Poker Pioneer Oklahoma Johnny Hale Passes Away At Age 92Hale Helped Establish World Series Of Poker Seniors Event |
|
Longtime senior poker advocate “Oklahoma” Johnny Hale has passed away at the age of 92.
Born in Pittsburgh, Oklahoma in September of 1927, Hale served in the Navy during the Korean War and later worked as a home builder in Tulsa before turning his attention to poker.
Hale worked with Benny Binion to popularize the senior’s event at the World Series of Poker, and although he never won an official event, he was awarded a bracelet for being the best all-around player at the 1980 WSOP, making three final tables and finishing second, third, and third. He made seven final tables at the summer series overall.
“I never saw a poker player’s money that I did not like,” Hale is credited with saying.
Hale also created the Seniors Poker Hall of Fame, and chronicled his life in his biography The Life And Times Of A… Gentleman Gambler.
He was also a columnist for Card Player magazine for a short time before the poker boom.
Copyright © 2001-2024
CardPlayer.com. All rights reserved.
