Bonomo becomes winningest poker player ever
- Justin Bonomo has now won more money playing poker tournaments than anyone else in history.
- The 32-year-old poker pro earned $10 million for winning the $1 million buy-in “Big One for One Drop” at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
Justin Bonomo has now won more money playing poker tournaments than anyone else in history.
The 32-year-old poker pro earned $10 million for winning the $1 million buy-in “Big One for One Drop” at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas Tuesday night.
The big win bumped his recorded lifetime winnings to nearly $43 million, moving him slightly ahead of Daniel Negreanu.
Bonomo has won $25 million so far in 2018. And it’s only July. He won $4.8 million at a high-roller tournament in Macau in March and another $5 million in another high-roller in Las Vegas in May. Tuesday’s win was his 16th six-figure cash win in 2018.
The player Bonomo defeated heads-up, Fedor Holz, comes away with a $6 million consolation prize. That vaults him into fourth place on the all-time money list with $32 million in winnings. And Holz is only 24 years old.
Poker fans, however, should consider these figures more like point totals on a scoreboard and not balances in a bank account.
These totals are only winnings. They don’t include the cost of the buy-in, or all the times pros play a tournament and don’t make the money.
Also, selling pieces is a common practice in poker, especially in the world of high-stakes tournaments. Players will sell part of the buy-in to investors in return for an equivalent cut of potential winnings.
No matter how much Bonomo actually gets to keep for himself, his latest victory turns what was already an incredible 2018 into the best year any poker player has ever had.