Bruno "Kool shen" Lopes
An eternal icon of French rap, Kool Shen is now one of the most respected poker players on the professional tournament circuit. A World Poker Tour champion, winner of the SISMIX in 2016 and finalist in the Seniors High Roller at the World Series of Poker, the rapper joined Europe’s most decorated poker team in the autumn of 2012.
Bruno Lopes is above all “Kool Shen”, a stage name from which he cannot be dissociated. Since the end of the 1980s, the Paris suburbanite has been one of the major figures of French rap, thanks in particular to the success he achieved with the group he co-founded with JoeyStarr: Suprême NTM.
After establishing his status as godfather of French rap by launching many artists through his label IV My People, it is to a new vocation that Bruno now dedicates a good part of his time: poker. Kool Shen took his first steps in Texas Hold’em in the lounges of the Aviation Club de France at the beginning of 2008, earning a final table on a tournament of the Paris Open of Poker (2nd out of 140 players for €2,300).
From then on, Kool Shen would become more and more present on the circuit, multiplying trips and notable performances. Far from restricting himself to the role of a “celebrity” playing recreational poker, Bruno surrounds himself, works on his game, and progresses. Quickly, his competitive spirit and thirst for victory made him a feared and respected tournament player. During his first year on the international circuit, he recorded three cashes on the European Poker Tour and reached two semi-finals of the World Poker Tour! It was in Paris (16th for €35,215) and Marrakech (15th for €12,973). His consistency surprised and impressed the general public. But not the specialists, who saw in Bruno a hard worker with undeniable qualities: patience, discipline and charisma.
Bruno then lacked only a top-level performance to establish his legitimacy. Which the year 2012 would bring him, not with one, but two titles earned in just six months. In January, Kool Shen thus took victory at the Euro Finals of Poker, outlasting 108 players for a €100,000 prize. Far from being satisfied, it was again on French soil that he lifted a trophy in May, that of the World Poker Tour National Series in Cannes, where his win over 337 players earned him €108,000. In the meantime, Bruno came close to another title, this time on an European Poker Tour with a fourth place obtained in Madrid for €140,000. With five cashes since 2012, Kool Shen is also one of the French players who have made the money the most often on the world’s most prestigious tournament: the World Series of Poker Main Event.
As a symbol, in 2016, Bruno returned to the musical stage with his solo album Sur le fil du rasoir, with opening lines that set the tone: “If you wonder why I’m back, I answer you straight: not for the salary, for that there’s poker”. A few months later, he won his third title on the circuit, and not just any title: he triumphed at the SISMIX for €80,000, a victory celebrated in great style by his teammates. Marrakech seems to smile upon him since he narrowly missed the double the following year by finishing runner-up of the High Roller for €40,000.
But that was before Bruno hit THE biggest score of his career. On the €25,000 High Roller of the EPT Monte-Carlo 2022, one of the toughest tournaments of the year, he climbed to second place for €703,990. A major achievement for a player not used to competing at such stakes, proving he is capable of crossing swords with the best. Two years later, he would again step into the international spotlight, reaching his first World Series of Poker final table, that of the Seniors High Roller (reserved for players aged 50 and over) at $5,000, before bowing out in 6th place for nearly $100,000. Two results that allowed him to comfortably surpass the two-million-dollar mark in career winnings.
Online, Bruno also puts his qualities to use, as shown by his victories in major tournaments, notably the Main Event, the biggest weekly tournament on Winamax.
A pillar of Team Winamax since the autumn of 2012, Kool Shen does not miss any trip on the international circuit, provided that the multiple careers he leads simultaneously leave him the time. His breakthrough in French cinema has not made him abandon his first loves: he made a triumphant return to the stage with his lifelong partner, Joey Starr, for a new Suprême NTM tour in 2018.
You can find Bruno Lopes at the Winamax tables under his username “Kool Shen”.
Updated on 20th November 2025
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Live tournament accomplishments06/2024 WSOP Seniors High Roller $5,000 - Las Vegas 6th ($99,203) 05/2022 EPT Monte Carlo High Roller €25,000 - Monte Carlo 2nd (€703,990) 05/2017 Winamax SISMIX Highroller - Marrakech 2nd (465,000MAD) 11/2012 World Poker Tour €3,500 - Mazagan 11th ($10,282) 09/2012 World Poker Tour – Paris 21st (€16,835) 07/2012 World Series of Poker Main Event – Las Vegas 468th ($24,808) 05/2012 World Poker Tour National Series – Cannes Winner (€108,000) 03/2012 European Poker Tour – Madrid 4th (€140,000) 02/2012 World Poker Tour National Series – Ile Maurice 7th (€12,000) 01/2012 European Poker Tour – Deauville 73th (€11,000) 01/2012 Euro Finals of Poker – Paris Winner (€100,000) 06/2011 World Series of Poker $5,000 - Las Vegas 20th ($25,919) 11/2010 World Poker Tour – Marrakech 15th (€12,973) 05/2010 World Poker Tour Grand Prix de Paris 16th (€35,215) 04/2010 European Poker Tour – Monte Carlo 42th (€30,000) 04/2010 European Poker Tour – San Remo 169th (€7,500) 03/2010 Marrakech Poker Open – High Roller 3rd ($36,963) 04/2009 European Poker Tour – San Remo 75th (€10,300) -
Tournament accomplishments on Winamax04/2022 Winamax Series Master Championship €250 8th (€5,641) 12/2021 Main Event €125 9th (€2,617) 09/2021 Winamax Series - Event 39 (€50) 8th (€3,773) 01/2020 Winamax Series - Event 39 (€50) 3rd (€6,282) 01/2020 Winamax Series - Event 125 (€50) 4th (€6,219) 09/2019 Winamax Series - Event 79 (€50) 5th (€2,545) 04/2019 Winamax Series - Monster Stack Championship €250 5th (€7,029) 10/2018 Main Event €125 5th (€6,153) 09/2018 Winamax Series - Event 159 (€50) 8th (€1,456) 10/2017 Main Event €125 14th (€1,198) 01/2017 Winamax Series - Event 19 (€300) 14th (€1,407) 03/2016 MAIN EVENT €150 16th (€2,199) 02/2013 XTREM €100 2nd (€2,864) 01/2013 XTREM €100 8th (€1,127) 10/2012 Winamax Series – Event 1 11th (€1,544) 12/2011 XPERT €100 6th (€996) 06/2011 XPERT €100 Winner (€5,821) 06/2011 Main Event €150 Winner (€23,199) 06/2011 Le Galactic €100 Winner (€4,694) 01/2011 XPERT €100 6th (€1,380) 01/2011 XPERT €100 3rd (€2,733) 09/2010 XPERT €100 Winner (€3,300) 09/2010 XPERT €100 2nd (€2,362) 09/2010 XPERT €100 2nd (€2,385) 08/2010 XPERT €100 3rd (€1,871)
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