hall of Famers.
California certainly has an argument to be considered the deepest state for tournament poker. Legends of the game, such as Barry Greenstein, Brian Rast, Johnny Chan, and Chris Ferguson hail from the Golden State. Those four players alone have combined for 26 WSOP bracelets and one WSOP Main Event title (Ferguson in 2000).
But there isn't a player from California who has cracked $30 million in tournament cashes, and Rast is the only pro from the state who would be considered among the top 10-15 tournament performers over the past decade.
Texas doesn't have the depth you might expect from a state with over 31 million residents. Doug Polk checks in fourth in Texas tournament poker history with $10.5 million in cashes, and he isn't much of a tournament player, and probably shouldn't even be considered a Texan, given he's only lived there for a few years.
New Jersey has Phil Ivey, arguably the greatest poker player of all time. But there's a significant drop off after Ivey, although there are plenty of other crushers from NJ.
And the Winner Is...
We've buried this long enough, and now it's time to reveal the answer to the question — which state has produced the best tournament poker talent? New York. That's the answer.
New York is home to the Yankees, Broadway, Buffalo wings, excessive butt dialing (seriously, look it up), the Statue of Liberty, and the best tournament poker players in the world. Yes, the entire world.
Bryn Kenney, a Long Beach native, has racked up more cashes than anyone ever — $78,739,828. The high-stakes crusher is one of three New Yorkers with over $50 million in cashes, more than any state. Isaac Haxton ($60,648,098) and Alex Foxen ($53,359,046), both future Poker Hall of Famers, are widely considered among the top 10 tournament players in the world today.
Sitting in fourth place on New York's all-time list is poker legend Erik Seidel ($48,336,612), one of the most famous poker players ever. Seidel is tied with Ivey for second place with 11 WSOP bracelets.
Right behind the 1988 WSOP Main Event runner-up is Scott Seiver, who likely won't be waiting much longer to get the Poker Hall of Fame call. Seiver, also a respected high-stakes cash game grinder, has seven WSOP bracelets and won the 2024 WSOP Player of the Year award. He finished second to Rast in 2015 at the $500,000 buy-in Super High Roller Bowl, a career-best $5,160,000 score.
New York's tournament talent doesn't stop there. Jesse Lonis, perhaps the top high-stakes tournament pro in the world right now, has already racked up $26,358,441 in cashes at age 30. And then there's 2025 Poker Hall of Fame inductee Nick Schulman ($24,778,414), poker legend Andrew Lichtenberger ($23,668,035), eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Shaun Deeb ($17,345,739), and high roller Dan Shak ($14,365,203).
Here's the current top 10 cashes leaderboard for New York:
The Empire State owns many of the biggest winners ever and has plenty of depth. No other state can match New York's combination of quality and quantity. The top 10 earners in the state have accumulated an average of 4.1 WSOP gold bracelets.
New York has 13 players with over $10 million in cashes, and Olivier Busquet, Joey Weissman, and Jared Bleznick are all less than $1 million away from joining that group.
