Ryan Riess had a tough run here at the 2014 World Poker Tour Championship Event and has been eliminated in the early going here on Day 1B. The good news for him is he's still WAY up for the last 12 months in live tournament poker.
Tied 6-6 in the top of the 13th inning against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, New York Mets catcher Anthony Recker stepped to the plate. At the time, Recker had eight career home runs in a little over 200 at bats, and seconds later he hit number nine, crushing a ball off of Matt Shoemaker to propel the Mets to a 7-6 victory.
Little did he know, Recker also launched Jonathan Tamayo into the $15,400 buy-in WPT World Championship thanks to a satellite on DraftKings.
Less than one percent of DraftKings players picked Recker to represent their team, but Tamayo was one of them.
Tamayo already has over $1.1 million in career live tournament earnings and if he can parlay his fantasy baseball run into a deep run here, he has a chance to double that.
Losing with a straight flush is even rarer, though, so after reading Karim's postmortem we headed over to inquire about the details.
In his typically laid-back and casual style, Karim — who defines the latest poker buzzword "laxxed" by virtue of an unflappable demeanor both on and off the felt — told us that he held and saw a cheap flop from the small blind, with the dealer fanning the . The turn came the to give Karim the straight flush, and fourth street was checked through.
The river paired the board, and Karim then bet 1,500, only to see his opponent raise to 3,700. The pro knew the score, however, and he simply called rather than reraising, seeing the other player table a hand containing the for the winner.
Despite playing for, and winning, prizes well over the six-figure mark, Tryba is here today playing for what may be the most important reason in anybody's life: family.
His cousin, Peter Tryba, a devoted husband and father, is in desperate need of a kidney transplant within the next three to six months. With organ donor lists notoriously long, Peter is in a race against time, and who better to have on his side than a man who wins races for a living.
Chris has decided to donate 10 percent of his potential winnings from the Borgata Spring Poker Open to help fund his cousin's cause, a truly admirable move in a game where selfishness is often lauded as a virtue.
My husband Peter Tryba has suffered from chronic kidney disease (CKD) for the past 13 years. The condition is a result of an autoimmune disease called IgA nephropathy. His condition has been managed with medications to lower his blood pressure and keep his kidney function stable. Unfortunately he is now at the end stage of the kidney disease (ESRD) where his kidneys are only functioning at 13%. He will need a kidney transplant from a donor with a matching blood type (He is A+). We will be going to Tufts to meet with the transplant specialists and get put on a list of people waiting for donors. This can potentially take years to find someone. In the meantime, Peter will need to be put on dialysis, 3 days a week, for 3 hours a session in order to help boost his kidneys in eliminating toxins from his body. Peter is otherwise a young, healthy person who has done everything to manage his condition, but now he needs help. He needs a donor. I am willing to donate my kidney to my husband, but we have a 3 1/2 year old daughter and so I feel that I need to be there to care for both of them during this difficult time. The best option is for someone to volunteer. We wanted to let everyone know that this is what we will be going through in the next few months and would appreciate any information, support, guidance, or advice as we embark upon this journey. Thank you,
Sincerely,
Rachel & Peter Tryba
Tryba also took to Twitter to let his followers know about the cause: