Adam Rude won $60,000 at this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas after reportedly suffering a heart attack just hours earlier.
The American professional poker player felt tired and unwell in the shower, a few hours before he was to compete for $10 million on Day 5 of the most prestigious poker event, which took place from July 3 to 12.
“I woke up shaking, I just had chills and I decided to get in the shower to warm up because I thought I was cold and then I just stood up and woke up and I was like this on the floor,” Rude said. Poker News.
“So I went to the hospital and it was recorded as a heart attack,” he continued, referring to his defibrillator. “So, I mean, [doctors] no damage was found, they did what they could.
“They took my vitals, everything, it looked good. And they gave me some strong medicine to help me get through the day.”
American professional poker player Adam Rude was taking a shower when his heart defibrillator went off
Just hours after his health crisis, Rude appeared on the fifth day of the tournament and won $10 million
Rude eventually came to the table halfway through the two-hour level, starting the session with fewer than 20 big blinds, though he quickly found a double-up with pocket aces against ace-rag, according to Poker News.
He ultimately finished in 117th place out of the 360 players remaining from the 10,112 entrants into the tournament.
The Nashville, Tennessee, resident believes his heart problems stem from a virus he contracted that “looked very much like COVID” and also attacked his liver in 2014. He has had to wear a defibrillator ever since.
Rude said he has had heart problems since contracting a virus “very similar” to COVID in 2014
But despite his health risks, Rude was adamant he was the winner, and there were even some surprised faces when he showed up.
“I get a little bit of feedback at the table,” he told PokerNews during the first break of Day 5.
“One guy is kind of vocal that I shouldn’t be here. The reason I’m here — the only reason I’m here is because I have two boys and I want to give them $10 million.”