Musician and recording engineer Steve Albini won a World Series of Poker bracelet in a HORSE event this weekend, giving the Shellac guitarist and singer his second since 2018.
News of his victory hit many music news websites, including Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Loudwire, and NME.
A star in the studio and at the poker table
Albini, 59, has been a serious amateur card player for his entire life and hosts a small-stakes, Tuesday-night game in Chicago. The game has been going on for about 15 years and is mixed-game-centric — Albini’s bread-and-butter.
The WSOP is the only time Albini jumps into tournaments, and he sticks to mixed-game events and the Seniors event if he has a break in his touring schedule.
“Everything in my life comes in pieces, in parts. Poker is one part of my life,” he told WSOP.com after his win. “So when I’m playing poker, I try to commit to it. I try to take it seriously. I try to make sure I devote the attention to it that it deserves as an occupation. It’s a part of my livelihood, but it’s not my profession.”
That said, Albini has a pretty great day job away from the poker table. When he’s not touring with his band Shellac, he’s a sought-after recording engineer with his own analog studio in Chicago, Electrical Audio, which he opened in 1997.
Before that, Albini built a career and reputation as one of the best sound engineers in the business by recording some of the most popular and loved musicians and bands of the past three decades, including Nirvana, The Breeders, Urge Overkill, The Jesus Lizards, Pixies, Jawbreaker, Silkworm, and Killdozer, just to name a few.
There are also hundreds on that list that only the most hard-core music fans know because Albini will record anyone who wants to use his skills, so long as they have the cash and he has the time.
A two-time fluke
Albini’s first bracelet came in a 2018 $1,500 Seven-Card Stud event where he went nearly post to post as the chip leader.
This win was different, though. At the final table dinner break with four players left, he was tied for last with 1.6 million, with chip leader Jason Daly holding 10.8 million. Things got worse before Albini went on a run that started when he was all-in during a round of Razz.
He talks about it on the most recent episode of Dat Poker Podcast, where he gave more details about his Chicago home game, the poker variants they play, and how he “fluked” his way into this bracelet, which he broke immediately by dropping it.
“First one felt like a fluke,” said Albini. “This one felt like a fluke.”
Fluke or not, Albini has proven he’s got the golden touch, both in the studio and in the poker room.
— monster steve albini (@electricalWSOP) June 18, 2022
