We can only imagine that competing with players at a World Series of Poker (WSOP) event requires a lot of time and effort. However, German international Max Kruse has managed to do that despite earning a living as a professional footballer! The 29-year old proved that his skills on the poker table can almost match his skills on the pitch, by securing a fourth place finish at an event in Las Vegas last week.
Kruse has a passion for poker
Although, those that follow the Werder Bremen forward closely will know that he has displayed his passion for poker over many years. In 2014 he finished third at the No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball event and took home over $36,000 in the process.
Two years later Kruse was once again in the news regarding his poker habits, but they weren’t for all the right reasons. After a successful poker tournament he left with €75,000 in winnings, but then managed to leave all of his winnings in his taxi home! Unfortunately, the money was never returned.
To compound his anger, he was dropped from the Germany squad that was due to play England in a friendly, and his club at the time, Vfl Wolfsburg fined him €25,000! A club statement said; “We can only hope that he has been taught a lesson and will change his behaviour”.
Kruse manages to make final table
With the football season finished and time on his hands, Kruse had no doubt earmarked the WSOP tour in Vegas as a chance to hit the tables again.
After a slow start to the first day, things picked up for the 14-time capped German international. A strong showing the following day saw him end up in second in the overall chip count, meaning he had managed to make the final table of the $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw event.
From there, Kruse didn’t manage to secure a big victory, but he did end up with a very credible fourth place finish, earning $28,740 in the process. American Brendan saw off Kruse and finished as runner-up, with Brian Brubaker winning the event. Brubaker earned a cool $109,967 for his victory and secured a coveted gold bracelet.
The earnings for Kruse mean that he has amassed over $120,000 throughout his short poker career, but he’s already spoke of an extended run at the tables when his footballing career is over. With that in mind, poker fans might be seeing a lot more of Max Kruse over the coming years, as he shows of his other significant talent.
Fortunately, you don’t have to be a WSOP standard player to enjoy poker with Lucky Nugget Casino. Whether you want to check out the cool video poker games or try your hand at any of the classic casino games, there’s much to enjoy.
