Sports
U.S. Poker Players Dominate Top 500 WSOP Earnings List
Growing up, James was fascinated with watching sports. This led to an interest in research and stats and writing betting analysis for a variety of sports. James has graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business.
All posts by James BoutrosUpdated19 Jun 2024
Sportscasting.com has gathered and analyzed official WSOP data to determine which countries have the best poker players in the world.
Key Highlights:
- U.S. poker players have won $1.12B in WSOP earnings, 13x more than the next-highest country
- Americans account for 68% of WSOP earnings; 69% of the Top 500 poker players
- Top American players average over 3M in WSOP earnings; $42,135.81 per cash
The World Series of Poker is a series of poker tournaments, which is held annually in Paradise Nevada.
It has been sponsored by Caesars Entertainment since 2004.
As of 2020, the WSOP consists of 101 events, with most major poker variants featured.
Heading into this year’s main event, Phil Hellmuth has the most bracelets with 17 while Antonio Esfandiari has the most earnings ever with over $22 million. Overall, U.S. poker players have dominated the WSOP earnings list, accounting for 69% of the money earned among the top 500 players.
Read on to see which countries and players perform well at the WSOP and the top 10 WSOP earnings.
USA has 13x more earnings than the next highest country
United States poker players have dominated the all-time WSOP earnings list.
Below is a chart of the top 10 countries at the WSOP
| Country | Count | Total Earnings | Total Cashes | Total Bracelets | Earnings Per Player | Cashes Per Player | Bracelets Per Player | Earnings Per Cash | % of Total Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA | 346 | 1,112,216,960 | 26396 | 667 | 3,214,499.88 | 76.29 | 1.93 | 42,135.81 | 68.46% |
| Germany | 18 | 83,322,422 | 778 | 26 | 4,629,023.44 | 43.22 | 1.44 | 107,098.23 | 5.13% |
| Canada | 20 | 79,321,777 | 1271 | 35 | 3,966,088.85 | 63.55 | 1.75 | 62,408.95 | 4.88% |
| UK | 20 | 56,622,416 | 957 | 29 | 2,831,120.80 | 47.85 | 1.45 | 59,166.58 | 3.49% |
| Australia | 8 | 29,422,480 | 340 | 17 | 3,677,810.00 | 42.50 | 2.13 | 86,536.71 | 1.81% |
| Sweden | 4 | 21,896,512 | 211 | 6 | 5,474,128.00 | 52.75 | 1.50 | 103,774.94 | 1.35% |
| France | 8 | 19,698,644 | 320 | 13 | 2,462,330.50 | 40.00 | 1.63 | 61,558.26 | 1.21% |
| Russia | 8 | 18,571,719 | 252 | 11 | 2,321,464.88 | 31.50 | 1.38 | 73,697.30 | 1.14% |
| Spain | 3 | 15,664,382 | 180 | 6 | 5,221,460.67 | 60.00 | 2.00 | 87,024.34 | 0.96% |
| Israel | 5 | 14,827,333 | 340 | 14 | 2,965,466.60 | 68.00 | 2.80 | 43,609.80 | 0.91% |
| Bulgaria | 5 | 13,872,057 | 256 | 7 | 2,774,411.40 | 51.20 | 1.40 | 54,187.72 | 0.85% |
| Norway | 2 | 13,484,438 | 51 | 3 | 6,742,219.00 | 25.50 | 1.50 | 264,400.75 | 0.83% |
