DE
FR
ES
IT
PL
RU
RO
NL
PTWPT Champion Rutger Hennen Sentenced to Six Months in Jail
Summary:
- Millionaire WPT champion Rutger Hennen has received a six-month prison sentence and a two-year driving ban.
- In 2019, while speeding through an intersection, he hit a teenager on a bike, causing her instant death.
- The Public Prosecution Service appealed against the original five-month prison sentence claiming Hennen was using his smartphone before the collision, leading to the new sentence.
Dutchman Rutger Hennen was recently ranked 30th in Quote magazine’s Top 100 Young Self-Made Millionaires.
He also made it on the list of World Poker Tour champions after he managed to take down the WPT Prime Amsterdam Main Event and scooped up a €209,775 prize.
He had big plans to travel and keep playing poker. However, his life took an unexpected turn earlier in the month when he was sentenced to spend six months in a jail in the Netherlands.
Speeding Through an Intersection
The sentence came as a result of a car crash that took place in 2019, almost five years before he became a WPT champion.
In June 2019, Hennen was driving his Porsche Cayenne at high speed through an intersection when he accidentally hit a 15-year-old girl crossing the street on her bicycle.
The teenager unfortunately lost her life on the spot. Originally, a court found the poker pro guilty of her death, imposing a five-month prison sentence as well as a diving ban of a year and a half.
Nonetheless, the Public Prosecution Service decided to appeal the sentence on the grounds that the player had allegedly used his smartphone before the collision.
Failed Appeal
Rutger Hennen appealed and asked for community service instead of jail time. However, the court decided to increase his sentence to six months and a driving ban of two years.
Hennen’s attempt to appeal the case to the Supreme Court did not convince the judges who ordered the new six-month jail sentence and the two-year driving ban.
The European poker player, who started a lucrative €6.4 million business selling stand-up chairs and custom recliners for seniors in 2017, reported to prison earlier in May, as per reports from sources close to Quote magazine.
In June 2023, private equity fund Vendis Capital decided to add the player’s company to its portfolio, which sent his net worth to €50 million.
