Rick Salomon Net Worth – Career Earnings, High-Stakes Cash Games & Bio (Updated February 2026)

Rick Salomon is one of the most interesting and controversial figures in the world of high-stakes poker.

The wealthy businessman arrived on the scene as a recreational whale turned occasional tournament crusher, building a reputation synonymous with massive private cash games, celebrity poker lore, and one of the biggest single-session wins ever recorded.

The American businessman from Las Vegas, Nevada, has earned $9,906,283 in verified live tournament earnings (as of February 2026), but Salomon’s real reputation and likely wealth stems from a combination of untracked private high-stakes cash games and a wide range of business ventures.

Any published figure for Rick Salomon net worth is an estimate because the majority of data is not publicly available.

Below you’ll find a breakdown of his verifiable earnings, net worth estimates, and the key moments that define his poker story.

Rick Salomon’s true net worth is not publicly confirmed, and any published figure you might come across online is an educated estimate rather than a verifiable total. His wealth is tied heavily to untracked private cash games, business dealings, and high-profile legal settlements.

Net worth estimates (and why they’re hard to pin down)

Estimates for Rick Salomon’s net worth typically range from $20 million to $50 million in 2026.

This is a combination of his verified live tournament earnings, estimated private cash-game profits), business interests, and a variety of other income from celebrity-related ventures and settlements.

Estimates vary widely for private games, with all kinds of different tales coming out of these meet-ups.

What we can verify: tracked live earnings

Rick Salomon’s live tournament results are fully trackable via the Hendon Mob database. As of February 2026, his official live tournament earnings amount to $9,906,283. This figure is gross and not adjusted for net profit after buy-ins and other costs are deducted.

Why estimates vary: private cash games, business, and settlements

Salomon’s biggest documented tournament score is $3,307,206 for third place in the WSOP 2016 $111,111 High Roller for One Drop, but his real story is centred around high-stakes private games, most famously the 2014 “Million Dollar Game” at Aria where he reportedly won over $2.8 million in one night.

He is also thought to have profited handsomely from other untracked cash games around the world, including nosebleed stakes in Macau where Tom Dwan and Phil Ivey have cemented their legacies.

Salomon has also earned well from business ventures.

But all that said, these are all estimates beyond his live tournament record and should be viewed cautiously due to complete lack of transparency.

Rick Salomon is best known as a recreational high-stakes cash-game legend rather than a full-time pro, but he has posted impressive results in big buy-in tournaments against the best in the business when he chooses to play.

Live tournament earnings (tracked)

Salomon’s verified live tournament winning total stands at $9,906,283 across a limited number of cashes ranging from 2005 to 2018 when he stepped back from the scene.

Biggest live cashes and notable results

Rick Salomon’s largest recorded live score is €3,000,000 ($3,307,206) for third place in the WSOP 2016 $111,111 High Roller for One Drop. But the lion’s share of his poker profits are reputed to come from private cash games

The headline version of Rick Salomon’s poker record is that of a recreational player who scored big in the biggest private cash games round while posting massive tournament scores against the very best players in the game.

Rick Salomon’s poker career is more defined by explosive appearances in the world’s biggest private cash games rather than any kind of consistent grinding. He’s a recreational high-roller whose fame comes from multi-million-dollar sessions and very occasional high roller events.

Early years and background

Salomon was born January 24, 1969, in Las Vegas, Nevada, into a wealthy Jewish family headed by his father who was an executive vice president at Warner Bros.

Growing up right in the heart of the gambling world surrounded by celebrities, it was no surprise that he took the path that he did.

Details about his childhood are sparse and he has never shared much publicly about his early years, but it is thought that he was able to leverage access to opportunities thanks to his father’s position, enabling him to build wealth through various business ventures such as real estate.

We also don’t know Salomon’s poker background story but by the early 2000s he was already a regular in Las Vegas’s ultra-exclusive private games, playing against famous pros and celebrities for enormous stakes.

Establishment in private cash game circles

After a few years in the scene, Salomon became well-known in the nosebleed private scene, frequently sitting in games with players like Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, and Andy Beal. He earned a reputation for fearless play with a willingness to gamble unthinkable amounts of money.

Salomon’s most iconic moment came during a private high-stakes cash game at Aria Las Vegas, known in poker folklore as the “Million Dollar Game.” He is said to have won over $2.8 million in a single night against a line-up including Dan Bilzerian, Tom Dwan, and others.

