Naked Poker Player in Drug-Induced Haze Shot By Police in Las Vegas

What happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas, especially when the story revolves around a poker player who was stark naked in front of a church in broad daylight while wielding a gun and reportedly wanting to die because he kept telling police officers to "finish me."

The cops didn't finish him, they shot him in the shoulder when the offender refused to obey orders to get down and instead went running back toward the loaded automatic handgun he had previously dropped on the ground.

Jason Funke, who cashed three times at the 2017 WSOP, including a 490th place finish in the Main Event for $24,867, was identified as the perpetrator in the bizarre incident that occurred August 5 and was captured on video. Funke faces charges of indecent exposure and possession of a dangerous weapon, but those may be the least of his problems at the moment.

Feeling Suicidal

Funke is apparently known to members of the Life Springs Christian Church at Warm Springs Road and Eastern Avenue as someone who donated cash there previously. He told a church staff member identified as "Keith" that he had been drinking, smoking weed, and using LSD prior to the arrival of police, who were called by the church staffer after Funke seemed unable to respond to his own name.

Keith also stated that Funke claimed to be feeling suicidal. That was corroborated by News3lv.com, who reported that Funke said "finish me" to police numerous times.

But "suicide by cop" was not in the cards for Funke, who was nailed in the shoulder by a police sharpshooter. I would advise other police departments to take a look at how this situation was handled, as there have been too many recent incidents involving confrontations with cops in which the perpetrators were killed.

Gun and Pockets Loaded

The 25-year-old Funke hails from Minnetonka, Minnesota. His best live tournament score was a victory at the $1,100 Deep Stack Extravaganza III at the Venetian last year for $35,558, according to the Hendon Mob database. His lifetime earnings are over $92K and date back to 2013.

As can be seen in the video, it appears that Funke was ready to surrender to police after he dropped the gun and walked toward them. But then he turned and ran toward the gun, prompting an officer to fire in the name of safety for the cops on the scene as well as the people still inside the church who were reportedly herded toward the back by Keith, the eyewitness.

Police later recovered Funke's clothes, the handgun, and $30,000 in cash. The gun was loaded and the safety off.

The number of known 2017 WSOP Main Event cashers who have run afoul of the law now totals two, as it was learned previously that Paul Senat, who finished in 70th place for $101,444, had posted bond in Florida on a manslaughter charge before running deep in poker's most prestigious event.