High-Stakes Poker Pro Kane Kalas Talks New Music Album

Strong pipes run in the family for high-stakes poker player, investor, and singer Kane Kalas. The son of famed Philadelphia Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas has used his own voice for numerous musicals while also belting out the national anthem at the occasional Phillies home game. He’s also frequently showed off his talents in the poker commentary booth.

Kalas has released a new music album, showing off his voice even more.

“[The album] revisits classics from music’s golden age with a modern spin,” he tells Card Player. “If you’re a fan of Sinatra, Dean Martin, or Michael Bublé, then you’ll love the album.”

High Hopes is a tribute to his late father and the city of Philadelphia.

“Every song had special meaning to my dad, and he was known to sing many of them at events and piano bars in the Philadelphia area. To this day, 14 years after his passing, the Phillies still play a video of my father singing ‘High Hopes’ after every home win on the jumbotron.”

Vintage Sounds

Kalas seems to be a man of many talents. At the poker table, he has $1.9 million in live tournament winnings. That record includes a runner-up finish on the World Poker Tour and significant winnings at high-stakes cash game tables. Until recently, he held the record for winning the largest televised cash game pot in history worth about $2.1 million.

But the new album further showcases his skills behind a microphone. In keeping with its vintage quality, High Hopes includes the work of more than 50 world-class jazz musicians – with no computer-generated music, a rare novelty in modern music, he notes.

A few music videos have already been published on his YouTube channel, including for the recently released On the Street Where You Live, which was filmed in Center City, Philadelphia, and showcases the area’s charm.

Kalas also produced a mini-documentary about the making of the album and how it relates to his father and the city of Philadelphia.

When it comes to his favorite track, Kalas picked On the Way to Cape May, originally by Maurice “Buddy” Nugent. The tune became a popular summertime song around Philadelphia, the Delaware Valley, and South Jersey areas.

“My dad used to hum this catchy tune almost daily,” Kalas says. “Because it’s lesser known and such a niche song, the only version of the song I’d ever heard was very folky. I thought it would sound great jazzed up a bit. I turned the piece into a duet featuring the talented local vocalist Rachel Brennan, adding a tack piano to give it a boardwalk feel, and asked my guitarist to play ‘ocean sounds.’ The result was spectacular and really captures the feel of two young lovers bantering on a trip to the Jersey Shore.”

Kane The Investor

Beyond singing and poker, Kalas is now heavily involved in investing. He spends most of his time researching individual stocks and analyzing financial filings, and makes his primary living now as an investor.

“Recently, I have become very concerned about the existential risks posed by AI, specifically following the inevitable development of AGI (artificial general intelligence),” he says. “I have been donating to causes such as ARC Evals, The Horizon Institute, and the Future of Life Institute to reduce the probability of developments in AI going badly and encourage others to do so as well.”

Kalas recently shared his own thoughts on the issues on YouTube. And while he has several other items on his plate right now, Kalas hasn’t given up on poker. This summer, the crooning rounder chalked up 14 World Series of Poker cashes including a fifth-place finish out of more than 1,700 entrants in a $1,000 no-limit event.

Check out more from Kane Kalas at his website.

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