Cal Johnson proved last weekend in Calgary that he knows when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em.
After 13 hours of playing cards in the World Series of Power seniors event, the 68-year-old from Prince George won that final hand and a $33,600 payoff.
Not bad for a $400 entry fee.
Johnson topped the list of 464 players and celebrated his biggest-ever win holding two fistfuls of cash. It got down to just him and Carlos Alaniz of Vancouver in the final hand and it ended just past 12:30 a.m. Sunday morning.
Johnson knew he was in good shape when they got down to the last 10 players and moved his tall stacks of chips to a different room for the final showdown.
“There were 10 of us that go to the head table and I had 70 per cent of the chips by then - I was kind of just a bully,” Johnson said.
On the final hand, Alaniz was showing an ace and a seven of spades and pushed all-in with his first bet, while Johnson held up a king and a six. The other three cards (the flop) in the five-card hand were dealt face-down to each player. Alvarez bet again and Johnson called to see what was in each player’s hand.
The first turn out of Johnson flop was a king, giving him a pair of kings in his hand, while Alaniz still had only ace-high in his hand. They each bet two more times before the final cards were revealed.
“I could afford to lose 1.7 million in chips and I was still in good shape ,” said Johnson.
“The only card he could beat me with is an ace and no ace came. So I had the kings and he ended up with ace-high.”
Thirteen hours at the table was a marathon like no other Johnson has had to endure. At six hours the players get a 45-minute lunch break and every three hours they get a 15-minute bathroom break.
He was exhausted at the end but celebrated his biggest-ever poker win over a couple of beers with his buddies from Prince George, Doug Berry and Don Kehler. They got knocked out early and were in the gallery around the table with a bunch from Vanderhoof watching those final games unfold.
“Everybody was standing around watching, just like on TV,” said Johnson. “It’s definitely stressful and you’re second-guessing yourself. But when you’ve got that many chips you can afford to lose 300,000 (in chip value).”
The $180,000 prize pool was divided among the top 80. Johnson was also presented with a ring for his Calgary win.
Johnson says he’s always liked card games, dating back to when he was a kid growing up in Princeton, playing blackjack and euchre. His dad was a logger and he followed him to Prince George as soon as he graduated high school. He has lived in the city ever since.
After his logging days were done he worked as an office manager for Williams Petroleum and was there until he bought Polytech Manufacturing, which was his job for five years until 2016 when he retired at age 60.
Stock car racing fans will remember Johnson for his open-wheel racing bravery behind the wheel of a supermodified sprint car. He used to race that in the Interior Open Wheel Association series at PGARA Speedway in Prince George and other short tracks in the region, a hobby he kept up for 20 years.
Johnson was also one of the movers and shakers who in 2002 got the go-kart track built at PGARA Speedway adjacent to the three-eighths-mile stock car racing oval, which helped groom his son Brad into a Canadian champion.
Before Sunday, Johnson’s biggest power win was a $5,000 cash-in at a Super Bowl party at Kehler’s house. In Calgary he also entered the knockout event a $1,000 game in the two days he was on the tables in Calgary.
He said he plays at the Treasure Cove Casino in Prince George but only a couple times a year.
“I’ve always played cards but never got much into poker until the last 10 years, “ he said.
Kehler finished 18th in another event and earned himself a $3,500 payday while Berry ended up in the money in another event, winning $2,100.
Johnson’s Calgary WSOP win pays his $10,000 entry fee for the Tournament of Champions event in June in Las Vegas. The event has a million-dollar prize pool and the winner takes home about $200,000 US.
‘It was going to be in L.A. but with the fires they moved it to Vegas.”
Johnson’s wife, Maxine, was in Nanaimo when he won his big game and when he told her how much he’d won she immediately asked where they were going on their next holiday.
Johnson has had a bit of heart trouble lately that’s kept them from travelling out of the country to their winter getaway in Yuma, Ariz., but he’s been feeling better lately and is hoping his new medication and some tests in Vancouver will give him medical clearance to board that plane to Vegas this spring.
“It seems to be getting better every day,” he said.
