Justin Bonomo is widely regarded as one of the greatest poker players in history. The American has a staggering $65,611,094 in live earnings and ranks second in the all-time money list.
Bonomo’s first recorded winnings came in 2005, and he made the final table of EPT Deauville in the European Poker Tour during the same year. The 39-year-old earned his biggest cash of $10,000,000 at the $1,000,000 No Limit Hold’em The Big One for One Drop in 2018.
Bonomo’s other big cash prizes include $5,000,000 at the Super High Roller Bowl IV and $4,823,077 at the Super High Roller Bowl China. The American also won $449,980 and $185,965 in the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Six Handed and $10,000 Heads Up No Limit Hold’em Championship respectively.
The American has extensively played in the World Series of Poker and has made 19 final tables. Alongside his 55 caches in the tournament, he has won three bracelets and one circuit ring for $14,292,554 in winnings.
Bonomo’s last appearance as of January 2025 was at the Paradise festival in December last year, where he finished seventh in the $50 million guaranteed Super Main Event and won $ 1,300,000.
He was involved in a heated controversy with WSOP officials after being threatened with disqualification during the event over his keffiyeh.
Bonomo has shown support for Palestine since the start of the war in Gaza, and wrote afterward:
“@WSOP informed me that I will be disqualified from the tournament if I don’t take my Keffiyeh off. Pretty fucked that they’ll run charity tournaments for the IDF but won’t let me wear a scarf because it was made in Palestine.”
Justin Bonomo’s early life and family
Bonomo was born on September 30, 1985, in Fairfax, Virginia, and comes from a humble family background with his father having done ‘various computer and tech jobs over the years.’ While the information about his family members is not known to the public, Bonomo has claimed that his parents were supportive of him.
Justin Bonomo Education
After completing his high school education, Bonomo enrolled in a math degree at the University of Maryland but decided to leave soon after. The 39-year-old had begun to achieve impressive success in online poker and dropped out of the degree to turn professional.
Justin Bonomo’s other achievements
Justin Bonomo became the youngest ever EPT finalist in 2005 when he finished 4th at Deauville (France) for $40,815 at the age of 19. The American is a three-time WSOP bracelet winner and was the first player in history to exceed $60,000,000 in live prize money.
Edited by Ankush Das