It wasn't so long ago that a relatively unknown young little whipper snapper by the name of Ryan Riess emerged on to the scene of the wonderful game that's called Poker and walked away with a WSOP Main Event winner's bracelet.
This 23 yr old Poker player, a graduate out of Michigan State University along with Hospitality degree in hand was on a mission. In fact one could even say Robbie William's "Let Me Entertain You", might aptly describe how he planned on going about his next few years.
Life is not all about coming from a well privileged background, in real life terms it is literally about being able to play the cards you are dealt. This is not just Poker but life in general. So how does a kid like Ryan Riess from East Lansing, Michigan, who admittedly also spent some time dealing in one of the states Poker rooms reach such dizzy heights, was it all down to belief?
In 2012, he decided to have a crack at a major event being held in Hammond, the WSOP Circuit Main Event. What would the chances be? Well that would probably depend upon how good he was at the game, and how much belief he had in himself to go all the way, whether he would accomplish it or not.
The record shows, he stuck to his original plan, of finishing off his education in December, then slogged away at the circuit grind to where he reached the New Orleans National Championship.
Picking up the tag of "Riess the Beast" along the way, Ryan Riess splashed into Vegas alongside other bracelet winners, Jonathan Taylor, and Bryan Campanello, and scooped close to $250,000 at his first attempt!
Could this have been a sign of bigger things yet to come the following year by going all the way picking up the bracelet for winner of the 2013 WSOP Main Event? Well one would suppose, he might need to believe himself to be the greatest Poker player in the world, maybe he is?
