Ayr poker ace plays his cards right

Dec 26 2008 by Stuart Wilson

Charlie Johnston

A PUB poker player has cashed in his chips and won a dream trip to Las Vegas.

Plumber Charlie Johnston will jet off to the millionaires’ playground after beating 11,500 players to the dream prize.

The 54-year-old is swapping his local bar in Ayr for the casinos of the States.

And he’ll aim to live with the high rollers when he competes for the Poker in the Pub crown.

Charlie qualified after starting his marathon run at the Old Racecourse bar in Ayr.

He revealed: “There’s around 20 of us who play at the pub for fun in a Monday night league and it’s been really successful.

“Poker is big news these days, especially on TV and the internet, and it’s getting bigger all the time.

“Once I’d made it through to the Scottish finals I won through to the national heats in Stoke – and the tension was unbelievable.

“At that stage I was on a final table of 10 and we knew that only five of us were going to Vegas.

“There was a huge crowd watching but I managed to stay focused and do enough to get through.”

Charlie, who runs his own plumbers, gas and engineers business, heads for Vegas next June to compete in the final showdown.

He’s also won $850 in spending money for his trip – and he has no shortage of offers for who to take with him.

Charlie, of Ayr, laughed: “I went down to Stoke on my own and had to celebrate by myself when I won through.

“But, funnily enough, my wife now seems very keen to come with me to Vegas along with 100 people.”

Old Racecourse landlord Mark Valentine is chuffed that his league has produced a world star.

He said: “We get together and just play for fun, so it’s great that Charlie has gone all the way and will play on a stage like this.

“Poker is the new darts. We get everyone from novices to experienced players coming down and no money’s involved, so it’s all great fun.

“But Charlie has proved to us all just how far you can go.”

For more information on Poker in the Pub, visit www.pokerinthepub.com.