Images courtesy of World Poker Tour
Many former poker world champions are no longer the powers they once were when they won the World Series of Poker Main Event. To some extent, that’s to be expected.
The tournament, held every year since 1970, has seen legends like Doyle Brunson, Stu Ungar, and Johnny Moss pass on. Others, such as Russ Hamilton and Chris Ferguson, have disappeared from the poker world with their tails between their legs, their golden years now having lost their luster.
Other world champions, however, keep on winning in the game of poker. One of those is the Michigan-born 2013 WSOP Main Event winner Ryan Riess. At the Rio 13 years ago, in front of a tribe of supporters wearing ‘Riess the Beast’ t-shirts, Ryan’s ace-king beat Jay Farber’s suited queen-five, and the latest world champion sank to the floor.
Over a decade on, we caught up with the former world champion to find out what draws him back to the fight all these years later.
That Prop Bet with Jesse Lonis
Some folks live off their Main Event win and the rest of their poker career, but Ryan Riess is a different kind of beast. In fact, since he bagged the top prize of $8.36 million in the 2013 World Championship, he has won more in other events, sitting just below $17 million in lifetime earnings.
If Ryan’s life has become one of ticking off other goals, a recent achievement took place at the bowling lane rather than the poker felt. Once upon a prop bet, Ryan wagered $5,000 against his fellow American poker pro Jesse Lonis that he would be the first to bowl a perfect 300 – ten strikes plus two more for good measure on the end for a devilishly difficult dozen.
Jesse Lonis was on hand to capture the achievement and commentate on losing $5,000 to the former world champion.
Bowling the 300 was crazy, says Ryan. I have been bowling casually my whole life and started bowling a lot more often over the past year. I’m really happy I was able to close out the perfect game and very thankful that Jesse recorded it and gave us some commentary. A lifelong bucket list goal achieved while being surrounded by friends – super cool.
Like an author penning his great work, then using the rest of his days to explore other ways of stirring emotions, winning the Main Event so young at the age of just 23 set Ryan’s path through life on an odd trajectory. Rather than striving his whole career to achieve the title of world champion, he had the title almost before his poker career had even started. Bizarrely, the man himself has rarely watched that golden moment in time back.
It has been a long time. Now that poker is back on ESPN, maybe I can run it back and relive it one more time. That is definitely my most memorable experience. It is still kind of surreal. That was my first Main Event, and I didn’t realize how lucky you have to be to win that thing. Now I do.
Las Vegas, Prague, and the Bahamas
With Ryan absent from the ranks of poker legends, pushing for glory in Prague, he is focused on the WSOP returning to Las Vegas this summer. When we spoke years ago about the return of the WSOP to the world-famous Las Vegas Strip from the Rio – where Ryan became world champion – he was pleased. He now feels even stronger that the series benefited from leaving the Rio.
I don’t know how much prestige they added per se, but it’s a nice new venue. I love the WSOP so much I could kind of care less where it’s held, to be honest. As long as it’s in Vegas!
The Prague and Bahamas WSOP Europe and WSOP Paradise series now contribute to WSOP Player of the Year numbers. While he’s traveled to the beautiful city a number of times, Ryan’s absence won’t see him take a run at the POY title in 2026.
I’m not sure how I feel about Prague and Bahamas contributing to Player of the Year, Ryan admits. I’m not going to Prague this year, but I will probably go to the Bahamas. I may go for [Player of the Year] in 2027 if I’m not too busy… we will see.
Plenty of Ryan’s motivation at the poker table comes from his family. Since winning the World Championship, he has become a father of three girls, and Ryan says that playing for his wife and children is what drives him on.
My kids definitely motivate me in poker. I don’t play nearly as much as I used to, but my kids have been asking to watch me play on TV, so I’m going to try to give them that this summer, God willing.
The Lifelong Ambassador
At the poker table, few players are as able to cope with the pressure and focus that TV cameras and bright lights bring to the action as well as Ryan. The 2013 world champion will likely always be remembered for his Main Event win, but since then, he has more than doubled his winnings in that tournament, becoming one of the best ambassadors for the game.
I appreciate you saying that, Ryan says with a smile. I fully embraced the role of poker ambassador. We have a ton of great people working tirelessly to build and promote this beautiful game. I’m happy to do my tiny part in making poker more enjoyable for everyone.
Just like the 2009 world champion, Joe Cada, Ryan hails from the Wolverine State. While the youngest-ever world champion – Cada was 21 when he beat the late Darvin Moon to the title 17 years ago – has gone on to win three more WSOP bracelets, Ryan is yet to win one. However, ‘The Beast’ sits on $16.94 million in tournament earnings, almost $2m clear of ‘The Kid’.
It is pretty cool that I’m the winningest player to come out of Michigan. [Joe] Cada has arguably had a better career than me, though. Four bracelets and he’s reached two Main Event final tables. He’s an absolute legend.
As Ryan details, a lot of great poker players come out of Michigan, with Dan Heimiller, David Baker, Jeff Gross, and Brek Schutten amongst their number. Ryan visits from Las Vegas whenever he can and tells me that he misses his old stomping ground, “outside of the cold winters”.
In poker terms, there haven’t been many cold winters for the 2013 world champion, one of the most successful players ever to win the WSOP Main Event. The player from the Wolverine State still has a bit of the beast inside him, and it will always bring Ryan Riess back to the felt with the same hunger he had all those years ago.
