In Memoriam: Poker Players We Lost in 2025

Every year the poker world says goodbye to players, dealers, tournament directors, and personalities who shaped the game in ways big and small, and this page for dead poker players 2025 is meant as a respectful record of that year’s losses rather than a passing headline. Some of the names below were household names to anyone who followed the World Series of Poker; others were quieter contributors whose impact was felt mostly by the people who played alongside them. Both deserve to be remembered.

Notable Losses in the Poker Community in 2025

The list below reflects publicly reported deaths within the poker community over the course of 2025, drawn from tribute coverage published by poker media outlets. It’s not exhaustive — the game loses more people every year than any single page can properly cover — but it aims to honor a representative cross-section of players, operators, and personalities.

Chris Roth

A well-regarded Midwest poker player known for a bold, fearless approach at the tables, Chris Roth passed away in January 2025 at age 42. He was remembered by peers in the regional live poker scene as a fixture of Midwest tournament series.

“Miami” John Cernuto

A decorated professional with a long career spanning multiple poker variants, “Miami” John Cernuto died in February 2025 at age 81. Cernuto was widely respected among his peers for his sharp, adaptable game across decades of tournament and cash-game play.

Kevyn Major Howard

Actor and longtime supporter of the Ante 4 Autism charity poker community, Kevyn Major Howard passed away in February 2025 at age 69. Beyond his acting career, he was a familiar and well-liked presence at charity poker events supporting autism-related causes.

Mark Toulouse

A well-known figure in Texas poker circles, Mark Toulouse passed away in March 2025 after collapsing during a live tournament in Dallas. His death was a stark, sobering moment for the regional poker community that knew him.

Jeff Banghart

A Nebraska-based poker player, Jeff Banghart died in March 2025 at age 63 following a battle with brain cancer. He had been a familiar figure on the regional tournament circuit for years.

John Strzemp

A Las Vegas casino executive who served as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of Wynn Resorts, John Strzemp passed away in April 2025 at age 73. As a tournament player, his most notable result came as runner-up in the 1997 WSOP Main Event, giving him a rare dual legacy as both a top-level executive and a serious competitor at the felt.

Chad Batista (“lilholm 954”)

A longtime online poker professional known by the screen name “lilholdem954,” Chad Batista passed away suddenly in July 2025 at age 34, surrounded by family. His death was announced through a family statement that reflected on the sudden and painful loss to those closest to him.

Eric “Goldy” Goldstein

Eric Goldstein became an unlikely piece of poker folklore in 2022, when he fell asleep during an $80 auto all-in satellite tournament and woke up having won a seat into that year’s WSOP Main Event. He passed away unexpectedly in July 2025, during that year’s WSOP, at age 52, from a presumed heart attack, news that hit the poker community particularly hard given the timing and his affable reputation among peers.

Jack McClelland

Few names carry as much operational weight in modern tournament poker as Jack McClelland. A poker tournament director and player with more than 40 years in the business, he served as WSOP tournament director throughout the 1980s and ran the Bellagio poker room from 2002 to 2013, helping shape the standards that live tournament poker still runs on today. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2014 and passed away on August 18, 2025, at age 74.

Graeme “Kiwi” Putt

An Australian Poker Hall of Famer and seasoned road gambler, Graeme “Kiwi” Putt passed away in 2025, remembered as one of the defining figures of the Australian live poker scene and its road-gambling tradition.

Stan Schrier

Born July 5, 1935, Stan Schrier built a career as a businessman in Omaha before relocating to Las Vegas to pursue poker in his later years. He played in his first WSOP in his late 60s and passed away in 2025, remembered in his obituary as a devoted family man and fierce competitor who shared 60 years of marriage with his wife, Felicia.

2025 Poker Community Losses: Quick Reference

Name	Known For	Passed	Age
Chris Roth	Midwest tournament regular	January 2025	42
“Miami” John Cernuto	Decorated multi-variant professional	February 2025	81
Kevyn Major Howard	Actor, charity poker supporter	February 2025	69
Mark Toulouse	Texas poker community figure	March 2025	—
Jeff Banghart	Nebraska tournament player	March 2025	63
John Strzemp	Wynn Resorts exec, 1997 WSOP ME runner-up	April 2025	73
Chad Batista	Online pro (“lilholdem954”)	July 2025	34
Eric “Goldy” Goldstein	2022 WSOP satellite folklore	July 2025	52
Jack McClelland	WSOP & Bellagio tournament director, Hall of Fame	August 2025	74
Graeme “Kiwi” Putt	Australian Poker Hall of Famer	2025	—
Stan Schrier	Late-career WSOP player	2025	—

Why These Stories Matter

It’s easy for a page like this to read as a simple list of poker players who died during a given year, but the details matter more than the tally. Jack McClelland’s four decades in tournament operations quietly shaped the structures every modern player takes for granted at a WSOP or Bellagio final table. John Strzemp’s dual legacy as a casino executive and a serious competitor is a reminder that the line between “industry” and “player” has always been thinner than it looks. And a story like Eric Goldstein’s, falling asleep and accidentally winning his way into the Main Event, is exactly the kind of human, slightly absurd moment that makes poker’s community feel like a community in the first place, which is part of why his passing landed so hard on people who never even met him in person.

Documenting poker deaths 2025 isn’t about dwelling on loss for its own sake. It’s about making sure the contributions, big tournament-floor decisions, quiet mentorship, decades of grinding, or just being a well-liked presence at the table, don’t disappear from the record the moment the obituary stops being news.

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