If the name Steve Albini isn’t familiar to you, you might know of him as a member of iconic rock groups Big Black and Shellac, and for recording albums such as Pixies’ Surfer Rosa and Nirvana’s final studio effort, In Utero. However, if music isn’t your thing, you might recognise Albini as a big-time poker player, especially after his huge win at the World Series of Poker over the weekend.
As Pitchfork reports, Albini earned himself a World Series of Poker gold bracelet after beating out 310 other players in the Seven Card Stud event.
Dressed in a Cocaine Piss t-shirt, Albini won $105,629 from the tournament, and almost doubled his lifetime earnings from World Series of Poker up that point, having scored $58,599 from five previous cash-outs. Albini also managed to best six-time bracelet winner, and 53-year-old Australian, Jeff Lisandro to take home the bracelet.
Event #31 winner @electricalWSOP pockets $105,629 and a bracelet soon after returning from a European tour with his band, Shellac of North America. https://t.co/TfLv3OvLkh pic.twitter.com/fVCzPiyojN
— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) June 17, 2018
“I also owe an enormous debt of gratitude to my wife, Heather,” explained Steve Albini, who had returned home from a European tour with Shellac to compete. “There was a lot of complicated stuff going on at home and she was gracious enough to say it would be okay if I came out here for this. I really appreciate her indulging me in my… hobby.”
“I am ecstatic that a player as mediocre as me can outlast all of these better players and end up with a bracelet,” he continued. “There’s still hope for everybody!”
While Albini’s player profile at the Word Series of Poker website states that he began to learn how to play poker in 1969 thanks to his great-grandmother, the announcement of his win notes that he’s been playing with a bit more gusto since the ’90s, where he’s honed his skills alongside some of Chicago’s best players.
There’s no word yet as to whether the tale of his victory will be turned into a dissonant post-hardcore jam somewhere down the line, but you never know.
Check out Steve Albini in Shellac’s ‘Riding Bikes’:
