Poker players will tonight pay tribute to a Teesside takeaway owner who was also a king of the table.
Cheung Tai “John” Law came to England as a teenager and became a successful businessman, running the popular Sun Lok Curry House on Beaumont Road, North Ormesby, for many years.
But he dealt with chips of a different type as a first class poker player. And tonight, his poker skills will be remembered in a charity tournament at the Rainbow Casino on Teesside Park.
A loving husband of Lichun and dad to Kerry, Stephen, Daniel and Anthony, John died on October 22, aged 64.
Having chosen the English name John after John Lennon, given his love of the Beatles, he established his takeaway business as one of Teesside’s favourites.
But in his spare time, he excelled at poker and, in 2005, finished second in the world series in Las Vegas, pocketing a cool $311,555 and narrowly missing out on a coveted gold bracelet.
Locally, John built his poker reputation by being relentlessly aggressive and fearless against any opponent, but always playing with an unrivalled grace and elegance.
His total poker earnings topped $650,000 - but perhaps more importantly, he’ll always be remembered as one of the kindest men to play the game.
So tonight, local players have arranged a charity tournament in his memory, with proceeds to Cancer Research and Macmillan.
Fellow player Andy McGee said: “John will be missed by all to ever have the pleasure of sharing his company, either at his local food restaurant or at the poker table.”
The event, for the John Law Memorial Trophy, is a £10 rebuy tournament, with an initial buy in of £20 (£10 registration fee to charity and £10 towards the prize pool). The evening, which starts at 7pm, will also include entertainment, added prizes, bounties, a free buffet at the first break and MC Phil the Tower.
For more information, visit the Rainbow Casino Teesside Park Facebook page.
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