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Ray Romano is an American comedian and actor, best known for playing the title character in the CBS sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond from 1996 to 2005. [4][12] He is also a familiar face at the World Series of Poker, where he has played the $10,000 Main Event several times since the poker boom of the early 2000s. [9] His deepest documented run came in 2018, when he bagged 71,400 chips at the end of Day 2 and advanced to Day 3. [7][9]
Ray Romano: key facts
| Name | Ray Romano |
|---|---|
| Born | December 21, 1957 (age 68), Queens, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Country | United States [1] |
| Born in | Queens, New York City [12] |
| Known for | Title role in Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS, 1996 to 2005) [4] |
| Emmy Awards | 3 wins, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2002 [12] |
| WSOP bracelets | 0 (1 cash on WSOP.com) [2] |
| Best Main Event run | Day 3, 2018 (71,400 chips at the end of Day 2) [7][9] |
| Largest recorded cash | 8th, Ante Up For Africa Charity Event, 2008 WSOP, $18,176 [3] |
| Live tournament earnings | $32,797 as of October 10, 2026 [1] |
From Queens to Everybody Loves Raymond
Romano was born in Queens, New York City, and is known as both a comedian and an actor. [12][8] Everybody Loves Raymond ran for nine seasons on CBS, and Romano was not only its star but also one of its executive producers. The Television Academy lists three Emmy wins for him: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2002, and Outstanding Comedy Series in 2003 and 2005, plus 13 further nominations. [12]
Ray Romano and poker
PokerNews describes Romano as someone who “has been around cards since the Poker Boom”. [4] He was already part of the Las Vegas poker scene in 2005, when he was photographed with Doyle Brunson at the Comedy Festival Celebrity Poker Tournament at PURE Nightclub in Caesars Palace. [7] He played the 2007 World Series of Poker, where the photo above was taken. [13]
For most of his poker life the WSOP Main Event has been his one serious tournament of the year. In 2018 PGT.com reported that he played the Main Event once a year as his only event, and Romano compared cashing in it to making the cut at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which he has done twice. He called the Main Event his “Masters”. [7] He describes his own approach as careful: “I play conservative and Brad plays the opposite of that,” he told PokerNews in 2025, comparing himself with his Everybody Loves Raymond co-star Brad Garrett. [4]
The WSOP Main Event
2008: a seat at the royal flush table
Romano survived Day 1a of the 2008 Main Event, finishing the day with 61,025 in chips. [6] That year he also had a front-row view of one of the most replayed hands in WSOP history. In a field of 6,844 players, Justin Phillips and Motoyuki Mabuchi were seated at Romano’s table when Mabuchi moved all in on the river with quad aces and Phillips called with a royal flush. PokerNews calls it the worst bad beat in WSOP history, and PokerGO has published the hand on YouTube. [5][4]
2011 and 2013
In 2011 Romano and Garrett opened Day 1c of the Main Event with a short impromptu comedy routine for the room. Garrett went on to play several days that year, while Romano had an early exit. [10] In 2013 PokerNews reported a Day 2 hand in which Romano bet 3,000 on a 5-4-3 flop with two diamonds, called a raise to 7,700, and then check-called 12,000 on the river after his missed straight draw had become a flush. His opponent showed king-queen, and Romano’s six-eight of diamonds took the pot. [11]
2018: survive and advance
Romano’s best documented Main Event came in 2018. He advanced from the first Day 1 flight with 61,100 chips, on the same day as fellow actor Kevin Pollak. [8] On Day 2 he sat on the main stage with Pollak and Tom Marchese, started with 61,600 and spent hours on a short stack before bagging 71,400. [7] Card Player listed him among the 1,131 players who moved on to Day 3. [9]
“Survive and advance,” he said after bagging his chips. PGT.com described 2018 as his ninth try at the Main Event, and Romano said: “It’s been nine years, and in all those years I’ve never made the money.” He added: “Look, I play just once a year, and as long as I’m still in it, I can still win it.” [7] His WSOP.com profile lists no Main Event cash, so he did not reach the money that year. [2]
Poker results
Romano has no WSOP bracelet. His WSOP.com profile shows one cash for $1,505, and Card Player records four cashes worth $27,797, including a WSOP charity event and smaller tournaments in Las Vegas. PokerNews, using Hendon Mob data, puts his live tournament earnings at $32,797 as of October 10, 2026. [2][3][1] All of his recorded cashes are in No-Limit Hold’em.
