There is absolutely no doubt that Steve Albini is one of the giants of music. The 60-year-old, who was born in California, is cited as having worked on over a thousand albums across his career to date. Arguably more known for his involvement in music and production before the 21st century, Albini’s influence on the industry is still evident and highlighted by his work in remastering the fantastic album by Nirvana, In Utero.
Albini has, throughout his career. had somewhat of a reputation of being abrasive and outspoken for his comments about some of the ethics in the music industry. But that often brutal honesty is also something which many have found refreshing.
But, away from the glare of the spotlight in music, Albini has made similar waves in the world of poker despite not expecting to. Heading into the World Series of Poker event in Las Vegas in 2018, he didn’t expect to get anywhere near a winner’s bracelet. But, over the course of two days at the Rio Hotel and Casino, he did just that. Following victory, in his own inimitable style, he played down his win to reporters. Albini said he was ecstatic that a player as mediocre as he could outlast a field containing the likes of poker legends Chris Ferguson and Jeff Lisandro. After picking up his $105,629 first prize, in only his sixth World Series of Poker appearance, Albini instantly doubled his previous total of earnings.
His attempts to back that win up a year later didn’t reach similar heights, as Albini got nowhere near the final table. But little did he know that he’d already earned the respect of some of the biggest names in poker following his first win. The acclaim for that victory was also immortalized in a short documentary named, ‘Albini Cashes In’.
The 2021 World Series of Poker finally returned to Las Vegas in the past couple of weeks. It’s the first time the event has been held in person in two years following the enforced interruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The disappointment of that lack of competition in 2020, has only served as extra motivation for players to travel to Las Vegas in search of the winning hand this year. Thousands of people have once again flocked back to the State of Nevada with the aim of getting their name up in lights and their hands on the sizeable prizes on offer.
Albini was amongst that cast of thousands but much like his last visit to the World Series of Poker in 2019, Albini’s luck wasn’t there, and he slipped to an early defeat. Whilst finishing in the top ten of this year’s seven card stud tournament is far from a disgrace, it remains to be seen if one of the iconic music producers and artists whose influence spans a generation, can once again return to being at the top of the tree in poker too.
