Boris Becker Fails to Cash at €111,111 High Roller Poker Tournament

German tennis ace Boris Becker was once estimated to have personal fortune of £100 million, but the retired former world No. 1 has now been declared bankrupt, with his debts believed to be anywhere from €3.34 million to €50 million depending upon the news source.
At the end of last year, the 49-year old subsequently became a partypoker ambassador, and last week took part in the WSOP Europe, where he entered the €111,111 High Roller for One Drop No-Limit Hold’em event. All told, 132 players entered the high-roller event, and with a €3,487,463 first place prize on offer, the prize money would certainly have helped alleviate at least some of Becker’s financial woes.
Nevertheless, Becker would likely have claimed only a small proportion of that amount as he contributed just €10,000 of his own money towards the massive buy-in. Meanwhile, a minimum cash in 20th would have been worth €157,652, but in the end Becker was unable to make it even past the initial stages. In fact, Becker has yet to cash in a tournament since joining partypoker, and has 7 scores to his name over the past 10 years worth $111,417.
There were a number of his fellow Germans who did make it through to the High Roller for One Drop final table, though, including Christoph Vogelsang (6th), Steffen Sontheimer (5th), and Andreas Eiler (2nd), with the latter eventually defeated by compatriot Dominik Nitsche heads-up, who was then crowned the champion.
In spite of being declared bankrupt in the UK’s Bankruptcy and Companies Court this summer, Becker claims that he is still solvent, and in a recent interview with Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung, explained:
“I’m going to Zurich this evening, I’m going to check into a hotel and pay my own bill. If I was insolvent, I couldn’t do that. If I take a taxi, I’ll pay for it. And believe me, I haven’t stolen a thing.”
The Daily Mail, on the other hand, has painted a much less rosy picture of Becker’s finances, and claims that bankruptcy proceedings have already started against him in Heidelberg, Germany. The news source has also asserted that Becker has had his luxury watches worth around £40,000 seized, and that he may also be forced to sell off his Wimbledon trophies to help pay creditors.