BRAZIL BEAT: German player wins big _ at World Series of Poker in Las Vegas
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Max Kruse isn't playing for Germany at the World Cup, so he found another international competition — the World Series of Poker.
The Borussia Moenchengladbach forward finished in third place and won $36,494 this week in one of the Las Vegas tournament's 65 events.
Kruse, 26, played in three World Cup qualifiers for Germany but has since fallen out of favor.
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WSOP spokesman Seth Palansky says it was Kruse's first time playing the 2-7 Draw Lowball variant of poker, so he got a 30-minute tutorial from fellow German and poker star George Danzer before making his strong showing.
The seven-week series features an estimated 80,000 players. Organizers expect to give out $200 million in prize money during the events.
— By Michelle Rindels — www.twitter.com/RindelsAP
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