One of the most famous players from the early years of online poker, Thayer Rasmussen, has passed away at the age of 39. A prominent figure on poker-related social media during the 2000s, Rasmussen gained wide fame as a player under his "THAY3R" screen name, which he used on several sites.
Rasmussen's passing was announced by his family via poker pro Shaun Deeb, a close friend of Rasmussen's for nearly two decades. Rasmussen's family did not disclose the cause of his death.
"We are deeply saddened to confirm the loss of our son, brother, and uncle, Thayer," the family statement began. Anyone who knew Thayer knows he was never one to wear his heart on his sleeve, but make no mistake, Thayer had the biggest heart and leaves behind love worthy of it. The six of us knew every second how much he cared for us, but perhaps many of you did not know how much you meant to him. It wasn't just stories we never thought we would hear, it was the way he tackled world issues or debated sports topics. Thayer's been intelligent, almost to a frustrating degree, since he was a baby, but y'all helped mold him into the man he became."
Deeb, in sharing the news from Rasmussen's family, added, "He was the waffle to my crush, my 1st poker friend." The comment referenced an early online MTT grinding group, Waffle Crush, of which Rasmussen and Deeb were both members. "[I] wouldn’t have been as successful in poker without his guidance, his supersystem and our propbets to motivate each other. Was lucky in 2021 to drive to Jersey and grind the online event at his house and it was like no time passed."
Rasmussen, a native of Florida, earned an undetermined amount of winnings during his career as an online pro. One of his most notable online scores came in a 2015 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) title. Rasmussen's triumph in a $530 buy-in 6-Max Shootout tourney was worth $69,825.
Rasmussen also enjoyed significant success as a live-tourney pro. The HendonMob database credits him with over $1.67 million in live tournament winnings, including a career-best $356,620 payday for a fourth-place showing in a WSOP Monster Stack NLH event in 2015. Rasmussen cashed in 86 WSOP events, both live and online, between 2006 and 2022.
Featured image source: Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood
