The World Series of Poker is already in full swing with the 2019 edition highlighting some of the hottest talent on the planet, and there aren’t many out there who have had such a successful career as Daniel Negreanu. The Canadian national is one of the most recognisable names on the poker circuit and will be looking to make his mark in Las Vegas over the next two months, with a third Player of the Year title high on the agenda.
Negreanu may have missed out on a seventh WSOP bracelet in the $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty Final in his first event of the tournament, finishing sixth with Brian Green clinching top spot and a prestigious bracelet. 44-year-old Negreanu is expected to be one of the top earners in Vegas but let’s take a look at his career to date. Before we do, you can win instant cash prizes right now with a range of poker tournaments ready to play: https://poker.paddypower.com/tournaments/.
Poker fanatic
Negreanu demonstrated his passion to make a success of himself from a very young age, often citing a dream where he believed he would be rich which has certainly come to fruition. That particular dream wasn’t about making the big time playing professional poker, but his natural ability with maths and passion for gambling came to surface in his late teens.
He would often be found in pool halls in North York and other divisions of Toronto, trying to enhance his skills playing card games and generally trying to hustle from other players. By the age of 22, Negreanu tried fulfilling his ambitions of playing poker professionally and travelled to Vegas in hope of making it to the big time.
Although he wasn’t successful in his quest, having to return to Toronto with no money, Negreanu never gave up on his dream and managed to generate a new bankroll which would eventually set him on his way to poker stardom.
Poker career
It took Negreanu three years before he was ready for another crack at making it as a professional poker player, and he certainly wasn’t going to fall short again. In 1998, he won his first WSOP bracelet and was the youngest person to do so at the time, which earned him the nickname ‘kidpoker’.
Now a recognised face on the circuit, Negreanu went on to compete in a number of tournaments and picked up a number of admirers along the way. There are quite literally too many accomplishments of Negreanu’s to list, but his most notable wins include: six WSOP bracelets (1998, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2013A & 2013E), two World Poker Tour Titles (both 2004), one Spring Championship of Online Poker Titles (2013) and one World Championship of Online Poker Titles (2016).
Other notable wins and accolades include three tournament wins in 1997, which in essence saw his popularity rise prior to his first WSOP bracelet a year later, the British Columbia Poker Championship main event (2008) and the Shark Cage tournament in 2016, in which he won $1 million.
Other ventures and career earnings
Those of you who are familiar with Negreanu will know that he is no stranger to TV appearances, alongside a variety of other poker-related activities which include ambassadorial roles, providing commentary on poker events and even writing his own book called Power Hold’em Strategy.
His TV appearances are vast and include roles in Rob and Amber: Against the Odds, Mr D and Tilt. He has played himself in a number of films such as X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Grand and Lucky You. He has even appeared in a Katy Perry music video (Waking Up in Vegas) and he is no stranger to online poker sponsorship.
In May 2019, Negreanu parted ways with PokerStars after 12 years of service and was also the spokesperson for Poker Mountain in 2005. Unsurprisingly, Negreanu is one of the highest earning poker players in history and is actually in second position currently. Reports suggest that Negreanu has picked up just shy of $39 million over the last two decades and his biggest single win came in 2008, where he cashed $8.2 million in the 2014 World Series of Poker.
