button in SafariNew York Poker Grinder Howard “Howie the Kid” Feingold Passes Away
The poker world received sad news that New York native Howard Feingold has passed away. Known as “Howie the Kid,” Feingold passed away after complications involving a heart condition.
Poker pro Kenna James, who served as a poker coach for Feingold, shared the news with PokerNews.
“He was a polarizing figure that had a vivacious personality and presence that would not be denied,” said James. “Howard carried faith, family, friendship, gambling, poker, entertainment and business in his mind all at once — and he refused to pretend those things sat quietly beside each other. He played with the apparent contradictions instead of hiding from them. He’d argue both sides of himself and mean every word each time.”
According to James, Feingold donated his organs to those in need.
Feingold was a fixture in the New York poker scene for years. In a 2024 interview with poker journalist Paul Oresteen, he said, “I played poker every day from 1985 to 1990. I played in a Gotti room – Seven Card Stud with three bets per street, capped. They used to call me ‘Howard the Kid.’” “But back then I was a degenerate gambler,” he continued. “I could win $2-$3,000 playing poker in a night, and I’d turn around and lose it immediately on dice.”
He added: “I stopped playing for a while after I caught Amarillo Slim trying to cheat me in a game. I knew what he was doing, and I called him out. There was another old-school player there that everyone loves, but I won’t mention his name.”
Feingold stepped away from poker altogether for decades, even missing the Moneymaker Boom, but returned to the game after catching a tournament on TV. From there, he hit the ground running and started amassing tournament scores.
Feingold had $507,078 in lifetime tournament earnings dating back to 2018, according to The Hendon Mob. That included a career-high $33,440 for finishing 21st in the 2022 World Poker Tour (WPT) Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship.
“The major poker championship he chased eluded him only because he ran out of time,” said James. “Almost nothing else did. I suppose he had a bigger game to play. Howard was a special and dear friend. Unique in character and in quality. There was exactly one of him. I’ll miss him deeply. So will a lot of people who are only now realizing how much room he took up.”
Feingold’s funeral will be this Thursday at 11:30 a.m. at Riverside-Nassau North Chapel at 55 N. Station Plaza in Great Neck, NY. PokerNews offers its condolences to the friends and family of Howard Feingold.
