It was a "magical week" for Andreas 'Rayo' Kniep.
"One week ago, I was sitting in a burning car," Kniep told PokerOrg on Monday at the WSOP Circuit stop at Graton Casino and Resort in Northern California. "Then, I started a new job at Google on the same day. I was naturalized on Friday. So I’ve been a US Citizen since Friday. And I won my first ring today."
The ring was for Event #5: $600 Six Max, and it earned Kniep just over $15K. You may remember his pink hat from the 2023 Milly Maker, where he finished fourth after an unfortunate pre-celebration with pocket aces.
Prior to his win, Kniep sat down with PokerOrg's Jeremy Geist to share the story of his burning car from just one week before. They would eventually meet again a few hours later for his winner's interview.
'You only see this in the movies'
Kniep's burnt car on the side of a bridge in California. "I was coming back from a wedding in Truckee. We slept in Sacramento for the night after the wedding before the drive home to San Francisco."
Kniep and his partner, Rebecca, were on a bridge over the Sacramento River when the car started to shake. "My partner was driving and the gas wasn’t working anymore. It was making clicking sounds." All of this while Rebecca is six months pregnant.
They pulled to the side of the road, still on the bridge, and failed in their attempt to open the hood. Two good samaritans arrived with fire extinguishers, but the fire was burning too hot and they were empty before the flames could be put out.
"People were screaming at me from the cars on the freeway: 'Get away from the car!' I wasn't taking this seriously just one minute ago." Kniep and his partner grabbed what they could and made it to a safe distance. Firefighters arrived and the fire was mitigated, but not before the entire car was left unrecognizable.
"You think you only see this in the movies. Seeing a car burn down within minutes was definitely a sobering situation."
Kniep and his partner were unharmed in the ordeal. They have since heard from the insurance company, who say it was likely a fuel injector leak.
It was the start of a week that included a new job, naturalization as a US citizen, and now Kniep's first WSOP Circuit ring.
'I finally made it'
"Finally, what can I say?" Kniep said about the win. "Three times second, one time third (Sunday's $400 Mega Stack) and I never reached the mountain top. But I’m on top of it tonight and I’m really happy. I finally made it."
The victory caps off the rollercoaster week by adding $15,907 to a pile of career earnings that now sits over $1.3 million. So, what now?
"I’ll finally take a day off. I deserve some rest. But I’ll definitely be back to play the Main Event. There’s a place in San Francisco called Super Duper Burgers. There’s going to be a burger, a beer, and a few laughs. Our problems are over!"
Photos and video courtesy of Andreas Kniep