| Czech Republic | 3 | 11,815,754 | 84 | 3 | 3,938,584.67 | 28.00 | 1.00 | 140,663.74 | 0.73% |
| Denmark | 2 | 10,734,537 | 5 | 2 | 5,367,268.50 | 2.50 | 1.00 | 2,146,907.40 | 0.66% |
| Brazil | 5 | 10,614,299 | 364 | 7 | 2,122,859.80 | 72.80 | 1.40 | 29,160.16 | 0.65% |
| Belgium | 4 | 10,443,698 | 168 | 9 | 2,610,924.50 | 42.00 | 2.25 | 62,164.87 | 0.64% |
| Argentina | 3 | 8,433,268 | 127 | 3 | 2,811,089.33 | 42.33 | 1.00 | 66,403.69 | 0.52% |
| Hong Kong | 3 | 8,053,672 | 135 | 5 | 2,684,557.33 | 45.00 | 1.67 | 59,656.83 | 0.50% |
| Austria | 3 | 7,216,680 | 59 | 4 | 2,405,560.00 | 19.67 | 1.33 | 122,316.61 | 0.44% |
| Malaysia | 2 | 6,977,413 | 11 | 2 | 3,488,706.50 | 5.50 | 1.00 | 634,310.27 | 0.43% |
| Belarus | 1 | 6,228,659 | 23 | 1 | 6,228,659.00 | 23.00 | 1.00 | 270,811.26 | 0.38% |
| Italy | 3 | 6,050,752 | 220 | 6 | 2,016,917.33 | 73.33 | 2.00 | 27,503.42 | 0.37% |
| Taiwan | 1 | 5,906,616 | 42 | 1 | 5,906,616.00 | 42.00 | 1.00 | 140,633.71 | 0.36% |
| Japan | 2 | 5,267,176 | 96 | 2 | 2,633,588.00 | 48.00 | 1.00 | 54,866.42 | 0.32% |
| Greece | 3 | 4,879,122 | 153 | 5 | 1,626,374.00 | 51.00 | 1.67 | 31,889.69 | 0.30% |
| Portugal | 1 | 4,170,473 | 124 | 2 | 4,170,473.00 | 124.00 | 2.00 | 33,632.85 | 0.26% |
| Latvia | 1 | 4,030,218 | 30 | 2 | 4,030,218.00 | 30.00 | 2.00 | 134,340.60 | 0.25% |
| Netherlands | 1 | 3,583,809 | 44 | 2 | 3,583,809.00 | 44.00 | 2.00 | 81,450.20 | 0.22% |
| Finland | 2 | 3,479,228 | 70 | 3 | 1,739,614.00 | 35.00 | 1.50 | 49,703.26 | 0.21% |
| Turkey | 1 | 2,673,907 | 11 | 1 | 2,673,907.00 | 11.00 | 1.00 | 243,082.45 | 0.16% |
| Lebanon | 1 | 2,628,312 | 16 | 3 | 2,628,312.00 | 16.00 | 3.00 | 164,269.50 | 0.16% |
| New Zealand | 1 | 2,611,433 | 10 | 2 | 2,611,433.00 | 10.00 | 2.00 | 261,143.30 | 0.16% |
| Moldova | 1 | 2,590,437 | 65 | 1 | 2,590,437.00 | 65.00 | 1.00 | 39,852.88 | 0.16% |
| Ireland | 1 | 2,480,694 | 45 | 1 | 2,480,694.00 | 45.00 | 1.00 | 55,126.53 | 0.15% |
| Hungary | 1 | 2,451,803 | 54 | 3 | 2,451,803.00 | 54.00 | 3.00 | 45,403.76 | 0.15% |
| Costa Rica | 1 | 2,402,246 | 101 | 2 | 2,402,246.00 | 101.00 | 2.00 | 23,784.61 | 0.15% |
| Vietnam | 1 | 1,855,691 | 60 | 3 | 1,855,691.00 | 60.00 | 3.00 | 30,928.18 | 0.11% |
| Ukraine | 1 | 1,735,183 | 46 | 1 | 1,735,183.00 | 46.00 | 1.00 | 37,721.37 | 0.11% |
| Iran | 1 | 1,600,760 | 10 | 3 | 1,600,760.00 | 10.00 | 3.00 | 160,076.00 | 0.10% |
| China | 1 | 1,594,179 | 9 | 1 | 1,594,179.00 | 9.00 | 1.00 | 177,131.00 | 0.10% |
| Belize | 1 | 1,578,699 | 17 | 0 | 1,578,699.00 | 17.00 | 0.00 | 92,864.65 | 0.10% |
| Romania | 1 | 1,522,289 | 41 | 2 | 1,522,289.00 | 41.00 | 2.00 | 37,129.00 | 0.09% |
| Total | 500 | 1,624,532,147 | 33592 | 916 | 131,371,475.99 | 1815.49 | 68.71 | 6,500,527.60 | 100.00% |
United States players have earned 13.348 times more than players from Germany, who rank second on the list.
