Player Spotlight: Ryan Riess
Ryan Riess entered the 2019 U.S. Poker Open eager and ready for another big win. Regardless of his performance, however, the results will take a back seat to what else is approaching in his life: the birth of his second child.
Riess and his girlfriend are expecting their second child next month.
“2019 is going to be awesome,” the 2013 Main Event champ wrote on Twitter to ring in the new year. So far, he’s right.
A runner-up finish in the $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em at this year’s U.S. Poker Open netted 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Ryan Riess the third largest payday of his career. He took home $492,000 with his 2nd place finish to Koray Aldemir.
He’s in Las Vegas now, but Riess makes sure to represent his Michigan roots on the felt. He took 2nd place Friday donning his trademark look: Michigan State Spartans apparel.
Since the “poker boom” every Main Event winner spends the rest of their career trying to show the world it wasn’t a fluke. For Riess, he’s already shown he’s the real deal.
Since his $8.3 million win nearly six years ago, Riess has logged results in tournaments across the globe., with career winnings that exceed $14 million. Most notably, a $716,000 score by winning first place at the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Finale.
A strong showing at last year’s World Series of Poker Europe helped Riess climb to seventh place on the Global Poker Index player rankings.
Right now, things are good for “The Beast” – as he became known during his Main Event run. The only thing that could make life better would be a USPO Main Event title.
