LAS VEGAS, Nev. — A recent graduate of Michigan State University is competing Monday for as much as $8.3 million in a high-stakes poker game in Las Vegas.
Ryan Riess, 23, is one of nine remaining players competing in the World Series of Poker’s top game at the Rio Casino and Resort. Even if he comes in ninth place, he will take home $733,224 in winnings.
Last October, Riess won $239,063 at a poker tournament in Hammond, Ind., according to his page on the World Series of Poker website.
After graduating with a business degree in December, the Lansing State Journal reports that he then used his winnings to buy a new car and enter tournaments across the country, eventually ending up in Las Vegas in June.
Riess was one of 6,352 poker players who paid $10,000 for a shot at the World Series of Poker’s top game. ESPN2 will begin televising the game at 8 p.m. Monday. ESPN will start broadcasting it 8 p.m. Tuesday, where the top three remaining players will finish competing.
