Poker pro w/ most business savvy

[Ulysses]

This is specifically regarding people who are primarily known for being poker professionals.

I think it's a tossup between Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth, with Daniel having the slight edge.

[BigBiceps]

Hellmuth is a tournament player mainly with alot of business savvy. He can probably earn more with business than poker.

Negreanu is a tournament player AND a cash game player with business savvy as well, but can probably earn more with poker than business.

I think Mike Sexton and Lee Jones edge them both out due to their deals with WPT/Party and Stars.

[etizzle]

Lee jones

[astroglide]

hellmuth more or less backed into it though. negreanu's success is intentionally manufactured.

wouldn't somebody like, say, jerry bus blow both of these guys away?

[kenberman]

Sexton kinda lucked out into his success. Although, I guess he's good at what he does (good being = what Joe 6 Pack likes).

Howard Lederer recently became the first pro to sign a non-poker deal, endorsing Knob Creek.

I think Mr. David Sklansky and Mr. Mason Malmuth sell a lot of books, making them some pretty good dough. How much, I dunno.

Negreanu's first online site sponsorship failed miserably; we'll see how his new site goes. My guess is that it will do well, b/c he is good on camera and fanboys love him.

I would say the leaders are the guys with significant equity shares in Full Tilt. Ivey/Ferguson/Harmon etc. Again, I don't know what shares they have, but I think these will end up being worth a pile of dough.

Marcel Luske has a ton of side deals, but I can't speak to the success of any of them.

Bottom line: I think shares in online poker sites will ultimately prove to be the most lucrative non-playing deals for these guys.

Quick response and most obvious are Negreanu and Hellmuth. Who knows how much some of the others really make when it all comes down to it. Any clue what Lee Jones makes from Stars? I always wondered about that...it's got to be one of the best jobs in poker.

[lapoker17]

It seems you are talking in the area of "making themselves marketable" and the like, but Todd Brunson has proven to be a good investor. Phil Laak has varied outside interests as well - He once told me he is a slum-lord.

[Ulysses]

BB, ET: Sexton/Jones would not qualify based on what I am thinking of here. I am thinking of guys who continue to present themselves, image-wise, as being professional poker players as their main livelihood.

astro: Jerry Buss and many other businesspeople who play poker, but I'm not talking about those guys. Also, there are some like Bobby Baldwin who were poker players who then moved into big business. But I'm talking about guys who market/present themselves as "pro poker players" and take advantage of that in other business ways.

KB4: Yes, equity in a successful online poker site is pure gold.

[ggbman]

I would tend to agree. While i respect the accomplishments that both of these players have both inside and outside the poker world, i always find it comical when they houst over who is the "hardest working man in poker" If i could endorse some BS products or get paid stupid sums to do guest appearances, i would do it in a heartbeat. Both these guys are obviously extremely intelligent, although i wouldn't give the "hardest working" title to either of them.

[Ulysses]

la,

Those definitely qualify and are largely what I am curious about - which poker pros are really smart at making tons of money, either leveraging their marketabilty or their bankrolls.