High-Stakes Poker Player Jeremy Kaufman Dies at 56
Bennett Jeremy Kaufman, a Chicago real estate executive and high-stakes cash-game player known through Poker Night in America and Hustler Casino Live, died October 24 at age 56.
An official notice from Chicago Jewish Funerals lists Kaufman’s birth date as June 8, 1970, and confirms his death on October 24, 2026. PokerNews reported his death on October 26 and described him as a popular recreational player who was well known in high-stakes cash games.
A familiar face in televised cash games
Kaufman reached a wider poker audience during a 2017 Poker Night in America cash game in Pittsburgh. He shared the table with professionals including Doug Polk and Shaun Deeb, bringing the profile of a successful businessman who was willing to compete at high stakes.
One of the session’s most remembered moments came when Kaufman and Polk agreed to a $42,000 ten-card stud flip. PokerNews later detailed the hand while reporting on regulatory action involving the casino. The unusual wager became a lasting clip from Kaufman’s televised poker appearances.
Kaufman later played on Hustler Casino Live and Poker at the Lodge. Those broadcasts, rather than tournament results, formed the clearest public record of his poker activity. Public cash-game streams do not provide a complete measure of lifetime profit, so no career earnings figure is assigned here.
Remembered for his presence at the table
PokerNews attributed tributes from across the poker community after Kaufman’s death. Hustler Casino Live co-founder Ryan Feldman remembered him as a generous player who stayed composed through losses and bad beats.
That reputation matched Kaufman’s public table presence: he competed seriously while keeping games social. His willingness to play established professionals made him a recognizable figure during the rise of televised and livestreamed high-stakes cash games.
Career away from poker
Outside poker, Kaufman led the Chicago real estate private equity firm Kaufman Jacobs. The company’s leadership biography says he became chief executive officer in 2002 and oversaw acquisitions, development and financing involving more than 5 million square feet of property with an aggregate value above $1 billion.
PokerNews reported that Kaufman was survived by three teenage children. His public poker legacy stretches from Poker Night in America to the modern livestream era, where viewers knew him as a competitive recreational player with a friendly presence at the table.
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