Discover New York Poker: Events, Venues, and Laws

New York City, evidently located in the state of New York, is one of the biggest commercial centers in the United States – and even the world.

In a vibrant environment like that, the gambling industry must be booming, right? Sadly, the answer to that is: not particularly. Section 225 of the New York State Penal Law, among others, prohibits owning gambling apparatus or keeping gambling records – in short, it makes running a gambling business illegal.

Additional legislation later legalized and regulated the state lottery and horse race betting. Unfortunately, poker – along with other popular games of chance – has been left out. Most casinos operating within New York State are allowed to do so because of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act passed in 1988. That federal law allows Native American tribes to decide whether or not they allow casinos to run on their reservations.

A 2013 amendment allowed for 7 non-tribal casinos to gain licences in the state. Out of those 7, 4 have opened already.

New York City is the setting for one of the most famous pieces of poker fiction. The 1998 movie Rounders tells the story of a poker prodigy Mike McDermott, played by Matt Damon, fighting his way through the underground NYC card room scene. This film was directed by John Dahl, but the idea was conceived by the pair of screenwriters, David Levien and Brian Koppelman. While it never became a blockbuster success, it is cherished by many in the poker community.

Famous New Yorker Poker Players

New York has given the world some of the most successful poker players in the history of the game.

Stu Ungar is a truly legendary figure in poker. As a child, he used to play gin rummy for the mob. In 1980, he won the biggest title in poker, the WSOP Main Event, even though it was only the second No Limit Hold’em tournament he’d ever played in. In 1981, he defended his title. In 1997, after a long battle with his drug addiction, he came back and won the Main for the third time. On top of all that, he won the Main Event at Amarillo Slim’s Super Bowl of Poker, the second biggest poker tournament series in the 1970’s and 1980’s, three times as well.

Bryn Kenney from Long Beach, NY is the biggest live tournament winner of all time. He’s cashed for $56.4 million in his career. He also holds the record for the most money ever won in a poker tournament. While he finished second in the biggest buy-in poker tournament in poker history, the £1,050,000 Triton Million in London, he actually got more money than the winner Aaron Zang thanks to the heads-up deal he made. Kenney won a whopping £16.891 million, $20.563 million in US dollars that day in August 2019.

Shaun Deeb grew up in Schenectady, NY close to the casino which is now known as Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady. He naturally developed a liking for card games and gambling at an early age. He went on to become a 4-time WSOP gold bracelet winner. Also, he won the WSOP Player of the Year award in 2018. Overall, Deeb has $7.714 million in live tournament winnings.

8-time WSOP gold bracelet winner and 1988 WSOP Main Event runner-up finisher Erik Seidel was also born in New York.