Nirvana Producer Steve Albini Wins World Series of Poker Bracelet (Again)

The legendary producer Steve Albini, whose work includes albums with Shellac, Big Black, and Nirvana, won the coveted World Series of Poker Tour gold bracelet over the weekend (June 18). It was his second series win.

The 59-year-old artist entered the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event and beat 773 other players, taking home the prize of $196,089.

The tournament shared a photo of him on Twitter, and wrote, “Bracelet winner Steven Albini reigns as the Event #32: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. champion. Albini’s triumph earned him $196,089 and a second piece of WSOP hardware.”

“Everything in my life comes in pieces, in parts. Poker is one part of my life. 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,” the producer told WSOP.com. “But it’s only part of my year. I only play tournaments at the World Series of Poker. I play cash games informally in Chicago. It’s a part of my livelihood, but it’s not my profession.”

The achievement marks the second time the producer of Nirvana’s In Utero won a bracelet at the tournament. In 2018, he won a gold bracelet for beating 310 players in Seven Card Stud, winning $105,629.

“The first one felt like a fluke,” Albini continued to WSOP.com. “This one also felt like a fluke. I was all-in a million times in this tournament. In the Stud tournament, the bracelet that I won in 2018, I was never all-in in that tournament. I was never short of chips. But it still felt like I kind of fluked it because I beat a table full of really great players that I didn’t expect to beat. This time it felt like a fluke because I was so short on chips so often, and I kept getting all in, and I kept surviving.”

For more on Albini and his poker infatuation, Poker Central released the short movie, Albini Cashes In, which shows his journey in the tournament.

Photo by Jim Bennett/WireImage