Ryan Riess’ Post-Win Demeanor Raises the Ire of the Poker World

After 90 hands of battle on Tuesday night – and another 171 of combat on Monday against the other members of the 2013 “November Nine” – Michigan’s Ryan Riess defeated Nevada’s Jay Farber for the World Series of Poker Championship Event crown and the $8.3 million payday. While it might be thought that the poker world would be celebrating the crowning of a new World Champion, most of the debate following Riess’ victory has centered on his demeanor following the win over Farber.

At the actual time of the final hand, both Riess and Farber were standing with their respective camps on opposite ends of “The Mothership” (the monstrous ESPN final table stage where the Championship Event concluded). When the final card hit the felt and Riess’ victory was assured, he was immediately mobbed by his throng of supporters for an estimated five minutes before he emerged to offer his congratulations to Farber for a well-played match. Many have taken Riess to task for this (and forget another post-win celebration in 2003 that, while not nearly as long, didn’t result in an immediate congratulations between Chris Moneymaker and Sam Farha), but it was his statements following that which seems to have ignited discussion in the poker world.

As the Penn & Teller Theater at the Rio continued to buzz over the finale of the Championship Event and the bracelet ceremony took place, Riess was quickly interviewed by ESPN before they ended coverage. “First, I want to thank God…without God, I wouldn’t be able to be here,” an obviously emotional Riess said to sideline reporter Kara Scott. When Scott asked him about his confidence at the final table, Riess made the comment that has raised the ire of many in the poker community: “I just think I’m the best player in the world.”

Twitter was the first place that exploded over those comments, some from well-respected members of the poker world. Two Plus Two podcast host Adam Johnson Tweeted, “Stunned by how arrogant Riess was in the post-game interview, don’t think he realizes how lucky his is.” Jason Lavallee noted, “Seeing (2012 WSOP Championship Event winner) Greg Merson cry and watching this kid tool off about being the best in the world was quite the contrast.”

WSOP bracelet winner and 2009 Poker Player of the Year Eric Baldwin voiced his opinion in stating, “So 23 years old is now below the cutoff of being able to expect some class?” while 2012 WSOP Championship Event “Octo-Niner” Russell Thomas wrote on Twitter, “Riess’ interview tilted me pretty hard, he’s just plain delusional,” and J. C. Alvarado sarcastically threw down the gauntlet in Tweeting to Riess, “You should start playing $50K’s…you’re real good!”

The reaction on 2+2 was even more vitriolic. “Obnoxious kid with an even more obnoxious rail,” wrote poster ‘JohnnyIllini.’ “Poker gained absolutely nothing tonight.” “Pretty classless end to the game, a handshake then celebrating would be fine. Learn something from Greg Merson,” wrote ‘nuxxx.’ “I can’t believe he said he thinks he’s the best,” noted ‘TheEpic.’ “That is full ridiculous. Fingers crossed he turns up at the nosebleeds online, wondering why Ike and WCGRider and Isildur are tougher to beat than Jay Farber.”

Others pointed out what may be a potential problem for the new World Champion. Rumors abound about his penchant for pit games (the story has been told about how Riess, down to $50, parlayed that cash shooting craps into his buy-in for his first tournament cash last year in the WSOP Circuit Hammond Main Event, where he would eventually finish second for a $239,063 score). This led many posters on the 194-post (and growing) thread to wonder if Riess can control that “monkey” and be a viable ambassador for the game.

The poker world’s concern might be warranted, but some consideration has to be given for the moment. After a draining ten day fight (and a four month wait to continue it), Riess’ comments, while cringe worthy, were simply the thoughts of a young man who has reached the pinnacle of the game and emotionally charged. His amount of gambling in the pits is his business, but the poker world has seen other greats succumb to that area of the casino and that is troublesome. What may be more of a concern is whether Riess can break the string of recent Championship Event winners who have seemingly drifted off from the game.

Since the 2006 WSOP Championship Event, the winners have not exactly gone on to further greatness. Other than Jonathan Duhamel (2010 World Champion) and a now semi-retired Peter Eastgate (2008 winner and some nice success following his win), the other winners – Jamie Gold (2006), Jerry Yang (2007), Joe Cada (2009), Pius Heinz (2011) and Merson – haven’t exactly racked up the type of resumes that you might expect from a WSOP champion. While Cada (roughly $1.1 million in earnings since his win, or $250K a year) and Heinz ($600K) have continued to plug away, Gold and Yang have earned only approximately $150K each since their wins and aren’t seen much on the tournament poker circuit. The jury is still out on Merson, but he’s only earned $42,990 in tournament poker this calendar year (all from his defense of his World Championship).

The true testament of greatness in the game of poker is successful longevity. Perhaps the big money that the WSOP Championship Event has awarded since 2006 placates that winner into a sense of security that, in the past, wasn’t guaranteed with winning the World Championship. There is also that pressure of forever being announced as “(Insert your year here) World Champion” that may actually push some of the former Champions away from the game rather than encourage them to remain a part of it.

He’s only a few days into his World Championship reign, so time must be given to Ryan Riess to see what type of ambassador he will be for the game of poker. Hopefully he’ll be able to build a long career in this activity and all the hand-wringing will be for naught.