$8.7M World Series Of Poker 2011 Prize Won By 22-Year-Old Pius Heinz

$8.7 million won by Pius Heinz, a 22-year-old student and professional poker player, made history early this morning by becoming the first German resident to win the largest, richest and most prestigious poker tournament on the globe, the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas, Nevada.


2011 WSOP Final Winning Hand - Youtube

2011 World Series of Poker Winner Pius Heinz
2011 World Series of Poker Winner Pius Heinz

Pius Heinz, of Cologne, became just the second German ever to make a Main Event final table. His unprecedented first-place finish earned him the most coveted trophy in all of poker – the World Series of Poker gold bracelet – and ( U.S. ) $8,715,638.

Heinz bested a total Main Event field of 6,865 players from 85 different nations in ages ranging from 21 to 91 to capture the title. When play began Tuesday in Las Vegas, Heinz was a significant chip leader. Through the hours that followed, the lead changed hands multiple times, until Heinz sealed his victory about 12:15 a.m.

Wednesday. Heinz’s ace of spades and king of clubs held up against the runner-up Martin Staszko’s 10 of clubs and 7 of clubs

Asked how his poker tournament victory would be received in Germany, Heinz replied: “I can only imagine. I think it’s going to be huge when I get home.”

Staszko, who collected $5,433,086 for his second-place finish, also made history as the first poker player from the Czech Republic to make a final table. The 35-year-old poker pro resides in Trinec, near the border with Poland.

Both players outlasted Ben Lamb, a 26-year-old poker professional from Las Vegas and Tulsa , who was eliminated in third place. Lamb took home $4,021,138 as a consolation prize.

The dramatic conclusion to this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event was carried nearly-live – with a 15-minute delay – on ESPN.

This year’s WSOP Main Event final table featured players from seven different nations, the most geographically diverse in the tournament’s 42-year history. Each of the 6,865 players who participated in the Main Event paid $10,000 to enter, creating a massive $64,540,858 prize pool.

Tuesday night’s action with three players followed the tournament’s penultimate session on Sunday, when six of the final nine players were eliminated. The competitors broke out in the following order, collecting the following prize money:

  • 9 th place: Sam Holden, 22, of Sussex, Great Britain : $782,115
  • 8 th place: Anton Makiievskyi, 21, of Dnipropetrovsk , Ukraine : $1,010,015
  • 7 th place: Badih Bou-Nahra, 49, of Belize City , Belize : $1,314,097
  • 6 th place: Eoghan O’Dea, 26, of Dublin , Ireland : $1,720,831
  • 5 th place: Phil Collins, 26, of Las Vegas , Nevada : $2,269,599
  • 4 th place: Matt Giannetti, 26, of Las Vegas , Nevada : $3,012,700

As has become tradition in recent years, Main Event play was suspended in July when the tournament reached its final nine players. It resumed with the “November 9” taking to the felt Sunday with 34 minutes, 57 seconds remaining in Level 36, with antes 50,000 and blinds at 250,000 and 500,000.

The 2011 WSOP Las Vegas event attracted a record 75,672 players from 105 different nations competing for a total prize pool of $192,008,868 over the 58-event, 50-day extravaganza. Photo credit: Jonathan Boncek/2011 WSOP

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Bill Cody is an entertainment, technology and luxury travel reporter in Las Vegas. He reports on celebrities, events, tech, food, Las Vegas and luxury travel.

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