Tommy Vedes

Total Winnings
$1,417,235

Born and raised in Queens, New York, Tommy Vedes got in his start in poker like many East Coast players do by logging hours at the low limit Hold’em tables in Atlantic City. As he bounced around from job to job, Vedes always had poker to help him pay the bills. He worked his way up the limits and eventually walked away from a career in the construction industry to try his luck in Nevada.

Vedes moved to Laughling, NV in 2005 and started grinding. In 2009, he final tabled his first WSOP event, finishing fifth, then followed that up with a 19^th place showing in the WSOP Main Event. The run netted him the biggest poker payday of his career at over $350,000, but that number would be shattered at Bellagio just a couple months later.

In October of 2009, Vedes took down Season VIII’s Festa al Lago Main Event at Bellagio, earning over $1.2 million for his efforts. Thanks to his poker skills and a little good fortune at the final table, Vedes managed to deny Freddy Deeb his third WPT title and establish himself as a force to be reckoned with in the poker world. Vedes has consistently cashed in events all around the world since his Bellagio victory and he was back in the WPT spotlight at Season IX’s Seminole Hard Rock Showdown, where he finished in sixth place.

Over the course of his poker career, Vedes has earned nearly $2.5 million in tournament earnings.