Last weekend was a whirlwind one for Rick TheClaimeerTrigg (pictured), who checked into the hospital for a gallbladder problem, only to be discharged and win the 888 Poker Mega Deep. No, we can’t make this stuff up. “I pleaded with the doc to let me out on Sunday,” Trigg told us. Yes, that’s impressive. “They gave me antibiotics by tablet and sent me on my way.” The result: a win in the Mega Deep for $40,000 after defeating a field of nearly 1,000.

Trigg said he was running at about 85% health-wise in the Mega Deep and his Sunday grind ultimately checked in at 17 hours. Did we mention he was in the hospital the day before? By the way, his surgery to remove his gallbladder will take place soon; in the interim, pain meds will have to do.

He has had success in the Mega Deep before, but usually “keeps it in the corner of the screen and lets it mind its own business.” He added, “It’s funny. Over Christmas, I e-mailed 888 saying they could be PokerStars‘ #1 competitor if only they sorted the schedule out. The next day, their card room manager got me on Skype. We had a long chat and basically the site’s Crocodile and Volcano came around because of our chat.”

He has run “insanely hot” on 888 since. Trigg took down the aforementioned Crocodile earlier this month for $19,000. Last year, he won the site’s Sunday Challenge for $23,000. Overall, he has $144,000 in winnings on 888, much of it in the last nine months. He won the PocketFives 2014 Yearly PLB.

Trigg has been a staple of the upper echelons of the PocketFives Online Poker Rankings in recent years. He climbed as high as #4 worldwide on the leaderboard last year and currently stands at #30. He’s the top-ranked player in Sheffield in the UK and #4 in his home country. He has piled up over $5.6 million in online winnings over the years.

Away from poker, aside from recovering from his gallbladder malady, Trigg has been spending time with friends and family, house hunting, and dating, looking for a potential Mrs. Claimeer. We asked him how the dating scene was going; his response: “I’d say we have middle pair and a gutshot on the flop.”

If you’re wondering how to avoid a gallbladder SNAFU of your own, check out the following words of wisdom from Trigg: “If you eat shitty food for 10 years, then lose weight and have stomach pains after eating fatty food, it’s probably gallstones and it hurts like hell.” There you go.

Congrats to Trigg on his recent wins on 888. If you don’t already have an 888 account, sign up through the links on PocketFives to get an enhanced 100% up to $600 deposit bonus, $88 free in most locations, and one free month of Tournament Poker Edge or CardRunners poker training. Click here to get started.

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