Man wins big at poker tournament

John beat a string of Hollywood stars to reach the finals

A 34-year-old professional poker player from Lancashire has scooped more than £600,000 in the world's biggest poker tournament held in the United States.

John Kalmar, from Chorley, Lancashire, finished fifth in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.

He beat 6,358 poker professionals, amateurs, and a string of Hollywood actors such as Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Martin Sheen, to reach the finals.

A seat at the seven-day tournament in Las Vegas cost just under £5,000.

The No Limit Texas Hold'em event was eventually won by a Californian psychologist who scooped £4,027,772 ($8,252,000) in prize money.

Mr Kalmar's win came just days after he contemplated giving up poker because of a run of bad luck.

As well as taking part in tournaments across the world, he has also spent time teaching former TV comedian Norman Pace and his family how to play the card game.