Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 14, 2026

Jay Heimowitz

Jay B. Heimowitz is an American poker player from Bethel, New York. Heimowitz was one of the original players to help establish the Mayfair Club as a premier poker house.

Last revised
Jun 14, 2026
Read time
≈ 3 min
Length
717 w
Citations
13
Source
Jay Heimowitz
BornDecember 26, 1937 (1937-12-26) (age 88)
World Series of Poker
Bracelets6
Money finishes37
Highest WSOP
Main Event finish
3rd, 1980
World Poker Tour
TitleNone
Final tableNone
Money finishes2

Jay B. Heimowitz (born December 26, 1937) is an American poker player from Bethel, New York. Heimowitz was one of the original players to help establish the Mayfair Club as a premier poker house.1

Heimowitz was raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. His father, Morris, managed a bar and bet on horse racing; his mother, Essie, worked at a book bindery.2

Heimowitz started playing poker for baseball cards at the age of 9. He went on to join the U.S. Army; by the time he left the service at age 21, Heimowitz had won approximately $10,000 playing against his fellow servicemen.

Heimowitz used this money to invest in a beer company, which he later sold to Budweiser.3

Heimowitz has attended the World Series of Poker (WSOP) since 1975 and has won six bracelets:456789

Career highlights

2

Year Event Result Prize Type
1975 WSOP $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em 1st place — debut WSOP appearance, first bracelet WSOP Bracelet
1980 WSOP Main Event 3rd place — deepest Main Event run, 73-player field $109,500 Main Event
1981 WSOP Main Event 6th place — second consecutive Main Event final table Main Event
1986 WSOP Limit Hold'em 1st place — second bracelet, a decade after his first WSOP Bracelet
1987–1997 WSOP Main Event (multiple years) Five top-15 finishes: 11th (1987), 15th (1988), 14th (1989), 11th (1991), 13th (1997) Main Event
1991 WSOP $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 1st place — third bracelet, first PLO title WSOP Bracelet
1994 WSOP Pot-Limit Hold'em 1st place — fourth bracelet WSOP Bracelet
2000 WSOP Limit Hold'em 1st place — fifth bracelet WSOP Bracelet
2001 WSOP Seniors Championship 1st place — sixth and final bracelet WSOP Bracelet
2005 WPT World Championship, Bellagio 51st place — first WPT cash $30,000 WPT Cash
2006 WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open 19th place — second WPT cash $27,694 WPT Cash
2008 Poker After Dark — "The Mayfair Club" episode 1st place — winner-take-all vs. Harrington, Lederer & Appleman $120,000 Televised Win


Heimowitz is one of only four players, the other three being Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu and Billy Baxter, in World Series of Poker history to have won a bracelet in four different decades.

Heimowitz won a Poker After Dark title on his sole appearance, earning $120,000. The show was themed around former Mayfair Club regulars with a table composed of Heimowitz, Mickey Appleman, Dan Harrington, Mike Shichtman, Howard Lederer, and Steve Zolotow.10

As of 2019, Heimowitz has made $2,121,439 in live tournament winnings.11 His 43 cashes at the WSOP account for $1,526,581 of those winnings.12

Outside poker, Heimowitz enjoys keeping himself fit. He lives with his wife Carole (they married in 1960.) They have four sons (Eddie, Lonnie, Roy, and Neil) and nine grandchildren (Katelyn, Jaclyn, Ange, Max, Sofia, Jake, Anatoly, Casey, and Neil Patrick).

References

References

External links