Chicago high-stakes cash-game personality and poker livestream regular
POKER HALL OF FAME
Inducted 2014
Jeremy Kaufman was a Chicago-based high-stakes cash-game player and real estate executive who became familiar to poker audiences through Poker Night in America, Hustler Casino Live and Poker at the Lodge. He was known as a recreational player who competed with professionals while keeping a friendly presence at the table.
⠀
Chicago roots and business career
Bennett Jeremy Kaufman was born on June 8, 1970. Chicago Jewish Funerals lists October 24, 2026 as his date of death.
Away from poker, Kaufman served as chief executive officer of Kaufman Jacobs, a Chicago real estate private equity firm. The company's leadership biography says he became CEO in 2002 and led acquisitions, development and financing involving more than 5 million square feet of property. It also lists a philosophy degree from Brandeis University.
⠀
Poker Night in America appearances
Kaufman reached a wider poker audience in 2017 through high-stakes cash games on Poker Night in America. He shared tables with established professionals including Doug Polk and Shaun Deeb.
One widely discussed session ended with Kaufman and Polk agreeing to a $42,000 ten-card stud flip. PokerNews later reported that the unusual hand contributed to regulatory action against the casino. The episode remained one of Kaufman's best-known televised poker moments.
⠀
Later livestream poker
Kaufman later appeared on Hustler Casino Live and Poker at the Lodge. His games placed him in the modern livestream cash-game scene rather than the tournament circuit, and public cash-game broadcasts became the clearest record of his poker activity.
PokerNews described Kaufman as a popular recreational player in its October 26, 2026 report. The report said he was well known in Los Angeles private games and had played multiple times on Hustler Casino Live, along with two Poker at the Lodge appearances in 2026.
⠀
Reputation in the poker community
Tributes highlighted Kaufman's attitude at the table. PokerNews attributed comments to Hustler Casino Live co-founder Ryan Feldman describing Kaufman as a generous presence who handled losses without berating opponents or complaining about bad beats.
Kaufman's poker record is best understood through cash-game broadcasts and community memories rather than tournament results. No tournament earnings total is included here because livestream sessions and private games do not provide a complete measure of career profit.
⠀
Death and legacy
Kaufman died on October 24, 2026 at age 56. PokerNews reported that he was survived by three teenage children and remembered by friends across the poker community.
His public poker legacy includes televised and livestream appearances spanning nearly a decade. Those games showed a recreational player willing to compete at high stakes while bringing an upbeat presence to the table.
