It’s been an arduous trek…but we have reached the end!
In the world of poker, there is only one scoreboard that matters – how much money have you won? With this fact in mind (and as the 2025 World Series of Poker reaches its climax), Poker News Daily has headed over to The Hendon Mob poker database with a critical question: Who are the all-time money leaders by state? In our previous segments, we covered forty-three states and the District of Columbia (alphabetically), so let’s keep it going with a state that has the title of the birthplace of Hold’em – Texas.
Texas
You would think that the state of Texas would be replete with the “old school” poker players. The actual truth is that, with the rise in prize pools for tournament poker, very few of the legends of the game who called the Lone Star State home are found in the Top Ten. In the Top Three, that becomes even more evident.
He originally came from Fort Worth, but he now calls Vancouver, British Columbia, his home base. It does not change the fact that Ben Tollerene snags the top slot for the state, and in a rather dominant fashion. It took last year’s WSOP win by Jonathan Tamayo to get into the Top Three on this list (before last year, you wouldn’t have found Tamayo even in the running). The final name on the list is the surprising one.
Some guy by the name of Thomas John – oh, yeah, THAT’S T.J. – Cloutier carries the banner for the “old school” as the third person over eight-figures in career earnings for Texas (there are only four – Doug Polk is the final one). And, in a nod to a legend, former back-to-back World Champion Doyle Brunson STILL rules on the Top Ten, holding down the eighth slot on the board. Here are the top three all-time money leaders from the state of Texas:
1. Ben Tollerene (Fort Worth, TX), $31,066,702
2. Jonathan Tamayo (Humble, TX), $12,519,278
3. T.J. Cloutier (Richardson, TX), $10,542,266
Utah
The state of Utah may not allow for online poker play, but that does not mean there aren’t a few players who have entered a casino in their lives! Leading the way for Utah in a reasonably close race is Jared Griener, who has demonstrated what a “grinder” really means. Of his 281 cashes in his career, only six of them have been for six figures, meaning there is a LOT of four- and five-figure cashes on his resume.
Coming behind Griener is a former World Poker Tour champion, Frank Stepuchin, who took down the WPT Gardens Poker Championship in 2019 for his most impressive score. He has got to watch out for Jacob Powers, however, who is only $350K behind him on the list. Here are the top three all-time money leaders from the state of Utah:
1. Jared Griener (Provo, UT), $3,086,040
2. Frank Stepuchin (Park City, UT), $1,487,025
3. Jacob Powers (Brigham City, UT), $1,130,484
Vermont
We go from one side of the country to the other for our next stop, the state of Vermont. Here we will find a long-lost name in the annals of poker history along with some players whom many have not heard of before.
Taking the top slot in Vermont is Steve Landfish, who hasn’t had a Hendon Mob cash since 2013. Behind him is one of the great mysteries in poker’s long history, that of former World Champion Hal Fowler. Fowler won poker’s World Championship in 1979 – and only cashed in three more events after that. It makes for an interesting top three all-time money leaders from the state of Vermont:
1. Steve Landfish (St. Albans, VT), $834,037
2. Hal Fowler, $383,500
3. Bradley Myers (Esses, VT), $378,225
Virginia
The top three for the state of Virginia are not even close, except maybe between third and fourth places. At the top of the heap, and someone who might just chisel his name in granite in that position, is Justin Bonomo, who has racked up over $65 million in his career. No other player on the Virginia list is even in eight figures.
The #2 slot is held down by a player who hasn’t cashed since 2022. John Patgorski won the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in London in 2019 for over five million dollars, then did what most people would do – seemingly retiring from poker. Only a cash in 2022 disrupts that plan for Patgorski. John Myung has had a decent tournament poker career to take the #3 slot on the board, but he has got a lot of work to do to catch Patgorski – Bonomo may be out of the question! Here are the top three all-time money leaders from the state of Virginia:
1. Justin Bonomo (Fairfax, VA), $65,611,097
2. John Patgorski (Chesapeake, VA), $7,832,693
3. John Myung (Vienna, VA), $2,878,173
Washington
Washington is arguably one of the most competitive states in this segment, simply because every person in the Top Ten is over $3.5 million in career earnings. You would expect some names like Matt Affleck, Dylan Wilkerson, or Lee Markholt to be atop the standings, but none of them even make the Top Three. The player at the top? Scott Clements holds that honor.
Clements has earned over eight million dollars in his tournament poker career, rather good for someone who concentrates on the mixed-game format. In 2023, Adam Watson was a part of the podium at the WSOP Main Event, falling in third place for $4 million, which makes up a significant part of his score. Another notable name still out there grinding, Brandon Cantu, rounds out our top three all-time money leaders from the state of Washington:
1. Scott Clements (Lynden, WA), $8,268,141
2. Adam Walton (Seattle, WA), $5,401,048
3. Brandon Cantu (Vancouver, WA), $5,004,446
West Virginia
We have got another $60 Million Man atop the board for the state of West Virginia, none other than Jason Koon. Koon, who picked up his second WSOP bracelet in June, lords over the paupers in the standings for the state. After Koon, there are only two other players who have eclipsed the million-dollar mark on the board – Taylor Wilson and Steve Merrifield. When Bonomo is done with that chisel, he might want to pass it over to Koon as here are the top three all-time money leaders from the state of West Virginia:
1. Jason Koon (Weston, WV), $66,082,382
2. Taylor Wilson (Wheeling, WV), $2,830,395
3. Steve Merrifield (Fairmont, WV), $1,395,437
Wisconsin
OK…we all know who the top player is in all-time earnings from the Badger State. We ought to be surprised that he doesn’t remind everyone of this fact, just like his seventeen WSOP bracelets and being the only man to win both the WSOP Las Vegas Main Event and the WSOP Europe Main Event. Yes, we are speaking of Phil Hellmuth, who dwarfs everyone else on the list from Wisconsin.
It isn’t from a lack of effort. Joe Kuether has what would be considered a fine career with his nearly eight million in career earnings, while Josh Reichard is having to fight off WPT announcer Tony Dunst for the third-place spot on the board. It should be interesting to watch these positions fight it out over the coming years for the top three all-time money leaders from the state of Wisconsin:
1. Phil Hellmuth (Madison, WI), $30,726,018
2. Joe Kuether (Elm Grove, WI), $7,830,136
3. Josh Reichard (Janesville, WI), $5,727,153
Wyoming
There is only one player who has cracked the million-dollar mark in the state of Wyoming, and it is another grinder on the felt. Richard Dixon has racked up 192 cashes in his lifetime, but only one of those cashes has been for a six-figure score. Dixon is comfortably ahead of the pack in pursuit, unless they win a big event. In second place is Jeff Heiberg, another player who has triple-digit cashes but none of them over $100,000. Along with Michael Harris, this list could see some quick changes should a Cowboy from Wyoming hit it big and crack into the top three all-time money leaders from the state of Wyoming:
1. Richard Dixon (Cheyenne, WY), $1,255,330
2. Jeff Heiberg (Buffalo, WY), $623,975
3. Michael Harris (Newcastle, WY), $367,403
With that, we have concluded our run through the top players in each state as of 2025. Maybe in a few years we can look back and see how these lists have changed. In some cases, however, it is going to take a LOT to knock the state’s all-time leader off their perch!
The post Who’s the Best? The All-Time Money Leaders in Poker by State, Part Nine appeared first on Poker News Daily.
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