John Hesp, the Bridlington, UK poker amateur who finished fourth in this year’s World Series of Poker main event in Las Vegas, is in the news again with reports that negotiations have almost been finalised on a movie about his achievement.
The 64-year-old retired businessman and grandfather won GBP 2 million after travelling to Las Vegas to fulfil a bucket list dream of playing in the World Series of Poker, where he charmed everyone around with his big, friendly personality and taste for unusually extravagant, multi-coloured blazers (see previous InfoPowa reports).
Two months on from that surprising achievement, Hesp and his wife Mandy are settled back in Britain after a holiday and a round of entertaining and sharing his good fortune with family and friends…and he is now preparing for a new adventure as negotiations are finalised on a movie about his feats and popularity in Las Vegas.
The film is being planned following an approach by an as yet unidentified production company impressed by the “feel good” potential of the Hesp story
“I was contacted by two or three producers when I was out in Vegas, including some Hollywood names, but I elected to go with a UK based company,” Hesp told local reporters this week.
“The offer is formalised in writing and I’ve just got my legal team sorting things out. It’s about 90 percent through. We are talking several million pounds worth of budget for this film and they are looking at filming 25 percent over here in Bridlington and 75 percent in Vegas.
“We’ve had a bit of a laugh and a joke about who might play me. Personally I would prefer George Clooney.”
Hesp says his big Vegas pay cheque still makes him want to pinch himself every time he looks at his bank account, but he repeats that it was for the fun and enjoyment of playing poker on the world stage… never about the money, .
“It was never about the money for me and to some extent, that is one of the reasons why I did quite well,” he recalls.
He also has a plan to attract major international stars to Bridlington to play poker in his home town, but that’s an ambition he has still to realise.