Bridlington grandad wins £2 million in Poker Tournament
The Caravan salesman has scooped the prize in Las Vegas.
A caravan salesman from Bridlington who won the hearts of the gambling fraternity for his happy-go-lucky attitude at a prestigious poker tournament said he wanted to "lighten up'' the game.
Keen amateur John Hesp, 64, came up against heavyweight professionals during the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.
His unusual appearance - a panama hat borrowed off a friend back home, matched with patchwork jacket and loud shirt - saw him become a popular character with fans, and resulted in the grandfather-of-seven being inundated with invitations to parties and events from wealthy admirers.
Mr Hesp won $2 million for finishing fourth in the tournament, having low expectations when he joined the more than 7,000 competitors on the opening day.
And his new-found celebrity was acknowledged by game organisers when he was asked to conduct the "shuffle-up" ahead of the final day's play.
Mr Hesp, from Bridlington said:
"What an absolute accolade to have this honour of being asked by Jack and the World Series of Poker organisers to do the shuffle up and deal.
"I just want to say before, and I'm not gonna talk for long, I promise, because I've done a lot of talking this last week, how I've enjoyed this last week, well, four nights. I've had a ball.
"I can only say, if I remember one thing in this game, and I really hope the world will see this, it's a fun game.
"I love it, and I like to think I lightened up this game for the whole world and everybody who plays it. Thank you very much everybody."
His friends and colleagues at the Bridlington Caravan Centre said their boss is deserving of his success and new-found fame.
Karl Smalley, general sales manager, told the Press Association:
"It doesn't surprise me.
"He's brilliant. He phoned us a couple of days ago and said that although he was having the time of his life he wanted us to know he was thinking about us and missing us.
"It could be easy to be slightly jealous of someone for winning $2 million on the poker, but not John - he's an absolute English gentlemen."
The overall tournament winner was Scott Blumstein, 25, from New Jersey, who won 8.1 million US dollars (£6.2m).
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