Pius Heinz Wins
Pius Heinz, of Germany, poses with stacks of cash after winning the championship bracelet and $8.7 million in prize money in Las Vegas in the World Series of Poker. Reuters

Taking home a paycheck of more than $8 million certainly isn't a bad day at the office.

Pius Heinz of Cologne, Germany, had Lady Luck on his side when he won the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.

The 22-year-old card player was rather humble about his winnings, a grand prize of $8.71 million plus the coveted WSOP winners' bracelet.

Honestly I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the money, Heinz said to The Associated Press. Probably my family is going to get a couple gifts.

Heinz won the main challenge, a marathon session of Texas Hold 'em.

It's got to be the happiest day of my life, he said. But I can't believe what happened -- it's unreal.

He used a high ace to beat 35-year-old Martin Staszko, of the Czech Republic. Nine hands before that, many believed Heinz would be out for good.

Heinz went all-in with an ace and a king; while Staszko had a seven-10 of clubs.

I'm never happy if I don't win, Staszko said. But it's not too bad. Second place is OK.

Staszko did not fare too poorly either, regardless of the loss. The player took home $5.43 million for his second-place showing.

I'll come back next year., Staszko said. I hope I can win a bracelet.

Heinz had considered quitting poker full-time and heading back to college earlier this year after a difficult six months of games.

According to the AP, he aggressively stormed from seventh in chips to first -- going from 16.4 million to 107.8 million.

I tried not to lose my nerve, Heinz said. At some point I was not making a hand. I was getting frustrated, honestly. I just tried to play my game.

The game lasted seven and a half hours. It marked the first time a WSOP match aired nearly live on ESPN, which included a 15-minute delay with hole cards revealed when hands finished.

Hundreds of spectators watched as Heinz and Staszko duked it out, with Heinz coming out as the champion.

It was just awesome to have so many of your friends and family following you, cheering you, he said.

What is most surprising to some is how young many of the players are these days and how many of them are from overseas.

What stands out the most is how young and they are and how aggressive they are and ... how international they are, said Norman Chad, an ESPN poker host.

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