Millionaire Pool Players

TheOne

TheOne

www.MetroPool.club
Silver Member
With the recent release of various rich lists I was wondering what a pool player rich list would look like if anyone ever did one. I'm talking about ANY pool player in the history of the game, and ONLY their pool related earnings (including prize money, sponsorships etc). Anyone want to have a shot at a top ten with approx figures (guesstimates of course :)

Also given Efren's recent success, does anyone think he's won a Million Dollars from pool, if so is he the only one? I know Earl didn't get the full Million from the 10 racks thing but I imagine he would be close given his amazing list of career titles.
 
Besides Babalou and snooker players, I dunno.
Jimmy Mendoza maybe.
He owns several casino and adult sites. lol
Busta and Efren aren't doing too bad I guess.
How much has Allison won this year?
Factor in her Cuetec and other endorsement, she might be around 70% of Jeannete Lee's income. I think J Lee makes the most moolah.
 
TheOne said:
With the recent release of various rich lists I was wondering what a pool player rich list would look like if anyone ever did one. I'm talking about ANY pool player in the history of the game, and ONLY their pool related earnings (including prize money, sponsorships etc). Anyone want to have a shot at a top ten with approx figures (guesstimates of course :)

Also given Efren's recent success, does anyone think he's won a Million Dollars from pool, if so is he the only one? I know Earl didn't get the full Million from the 10 racks thing but I imagine he would be close given his amazing list of career titles.
Click to expand...


I assume you mean legitimate earnings, meaning honest taxable dollars earned from tournaments and such. I would guess that Jeanette Lee or Earl Strickland has made the most, I doubt that they're millionaires but they do nicely. Earl, in addition to all the tournaments he's won has been earning a salary from Cuetec Cues for years...I've heard between $50,000 and $100,000 a year. Not to mention the undisclosed amount he got for running 11 racks, I know he didn't get a million but surely more than $100,000.

Now if you want to talk about gambling winnings, I have it on good authority that the great Luther Lassiter and his backer made over a million in the 40's and 50's traveling around the country.


.
 
Many of the mens players lose a lot of their winnings. Efren supports half the people in his country with his winnings. So I'd guess either a mens snooker player or Jeanette,Allison,Ewa or Loree Jon depending on how smartly they invested their winnings.

Terry
 
Earl won a million from that million dollar challenge for running 11 racks in a row in a championship match. I think the promoter reneged on the deal and Earl only got a part of it.

I read where Steve Davis was the highest paid athlete about 10 years ago when he earned about 6 million pounds in one year playing snooker.

Can't prove any of this as real fact but I think the numbers are close.
 
Hd

JoeyInCali said:
Besides Babalou and snooker players, I dunno.
Jimmy Mendoza maybe.
He owns several casino and adult sites. lol
Busta and Efren aren't doing too bad I guess.
How much has Allison won this year?
Factor in her Cuetec and other endorsement, she might be around 70% of Jeannete Lee's income. I think J Lee makes the most moolah.
Click to expand...

Joey,

What Babalou are you talking about? Not the one at hardtimes bellflower right.

Mack
 
no way

TheBook said:
Earl won a million from that million dollar challenge for running 11 racks in a row in a championship match. I think the promoter reneged on the deal and Earl only got a part of it.

I read where Steve Davis was the highest paid athlete about 10 years ago when he earned about 6 million pounds in one year playing snooker.

Can't prove any of this as real fact but I think the numbers are close.
Click to expand...
Book your way of base. The promoter did not reneged on the deal. The deal was insured, and the insurance company made a settlement with Earl.How much who knows, besides it's none of our business.
blud
 
blud said:
Book your way of base. The promoter did not reneged on the deal. The deal was insured, and the insurance company made a settlement with Earl.How much who knows, besides it's none of our business.
blud
Click to expand...
The promoter was CJ Wiley, wun't it?
CJ paid Earl's first installment after the insurance company balked.
Later settled out of court.
 
TheOne said:
With the recent release of various rich lists I was wondering what a pool player rich list would look like if anyone ever did one. I'm talking about ANY pool player in the history of the game, and ONLY their pool related earnings (including prize money, sponsorships etc). Anyone want to have a shot at a top ten with approx figures (guesstimates of course :)

Also given Efren's recent success, does anyone think he's won a Million Dollars from pool, if so is he the only one? I know Earl didn't get the full Million from the 10 racks thing but I imagine he would be close given his amazing list of career titles.
Click to expand...


As far as I know Efren Reyes and perhaps Earl Strickland are the only two who ever made a Million dollars in their pool playing careers. I’m not including snooker players in these statistics.


