Are some top player's broke?

[srblan]

I don't think that very many people make a living on the tourney circuit. I could be mistaken, but the variance would be much too high to try to live off of that income. One of the reasons that the top cash game players choose to play in tournaments is because of the overlay that they get. The internet satellites and supersatellites provide a ton of dead money in the WPT events, so they play because it is a good investment if they can manage to eek out a win.

[eMarkM]

Why do so many pro atheletes making millions of dollars a year eventually go broke and declare bankruptcy, they should be set for life. It's simple, they live beyond their means. If they make a million dollars and then spend it, they're broke. They blow it all on big houses, fancy cars, supporting their entourages and horrible investments that there's nothing left in savings. Same with many that have that gambling mentality that attracts them to poker. They make a big score and they blow it all. Look at what Matusow said at the WSOP. He was set for life a few years ago and he blew it all on partying.

[mojorisin24]

It's so true. Many athletes, particularly boxers, blow huge sums of money because they simply can't handle it. In poker, we get guys like Stu Ungar, Mike Matusow, etc. who are actually degenerate gamblers or drug-users that happen to be very good cardplayers (or in Ungar's case, the best ever). But once they succeed, they want more, and then they inevitably self-destruct.

[turnipmonster]

I think the worst investment many players make are buyins to additional tourneys. I'll bet your average tournament winner spends a hell of a lot more money on big buyin tourneys where theie EV may very well be negative, than on fast cars or coke.

--turnipmonster