The poker player Justin Bonomo.
Justin Bonomo is one of the world's top tournament poker players, with total winnings exceeding 43 million US dollars. When it comes to tournament prize money, he is the most successful poker professional of all time, currently leading the All Time Money List. In 2018, Justin Bonomo is ranked second on the Global Poker Index, right behind Stephen Chidwick from Britain.
Justin Bonomo was born in 1985 in Fairfax, Virginia, a state in the United States. From a young age, he developed an interest in cards and started playing the collectible card game "Magic: The Gathering" at the age of eight. At twelve, he began participating in tournaments all across the country. When he turned sixteen, a friend introduced him to the game of poker, and Justin Bonomo quickly grasped its fundamentals through a combination of playing games and online poker. Adopting the nickname "ZeeJustin," he specialized in No Limit Sit'n'Go tournaments. Through dedicated gameplay, he was able to make a living from poker winnings at an early stage. However, in 2006, he faced restrictions from PokerStars and Partypoker for simultaneously using multiple accounts.
| Land | Professional since | Favorite games | Bracelets | Highest profit | total profits | List of Overall Highest Earning Players (2023) | Global Poker Index (2023) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA | 2005 | No Limit Hold'em, high-stakes tournaments, Sit & Go | 3 | $10.000.000 | $43.120.589 | 1 | 2 |
| Hometown: | Fairfax, Virginia, USA |
| Interesting facts: | Recognized as one of the world's top tournament players, Justin Bonomo has amassed over $43 million in tournament earnings. He was able to support himself early on with his online poker winnings, going by the nickname "ZeeJustin". He faced temporary bans on PokerStars and Partypoker due to multiple accounts. Bonomo is an ambassador for the charity project "Raising for Effective Giving," which also involves Philipp Gruissem. He co-hosted a podcast on Pokerroad.com with Daniel Negreanu. Justin Bonomo currently resides in Vancouver, Canada. |
| Key moments in poker: | Justin Bonomo has achieved great success in the world of poker. With a total of 47 cashes and three bracelets at the WSOP, his poker skills are truly exceptional. He secured his first bracelet in 2014 at the No Limit Hold'em 6 Handed event, followed by another victory in 2018 at the Heads-Up No Limit Hold'em Championship. Additionally, he triumphed at the Big One for One Drop No Limit Hold'em tournament. Alongside these achievements, Bonomo has accumulated an impressive record of 22 tournament wins and total earnings of 43 million US dollars. Notably, in 2012, he emerged as the champion of the No Limit Hold'em Super High Roller 8 Max at the European Poker Tour in Monte Carlo. Another remarkable feat for him was winning the Super High Roller Bowl in Macau in March 2018, taking home a staggering 4.8 million US dollars. However, it was in May 2018, during the $300,000 No Limit Hold'em event at the Super High Roller Bowl in Las Vegas, that Bonomo had his highest individual cash of 10 million US dollars. His remarkable journey culminated on July 15, 2018, when he claimed his third bracelet, solidifying his status as one of the most accomplished poker players in the world. |
| Number of WSOP bracelets: | 3 |
| WPT/EPT Winnings: | $1.106.739 / $89.474 |
| Total tournament winnings: | $43.120.589 |
First experiences and winnings in live poker
At just 19 years old, Justin Bonomo managed to secure cash finishes in live tournaments. Participating in the World Poker Tour's No Limit Hold'em Main Event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventures in the Bahamas in January 2005, he earned approximately $15,000 with a 30th place finish. In February, Bonomo found himself at the final table of the European Poker Tour in Deauville, France, walking away with a prize of €31,500 for his impressive fourth place performance. This achievement cemented Bonomo as the youngest player to feature in a televised poker game.
By the end of 2011, Justin Bonomo had achieved two tournament victories, earning approximately three million US dollars through his participation in poker tournaments. In November 2008, he emerged victorious in the No Limit Hold'em event at the Dream Team Championship held in Las Vegas. The following year, in April, he secured a prize pool of 227,692 US dollars at a No Limit Hold'em Championship Event during the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Furthermore, during this period, he achieved notable cashes, such as finishing fifth and collecting 413,165 US dollars at the 40th anniversary event of the World Series of Poker on May 28, 2009, in Las Vegas. On May 18, 2011, at the Five Star World Poker Classic, Bonomo once again demonstrated his skills by finishing fifth in the Super High Roller Event and claiming a prize of 224,160 US dollars. In June, luck was on his side again at the World Series of Poker, where he secured second place and a prize of 117,307 US dollars in the $2,500 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw event in Las Vegas, just behind Lenny Martin.
Career and achievements as a Super High Roller
Justin Bonomo earned his first bracelet on June 2, 2014, in Las Vegas at the World Series of Poker's Six-Handed $1,400 No Limit Hold'em event. He walked away with $449,980 for securing the top spot. Prior to this triumph, the American was already renowned as a high roller. In April 2012, he scored two significant cashes at the European Poker Tour in Monte Carlo. The No Limit Hold'em Super High Roller 8 Max rewarded him with €1,640,000 for a first-place finish, while a fourth-place finish in the 8 Max High Roller added €266,000 to his bankroll. During the 2013 Poker Open in Hollywood, he claimed second place and $1,163,500 in the No Limit Hold'em Championship Event. In September 2017, Justin Bonomo participated in the inaugural Poker Masters. Although his winnings only secured him 12th place in the battle for the Poker Masters Purple Jacket, which went to Ireland's Steffen Sontheimer, his tournament earnings still amounted to an impressive $18 million by the end of 2017. Bonomo finished as the third-ranked Player of the Year in 2016, following behind David Peters and Fedor Holz. In 2016, Bonomo was a member of the London Royals team, which made it to the playoffs of the Global Poker League.
In 2018, Justin Bonomo experienced a stellar year, particularly in Las Vegas where he reaped the rewards of his poker expertise. On June 6th, 2018, Bonomo secured his second bracelet and a prize of $185,965 by triumphing in the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Heads-Up Championship at the World Series of Poker. Building on this success, Bonomo further excelled on July 15th when he boldly entered the Big One for One Drop tournament with a million-dollar buy-in. This WSOP event not only granted him his highest ever tournament earnings of ten million dollars but also earned him his third bracelet. Even before the year concluded, Justin Bonomo had amassed more than the entirety of 2018 in tournament winnings, a remarkable feat that eclipsed Daniel Colman's $22.3 million record from 2014 by a substantial margin.
Justin Bonomo's future remains bright with his top ranking on the All Time Money List and second place on the Global Poker Index. He continues to make a name for himself in the poker world. Additionally, Justin serves as an ambassador for the charitable initiative "Raising for Effective Giving," demonstrating his commitment to philanthropy and giving back to the community.