According to that statistics kept at AZ (see two links below) Efren Reyes has made a grand total of $1,091,763. Not included in this amount is the recent $200,000 from “The King of the Hill” IPT 8 ball event, nor the $100,000 pay check he picked up from beating Earl in “The Hong Kong Challenge.”Add those lucrative paydays and Efren has made at least 1,391,763.That stats kept at AZ(second link) only show first place money for winning a title and no runner up prize money stats are recorded from 1985-89.No stats were listed from 1989-93 inclusive.

Add to this total sponsorship fee, gambling wins etc etc and Efren has done quite well. Outside of the world of Snooker, Efren has probably made more dollars than anyone in cue sports.


http://www.azbilliards.com/thepros/2000showplayer2005.cfm?playernum=228

http://www.azbilliards.com/thepros/showtitles.cfm?playernum=228



Since 1983 Earl Strickland has made $463,238.00 according to the prize money stats listed at AZ Billiards. He also won 17 titles (1987-1992) of which no prize money statistics were listed. Factor in whatever he got paid for running 11 racks, his sponsorship money from Cuetec, his gambling wins, his money from teaching lessons and other assorted earnings, Earl has probably made a million from playing pool.

http://www.azbilliards.com/thepros/2000showplayer2005.cfm?playernum=363


http://www.azbilliards.com/thepros/showtitles.cfm?playernum=363


According to the stats at AZ Allison Fisher has made $453,066.
Not included in this are sponsorship payouts from Cuetec cues, Snooker winnings, gambling lessons, etc etc.

RJ
 
TheOne said:
With the recent release of various rich lists I was wondering what a pool player rich list would look like if anyone ever did one. I'm talking about ANY pool player in the history of the game, and ONLY their pool related earnings (including prize money, sponsorships etc).
Click to expand...

If we are talking pool related earnings then how about Dick Lane. Great pool player with even a better mind for the business of pool.
 
the question ought to be....how many players on here are millionaires. "maybe" i can put my name on top of this list. and no i don't gamble at all.........mike
 
Some of these guys may have made over a million in winnings...But over the amount of time it took there is no way they are millionares...
 
There are a couple of posters on here that have probably been through more $ than most of us will earn in a lifetime. Gambling coupons.
 
I thought ...

I read somewhere that Nick Varner was the first
Pool Player to make a million dollars.
 
I have interviewed most players.....

There may be a millionaire out there but I doubt it.

I have interviewed most if not all household names out there and by and large the players are pretty much broke.

No retirement, even those who had endorsements. Trust me those endorsements are slim at best. For example, if a production cuemaker was your sponser, he might give you a few cues. You would have to sell them for whatever you could. It seldom was cash and if it was it was in small amounts.

I am thinking of a Hall of Fame player who still plays, a great guy, and basically is broke.

I spoke to Ray Martin in Florida about it. He lives in a modest home near Clearwater. He considers himself very fortunate and better off than most.

It really is a shame.

Ken
 
Not what was asked for but I'll post it anyway. Since the golden age in snooker seems to be gone at the moment maybe the poolplayers will take over this list :-D

Top 21 career earnings (prizemoney only, up to and including WC2005)

(x1.000.000)
1 Stephen Hendry $14,1
2 Steve Davis $9,3
3 Jimmy White $7,9
4 Ronnie O'Sullivan $8
5 John Higgins $6,6
6 Mark Williams $6,1
7 Ken Doherty $5,5
8 John Parrott $5,4
9 Peter Ebdon $4,1
10 Alan McManus $3,6
11 James Wattana $3,1
12 Matthew Stevens $3
13 Dennis Taylor $2,6
14 Paul Hunter $2,6
15 Stephen Lee $2,5
16 Terry Griffiths $2,4
17 Nigel Bond $2,1
18 Neal Foulds $2,6
19 Willie Thorne $2
20 Cliff Thorburn $1,9
21 Tony Drago $1,8
 
Pool players who have made a million playing pool have to be just a handful. The millionaires who made their money in pool related business are easier to name. Mizerak should be considered if you include the money made on pool related business like cue sticks. The owners of Predator have done well. The marketing of their 314 shaft was quite an accomplishment.
 
There have been no doubt a few players that have made a million dollars just from playing pool. Luther Lassiter is one of them. There are probably several more that no one has ever heard about. The problem seems to be that people are only thinking of todays players. Back when pool was pool and great hustlers roamed the country, big money was bet on pool nonstop. Nothing like it is today.
 
Pool Players Only

lots of good replies, from what I can tell the following are probably the top earners and have probably won a million dollars from pool:

Efren Reyes
Earl Strickland
Luther Lassiter
Allison Fisher
Janette Lee

I would include money won gambling but only the net gain, obviously you have to include losses too. Did Lassiter really win a net gain of 1 million dollars+ all those years ago? If he did that's amazing.

Anyone else I've missed, anyone else think Varner has?
 
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