John Hesp’s Legend Grows
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The legend of John Hesp continues to grow: the gentlemanly British accent, the crazy attire, the fearlessness against some of poker’s best, the amateur turning into a poker buzzsaw. Hesp has become the talk of the series and plenty in the poker world have taken note.
At a time when many are hoping to bring the fun back to poker, Hesp certainly fits the bill. The 64-year-old has earned fans around the world with social media abuzz about his massive run. The love has come pouring in for him on Twitter:
Liv Boree: “Utterly in love with John Hesp.”
Max Silver: “Best of luck to John Hesp in the main! Playing some sweet, sweet poker.”
Poker fan Zachary Hagenbush believes Hesp’s run is some kind of karmic magic: “I'm convinced John Hesp's presence is the universe trying to make up for Will Kassouf last year.”
For his part, Hesp is taking his newfound fame in stride. Text messages have been blowing up his phone from people he doesn’t even know as his everyman, nice-guy story resonates with fans.
“It’s unbelievable, it’s indescribable,” he says. “I tried to get some sleep last night and my phone’s going ping-ping-ping as get messages coming from all over the world – China, Russia, South America. I’m thinking, ‘Who are these people wanting to get connected with me from all over the world.’ Something’s happened .. it just looks as though I’ve become an international poker celebrity in the span of 48 hours. How did that happen? I’m just a simple guy that’s come to achieve my wish on my bucket list and I’m here.”
Earlier in the day, Hesp’s stack dipped a bit, but he has bounced back some in the afternoon.
“My directional antenna went askew,” he says. “I overplayed jacks quite badly … and I lost a lot of chips.”
Throughout the tournament, Hesp has often shown his hands when raking a pot. Does he plan to continue the practice?
“I don’t know,” he said. “It depends on how I feel. But really I’ve just got to keep calm, stay with it, and hopefully make the final table. That would be a dream come true.”
A friend joined him in Vegas for the trip and to play in the WSOP, but busted on Day 3. On his own, Hesp’s rail has grown since his story was broken by PokerNews – including the Uber driver he’s used since Day 1. A family man, Hesp’s wife is on standby if that indeed happens.
“She’s ready to push the button on a flight if I make the final nine,” he said. “Otherwise, I said don’t bother. If I get busted out today there’s no point.”