Allen Cunningham (born March 28, 1977) is an American professional poker player who has won five World Series of Poker bracelets.
Career
Cunningham studied civil engineering at UCLA before dropping out of school to play poker professionally. At the age of 18, he began playing at Indian casinos. Cunningham won his first verified tournament in September 1998 at the National Championship of Poker in Inglewood.[1] Previously a Full Tilt sponsored pro, he became a full member of Team Full Tilt in October 2006.
Cunningham earned the title 2005 ESPN/Toyota Player of the Year and came close to winning it again in 2006.[2]
Cunningham's single largest tournament payout occurred at the 2006 World Series of Poker when he finished in fourth place in the Main Event, earning $3,628,513.[3]
Cunningham won the $300,000 'Mega Match' on Poker After Dark that aired the week of October 8, 2007.[10] On December 7, 2007, Cunningham won the $15,000 buy-in inaugural National Poker League Vegas Open Championship Main Event after defeating David Singer during heads-up play, winning over $325,000.[11]
On May 1, 2008, Cunningham won the 2008 World Series of Poker Circuit event at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, earning $499,069.[12] In the 2008 World Series of Poker Cunningham made another deep run in the Main Event, finishing 117th place out of 6,844 players, earning $41,816.[13] In November 2010, he, along with Huck Seed, won $500,000 for winning the Full Tilt Poker Doubles Poker Championship.[14]
As of 2023, his total live tournament winnings exceed $11,900,000,[15] 90th on the all time winnings list.[16] As of March 2023, his 84 cashes including his five bracelets have netted him $7,988,439 in WSOP earnings.[17]