Nebraska Poker Player Jeff Banghart Passes Away from Brain Cancer at Age 63
Jeff Banghart, a poker player from Nebraska well-known in Midwestern poker circles, passed away last Thursday after a two-year battle with brain cancer. He was 63.
“Jeff died on Thursday,” his friend Tim Carman shared. “I’m sad beyond words - and my own comprehension. Sad for his children, his wife, and his many, many friends who lost this incredibly bright star.”
Banghart, born January 29, 1962, had $1,164,168 in lifetime tournament earnings according to The Hendon Mob. That included a career-best $237,865 for finishing 41st in the 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Three years later, he made another deep run finishing 75th in the 2010 WSOP Main Event for $94,942.
He had two other six-figure scores in his career including $205,755 for finishing runner-up in the 2017 WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Hammond Main Event and a year later third in the 2018 WinStar River Poker Series $2,500 Main Event for $206,570.
In 2009, he won his first and only WSOP Circuit gold ring when he topped a field of 334 entries to win the Horseshoe Council Bluffs Event #1: $345 No-Limit Hold’em for $30,127. Banghart’s final cash came at the 2023 WSOP when he placed 93rd out of 8,180 runners in the $1,000 Seniors Championship for $6,898.
Banghart, a New York Yankees fan who started playing poker when he was just 12 years old, graduated from the University of Nebraska-Omaha with a degree in finance.
"Jeff was a larger-than-life poker presence to many successful Nebraska tournament players who would follow."
“He became a successful businessman in Omaha, creating his own companies, including one that developed lawn sprinkler systems,” Carman shared. “He also was a professional poker player, known as Mr. Rain because of his aforementioned sprinkler business.”
Scott Wood offered: “Jeff was so humble through his cancer battle - never wanted the attention on him. What a lasting reflection of his character.”
Nebraska's Bob Slezak, a 2003 WSOP bracelet winner, provided the following to PokerNews: "MrRain was also a prolific MTT online presence. He had many significant scores including a win in the Poker Stars Sunday Million for $230k. Jeff was an old school 'feel' player who was adept at putting opponents in uncomfortable spots. He had a knack for navigating large field sizes by accumulating an early stack and using those chips to pressure smaller stacks. Jeff was a larger-than-life poker presence to many successful Nebraska tournament players who would follow. His easygoing banter and cool demeanor won him legions of fans in the Nebraska poker community."
PokerNews offers its condolences to the family and friends of Jeff Banghart, who will be missed by the poker community.
