Dan Ruttenberg would probably forgive you for thinking he isn't a serious man. He'd know you were wrong in your thinking, but he'd probably forgive you anyway.
To be clear, Ruttenberg is, in fact, serious in the kinds of ways you wouldn't expect. He's an attorney with multiple degrees from respected universities. He's argued before the United States Supreme Court. And, take note of this: his custom sneakers have an embedded light show that rivals anything in Vegas. The dude is Serious with a capital S.
You even have to look closely for his wry smile when he deadpans, "I hate attention."
Indeed, that's a serious man talking while wearing an outfit that would stand out against even the most astounding World Series of Poker game day fit. And don't worry, the hundreds of kids who count on him back home in northern Virginia aren't worried, so you shouldn't be either.
World class poker on an American weekend
Ruttenberg is in Vegas with a big crew, a dedicated poker club of sorts that plays all year long, sends players to the World Series of Poker, and shares the winnings. He drew a seat on the farthest wall of the WSOP Main Event Day 1 field, and even though he was sitting spitting distance from 2004 champion Greg Raymer, Ruttenberg and his get-up would almost have blended into the backdrop of people vying for poker's most coveted prize.
It's the fourth time Ruttenberg has attempted to play the biggest event of the year. So far, he hasn't had anything to show for it. As if to make it even more challenging, Ruttenberg's American patriotism may be loud, but the crowd watching the World Cup in the Paris hotel is even louder than the attorney's outfit. And when it comes time for the WSOP media crews to come around, they move past Ruttenberg and settle on the champion Raymer.
2004 champion Greg RaymerEven so, Ruttenberg stands apart from it all, and it's not all about his fabulous footwear and American flag cowboy hat. It's because if you talk to him for more than a minute, you'll appreciate him more than a lot of the other stuff you see around the WSOP.
WTF is a kilometer?
Indeed, it's a special weekend in America.
Look no further than the Las Vegas Strip and its buskers to prove it. Where yesterday there stood a tatty-looking Darth Vader and a man with a fully-grown cockatiel, on Friday there shook and shimmied street-level showgirls barely dressed in red, white, and blue. If you don't don't dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge, they will wrap a patriotic feather boa around your neck. Now what are you gonna do? Darth Vader is gone, and there isn't a light saber for miles.
If you escape and make it to the elevator, you will run into a man draped in American flag, clearly just in from a long day at the pool. He'll be wearing a shirt emblazoned with a confident-looking American Bald Eagle and the words "WTF is a kilometer?"
You wish him a "Happy 4th" and he'll respond enthusiastically, "Happy Independence Day." You might feel like you've been corrected. Don't take it personally.
Nevertheless, that's when you decide it's time to go find Ruttenberg and figure out whether he is, indeed, a serious man.
Getting caught up in the good
You're going to want to make a joke of it later, because when you go searching for Ruttenberg on the WSOP dinner break, you decide that there is is only one logical place to look for a guy dressed like Cowboy Uncle Sam: Guy Fieri's Flavortown Sports Kitchen.
And when you're right, you're gonna want to lead with that joke. But before you can even get that far, Ruttenberg will stop you, look you dead in the eye, grab your hand to shake it, and say without a whisper of irony, "I'm a very proud American, and it's nice to have fun. It's the 250th anniversary of our country, and we should be celebrating it."
And he's dead serious.
The get-up aside, if you spend even a few minutes talking to Ruttenberg, you will learn that when he's not arguing tax law in front of Supreme Court justices, rabidly supporting the Washington Capitals, and helping to run a dedicated poker club, he devotes his time to helping people. He won't lead with that fact (in fact, he prefers to recognize all the fellow club members around him first), but get him talking about it, and he'll tell you.
"I've been doing charity my whole life, and if you do a lot of charity, you learn it gives you way more than you give it," he said.
After serving on the board of a similar philanthropic effort, Ruttenberg founded Poker Players Who Care. While Ruttenberg is the first to admit it's a charity in its nascent stage, the effort combines his love for philanthropy with his love for poker. In its first few years, the charity is proving his axiom about how charity gives back to you. It's something you have to live to appreciate.
"It's an easy thing to say to somebody, but until they experience it, they don't necessarily believe that," he said.
Poker Players Who Care has focused its early efforts on kids in late elementary school who are functioning with a kindergartner's reading ability. The kids can't afford tutors, and that's where the charity steps in.
"We put them into our internet-based tutoring program. It's 12 weeks, and they come out often a grade level up,' he said.
While Ruttenberg could almost certainly raise money and support the kids in a lot of ways, the man simply loves poker. He and his friends have a plaque on which they post the names of anyone who has cashed in the WSOP Main Event. His name isn't on it yet, and he's serious about trying to change that.
And regardless of what happens in Vegas, when he gets back to Virginia, it will be back to work for Poker Players Who Care. Ruttenberg knows better than anyone, the money may be the draw to the World Series, but the fun of the game will draw people to his organization's charity poker events.
"Our slogan is 'Come for the fun, get caught up in the good,'" he said.
And, yeah, he was serious.
