Frank Kassela Drops Out of Congressional Race

On October 24, 2013, professional poker player Frank Kassela announced that he would run for Congress as a Democrat in Nevada’s Third Congressional District. He even had the support of fellow poker player Doyle Brunson, who tweeted, “@fkassela for Congress!! Wish he was on Republican ticket.#dontthinkitwouldmatter”.

Now, less than a month after his announcement, Kassela has announced via Twitter that he has dropped out of the race.

“I am dropping out of the NV-03 race because I can’t commit the time away from my family and companies,” the poker player said.

Kassela resides in Las Vegas but owns multiple businesses throughout the USA. He’s a political newcomer but a poker and business veteran.

He also announced that he’s throwing his support behind Erin Bilbray, the Democrat candidate in the race. Her opponent is Rep. Joe Heck, a Republican incumbent.

Having played poker seriously since 2010, Frank Kassela has won two World Series of Poker bracelets, both in the 2010 WSOP. One was in the $2500 buy-in Razz event, and the other was in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split – 8 or Better Championship.

He has also cashed in 19 other World Series of Poker events. He finished 3rd place in the $25,000 No-Limit Holdem Six-Handed, and he cashed in the main event. He was also the 2010 WSOP Players of the Year. His total tournament winnings exceed $2.2 million.

At the time of this writing, Kassela’s campaign site still doesn’t reflect that he’s dropped out of the race, but it’s safe to assume that his announcement via Twitter was sincere, as it is his personal account.

The Third Congressional District in Nevada covers most of Clark County and includes Henderson and some of South Las Vegas. The district has a roughly equal balance between Republican and Democratic voters.

Frank Kassela isn’t the only poker player to get involved in politics. It’s well-known that Richard Nixon funded his first political campaign with poker winnings, and Tony G. recently announced his candidacy for European Parliament elections in 2014. Tony G is a candidate for the Liberal Party, and his stated goal is to “change Lithuania”.

Tony G., like Frank Kassela, is a professional poker player with over a dozen money finishes at the World Series of Poker. Unlike Kassela, Tony G. has never won a bracelet. He is one of the more colorful characters in the world of poker, having earned the nickname of “The Mouth from Down Under”. Tony G. is also a business-owner.