Legendary Nirvana producer and WSOP bracelet winner Steve Albini dies aged 61

The music and poker world were both in mourning today after news that Steve Albini, double WSOP bracelet winner and the man behind In Utero, Nirvana’s final album, has died of a heart attack, aged 61.

Steve Albini

Albini was not only known for his amazing behind-the-scenes sound abilities for Nirvana, PJ Harvey, and The Pixies, but was also a musician in his own right, forming Big Black in the early 80s and Shellac a decade later.

For fans of poker, Albini first announced his card-playing prowess with a cash at the 2010 WSOP, the only regular event on his poker calendar – informal cash games in his chosen hometown of Chicago filling in the intervening space.

The California-born music maestro had several cashes at the WSOP before landing a prestigious gold bracelet in 2018, outlasting a field that included Bertrand “ElkY” Grospelier, Robert Campbell and Chris “Jesus” Ferguson.

He took down the $1500 Seven-card Stud title by defeating Jeff Lisandro heads-up for a $105,629 payday, though money was never the reason for his card-playing.

In typically self-deprecating manner, Albini stated afterwards: “I am ecstatic that a player as mediocre as me can outlast all of these better players and end up with a bracelet. There’s still hope for everybody!”

In the same vein, he described the field as “kind of historically weak, which allowed a sucker like me to make it to the final table,” and thanked his friends’ coaching as well as admitting: “I ran pretty fucking good as well.”

Four years later, in 2022, Albini proved his win was no fluke, repeating his gold bracelet run, this time in the $1500 H.O.R.S.E. event, Bin Weng and David Williams among the notables who cashed.

Albini bagged the win heads-up against Canada’s James Morgan and told reporters afterwards: “Everything in my life comes in pieces, in parts. Poker is one part of my life.

He added: “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. But it’s only part of my year.”

Steve Albini

He also, somehow, managed to break that second bracelet in double-quick time, joking: “The bracelet took a spill… a piece of it broke off… doesn’t matter, nobody wears them – who cares!”

Steve Albini’s most recent poker cash cane at last year’s WSOP Circuit event in Hammond, finishing 17th in the Seniors event.

News of his death stunned poker fans today, a few of the tributes on X/Twitter shown below…

 

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Professional Poker Journalist
Mark Patrickson is a poker journalist with over ten years of experience. He writes for VIP-Grinders.com, sharing his deep knowledge of poker. He creates interesting content about poker strategy, trends, and news for poker fans worldwide.
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