WSOP Champ Ryan Riess Discusses His Gambling Swings And Wild Fortunes

Earlier this month, 23-year old Michigan man Ryan Riess won the 2013 WSOP $10k World Championship for a staggering $8,361,570, and in so doing joined an elite group of past main event winners, which includes the likes of Doyle Brunson, Phil Helllmuth, and Johnny Chan.
However, poker can be a swingy game with many a pitfall to snare any  fearless gambler, especially one with a lack of “much respect for money” like Riess. In fact, despite being a talented pro, Ryan Riess said he had just $2,000 to his name prior to finishing runner-up at the 2012 WSOPC Main Event for $239,063, which he then used to fund his entry into the WSOP $10k Main Event.
“Yeah, it is pretty incredible. Actually the week before I had that $2,000 I was dead broke; I think I had $50 to my name,” explained Reiss. “I don’t have much respect for money. I just blow money like it grows on the tree in my backyard. I don’t really think about the money like how most people would in my situation; I don’t think.”
Some of those pitfalls mentioned earlier include taking more than a few hits playing games of chance at the casino, which is often frowned upon as a losing proposition compared to the controlled gambling associated with playing poker. On one such occasion Reiss said he blew $30,000 in one day playing roulette, and had also dropped significant amounts gambling at blackjack and baccarat.
Furthermore, Reiss said that the last time he played “those stupid games” was in February, 2012, when he lost $50,000 throughout the month, and said he now hopes he has learnt the lesson to stick purely to what he does best, playing poker. As Reiss explains:
“Yeah, I am not going to pull a Chino Rheem and go drop $100,000 in the pit or play $100,000 poker tournaments. I am going to try to be smart and play $10,000 buy-ins at the most, and maybe a $25,000 here and there. I am going to try be smart with it because it is hard to come by.”