His major tournament breakthrough came when he entered the WSOP 2016 $111,111 High Roller for One Drop and finished third for a career-best score of €3,000,000 ($3,307,206) and a standout result for a non-pro in a field stacked with the game’s best talent.

Selective high-roller play and lower public profile

Salomon continued to make sporadic appearances in big buy-in tournaments until 2018, but his focus remained squarely on private games in Las Vegas and Macau.

Salomon has made very few tournament appearances since 2018, but he is still believed to participate in high-stakes private cash games when the action is right.

His legacy endures as the archetypal recreational whale who achieved phenomenal results against the best poker players in the world in both tournament and cash game format. There is no way that this would be possible without having some talent for the game.

The story of Rick Salomon absolutely captures the wild, behind-the-scenes side of high-stakes poker.

Like many rich amateurs who don’t rely on poker to fund an extravagant lifestyle, Rick Salomon is known for a fearless, unpredictable style that thrives in private high-stakes cash games.

Core playing style

Salomon plays an old school loose-aggressive style, willing to risk it all with airball bluffs and bold calls. He embraces the savage variance and thrives on the psychological torture that playing high stakes can inflict on a player.

Reputation among peers & legacy

All information about what goes on behind closed doors in the private cash game scene is subjective and open to embellishment, but Salomon’s reputation in these games is unique.

Somehow he manages to maintain respect from the high-stakes community and yet still passes himself off as enough of a whale that should be invited to some of the best high-stakes private cash games around.

Key Traits:

Rick Salomon has been involved in several high-profile controversies over the years.

The most infamous is his 2007 sex tape with top celeb Paris Hilton, which ended up leading to a lawsuit against Salomon for invasion of privacy and distribution without consent. The case was settled out of court with Salomon reported to have paid Hilton $400,000 in damages.

He has been involved in multiple legal disputes related to gambling debts and business dealings, including a 2014 lawsuit where he sued a Saudi Sheikh for $2.8 million in unpaid poker winnings from a private game.

In 2019, he was arrested on suspicion of domestic battery but the charges were later dropped.

No cheating or allegations about Salomon’s integrity have ever surfaced from his poker career.

There’s no doubt that Rick Salomon has lived a high-profile, often tumultuous personal life in the world of celebrity culture.

He was married to Elizabeth Daily from 1995–2000, with whom he has two children, and then to actress Shannen Doherty for nine months in 2002.

He was engaged to Paris Hilton in 2003, and then married Pamela Anderson for the first time in 2007 before the pair requested an annulment months later. Anderson and Salomon remarried in 2014 before divorcing again in 2015

Salomon resides in Las Vegas and has maintained a low profile in recent years, with little up-to-date information surfacing in recent times.

It is assumed that he is still active in the high-stakes private cash game world but it is now eight years since he graced the live tournament circuit.

Quick answers to the most searched questions about Rick Salomon’s net worth, earnings, age, and poker career.

This profile aims to separate verifiable information from estimates, assumptions, and unsubstantiated claims.

It is normal for a poker player’s career to contain much untracked activity, such as high-stakes private cash games, so we are careful to clearly indicate what can be reliably confirmed and what remains uncertain.

How we handle net worth

• No poker player has an official, publicly available net worth figure.
• Any net worth figures mentioned should be treated as estimates.
• We place the most importance on direct statements from the player and official tournament database records, such as the Hendon Mob.

How we present earnings

• Live tournament winnings are sourced exclusively from well-established poker databases. These figures show prize money awarded and not net profit following deductions.
• Online poker results and private cash game winnings are generally not publicly available nor verifiable when some data does appear. We therefore never list them as tracked earnings.

How we handle controversies and disputes

• If any controversy or dispute is referenced, we link to the original reporting or primary source material whenever available.
• We explicitly note what has been alleged, what has been confirmed, what has been denied, and what is still unresolved or unclear.
• We rely on named sources, direct quotes from the individuals involved, and coverage from reputable poker media rather than anonymous forum posts, speculation, or unverified online chatter.

References

• The Hendon Mob – Rick Salomon (tracked live tournament cashes and results history)
• WSOP.com – Rick Salomon player page (official series profile and event-related references)
• Wikipedia – Rick Salomon (basic biographical context; cross-checked where possible)

Last updated: February 2026.