WSOP Champ Pius Heinz The "Poker Pope" in Native Germany

2011 World Series of Poker champ Pius Heinz received a heroes welcome of sorts in his native Germany, where he is being hailed as the “Poker Pope”.

Heinz is the first German to win a WSOP main event.  The 22-year-old from Cologne is bound to draw plenty of attention having won a whopping $8.7 million and some change.

Afterwards, he celebrated with fellow third place finisher and “Poker Player of the Year” Ben Lamb.

"I went out to a bar with Ben Lamb and just hung out," Pius Heinz said.  "That was great. … I was pretty tired after that and I had my entire rail with me. About 50 people. We had a great time."

Upon his return to Germany, Heinz received honors that are typically reserved for the likes of Boris Becker and Sebastian Vettel.

Heinz said he won the WSOP for Germany.

“The feeling of course is unbelievably good – but sometimes difficult to realize. I am proud to represent my country, and the support that I received from Germany was overwhelming,” he said.

-  Ace King, Gambling911.com