The US players have 4.664 times more bracelets than the countries ranked 2-10 in the total earnings section combined.
With earnings of $1,112,216,960 and total bracelets of 667, U.S. poker players dominate over other countries.
Americans account for 69% of the Top 500 poker players, 68% of WSOP Earnings
With a whopping 346 players on the list, Americans account for 69% of the top 500 highest-earning poker players.
No other countries have more than 20 players in the top 500. Canada and U.K. are next on the list with 20 players in the top 500, followed by Germany (18), Australia (8), France (8), and Russia (8).
That means that the U.S. has 1630% more players in the top 500 than the next-highest country.
Overall, six of the top 10 ranked poker players with the most earnings are American but their dominance doesn’t stop there. As stated in the chart above, U.S. poker players account for 68.46% of total earnings. The next closest country is Germany, at just 5.13%.
No country comes remotely close to the earnings of U.S. born players.
Top American players average over 3M in WSOP earnings; $42,135.81 per cash
American poker players average over $3M in WSOP earnings and $42,135.71 per cash.
Antonio Esfandiari has three bracelets, 51 cashes, and earnings of $22,365,691.
He leads all players in earnings but does not lead in bracelets or cashes, so when he wins, he has won big.
Canadian Daniel Negreanu leads poker players in cashes, with 252 cashes, and is second with $22,117,469 in earnings. He has six bracelets.
American Phil Hellmuth leads all poker players with 17 bracelets.
Hellmuth has 204 cashes and $17,904,130 in earnings.
Despite Negreanu having 4.94 times more cashes and Hellmuth having 5.67 times more bracelets than Esfandiari, Esfandiari still has more total earnings than both poker players.
Top 10 WSOP Earnings
Below is a chart of the top 10 WSOP earnings.
| Rank | Nationality | Name | Bracelets | Rings | Cashes | Earnings ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USA | Antonio Esfandiari | 3 | 1 | 51 | 22,365,691 |
| 2 | Canada | Daniel Negreanu | 6 | 1 | 252 | 22,117,469 |
| 3 | USA | Phil Hellmuth | 17 | 0 | 204 | 17,904,130 |
| 4 | USA | Dan Colman | 1 | 0 | 10 | 17,413,782 |
| 5 | USA | Justin Bonomo | 3 | 1 | 69 | 16,281,907 |
| 6 | Canada | Jonathan Duhamel | 3 | 0 | 46 | 14,666,297 |
| 7 | USA | Daniel Weinman | 2 | 1 | 87 | 14,230,320 |
| 8 | USA | Joe Cada | 4 | 1 | 69 | 13,980,032 |
| 9 | Germany | Fedor Holz | 2 | 0 | 20 | 13,384,834 |
| 10 | Germany | Koray Aldemir | 1 | 0 | 69 | 13,161,049 |
Six of the top 10 WSOP earners are American.
The other four spots are occupied by two Canadians and two players from Germany.
Despite seven players on the list having more cashes than Antonio Esfandiari, he still tops the earnings list.
Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth are the only two on the top 10 list with over 200 cashes. Esfandiari and Negreanu are the only two players that have earnings over $20 million.
Despite Hellmuth having four times more cashes than Esfandiari, Hellmuth has earned $4,461,561 less than Esfandiari. However, Hellmuth is the only player in the top 10 to have double-digit bracelets.
Dan Colman and Koray Aldemir are the only two players on the top 10 earnings list with just one bracelet. Colman has just 10 cashes, which is two times less than Fedor Holz, who has the second-fewest cashes on the list.