| Year | Event | Result | Prize | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Ante Up For Africa Charity Event, World Series of Poker | 8th | $18,176 | [3] |
| 2013 | No-Limit Hold’em Survivor, Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza III (Card Player Poker Tour) | 9th | $4,137 | [3] |
| 2025 | $1,100 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo, Wynn Summer Classic | 13th | $3,979 | [3] |
| 2023 | WSOP Event #49, $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em (2,226 entries) | 313th | $1,505 | [2] |
Charity poker
His largest recorded cash came in a charity tournament: eighth place in the Ante Up For Africa event at the 2008 WSOP, worth $18,176. [3] On April 26, 2025, he played the All In for CP charity event at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas, a $1,000 buy-in tournament open to the public that benefited the One Step Closer Foundation, a cerebral palsy nonprofit co-founded in 2007 by Sam Simon and Jacob Zalewski. Romano attended as a friend of Zalewski. [4]
At the event he told PokerNews he planned to play that summer’s Main Event and a smaller buy-in tournament, probably a turbo: “at my age you need (the) turbo (structure) because you’ve gotta go pee, you know?” He also joked about his two hobbies: “I don’t know which one will be worse, my poker or my golf, but they both stink.” [4]
Video
Royal flush against quad aces at Romano’s table, 2008 WSOP Main Event
FAQ about Ray Romano
Does Ray Romano play poker?
Yes. The Everybody Loves Raymond star has played the WSOP Main Event several times since the early 2000s and also plays charity tournaments. [9][4]
Has Ray Romano ever cashed in the WSOP Main Event?
Not according to his WSOP.com profile, which lists a single WSOP cash from a 2023 turbo event. His best documented Main Event run was in 2018, when he reached Day 3. [2][9]
Does Ray Romano have a WSOP bracelet?
No. WSOP.com shows 0 bracelets and 0 final tables. [2]
How much has Ray Romano won playing poker?
PokerNews lists $32,797 in live tournament earnings as of October 10, 2026. His largest recorded cash is $18,176 for eighth place in the 2008 Ante Up For Africa charity event. [1][3]
What is Ray Romano’s net worth?
There is no reliable public figure for his net worth. What can be verified on the poker side is his live tournament record: $32,797 in earnings as of October 10, 2026, according to PokerNews. [1]
Was Ray Romano at the royal flush versus quad aces table?
Yes. PokerNews reports that Justin Phillips and Motoyuki Mabuchi were seated at Romano’s table in the 2008 Main Event when Phillips’ royal flush beat Mabuchi’s quad aces. [5]
Do Ray Romano and Brad Garrett play poker together?
Both play the WSOP Main Event. In 2011 they opened Day 1c together with a comedy routine, and Romano has said he plays more conservatively than Garrett. [10][4]
Related profiles
Read more about his Everybody Loves Raymond co-star Brad Garrett, about Kevin Pollak, who shared the main stage with him on Day 2 of the 2018 Main Event, and about Doyle Brunson.
Sources
- PokerNews, Ray Romano player profile, accessed October 10, 2026.
- WSOP.com, Ray Romano player profile, accessed October 10, 2026.
- Card Player, Ray Romano tournament results, accessed October 10, 2026.
- PokerNews, Ray Romano Reveals WSOP Plans During All in for CP Charity Event in Las Vegas, May 3, 2025.
- PokerNews, Looking at the Worst Bad Beats in World Series of Poker History, April 29, 2025.
- PokerNews, 2008 WSOP Main Event Day 1a live reporting, July 4, 2008.
- PGT.com, Survive and Advance: Ray Romano’s Quest for Success in the WSOP Main Event, July 6, 2018.
- PokerNews, WSOP Day 35: Scotty Nguyen, Joe Hachem, Ray Romano Advance in Main Event, July 3, 2018.
- Card Player, 2018 WSOP Main Event Day 2AB Recap: 1,131 Move Onto Day 3, July 6, 2018.
- PokerNews, WSOP Through the Lens Part III: It’s the Main Event, July 28, 2011.
- PokerNews, 2013 WSOP Main Event Day 2A/B live reporting, July 10, 2013.
- Television Academy, Ray Romano: biography and awards, accessed October 10, 2026.
- Wikimedia Commons, File:RayRomanoWSOP07.jpg (Ray Romano at the 2007 World Series of Poker), Gene Bromberg, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Last verified: October 10, 2026. Figures that change over time, such as career earnings, are given with the date they were checked.
