A few years ago, grandfather John Hesp made his living selling caravans in an English seaside town.
The 65-year-old family man, who lives with his wife Mandy and their black lab in Bridlington, East Yorkshire, played poker once a month at a local casino and never bet more than £10 ($13).
Now he is worth a small fortune, having shocked the world of cards by winning £2,000,000 ($2,600,000) at an international tournament in Las Vegas last year.
He became an unlikely sensation and brought smiles to the faces of his normally stony-faced opponents with his multi-colored jackets, his Panama hat, his eccentric playing style and his desire to bring a party atmosphere to the table.
Now, Mr Hesp and his rags-to-riches story are heading to Hollywood to be made into a film.
His exploits are set for the big screen after he finalized a deal with two renowned movie producers who fell in love with his story, like many others around the world.
His friends speculated and then asked him who he thinks should play him. With a chuckle, he said: ‘George Clooney or Tom Hanks is acceptable’.
A few years ago, grandfather John Hesp made his living selling caravans in an English seaside town. Now he is a world-renowned poker player after winning £2,000,000 ($2,600,000) at a Vegas tournament, and his story is being made into a film
The 65-year-old family man, who lives with his wife Mandy (pictured above) and their black lab in Bridlington, East Yorkshire, played poker once a month at a local casino and never bet more than £10 ($13)
While Mr Hesp is celebrating his jump from small-town Britain to Tinseltown, he is also preparing for his second appearance at the World Series of Poker in Sin City.
All this is happening while he is picking up his British state pension.
During his debut 12 months ago he reached the final table and took home the huge jackpot. At the same time, he shocked his friends who said he never usually won during their nights out.
He told DailyMail.com: ‘When I was first offered the movie deal I was amazed at how much interest there was in my story, not just locally but internationally.
‘I was told it would make a great book and film and would be fun to watch.
‘I have been completely overwhelmed and humbled with the large number of people who have reached out to me from all parts of the world and told me how much they had enjoyed watching me on TV and how inspiring it was.
‘Many told me I had rekindled their interest in the game and others who had never played poker asked if I could teach them to play.
‘I was also told the TV audience increased dramatically because I reached the final table.
He became an unlikely sensation, and brought smiles to the faces of his normally stony-faced opponents with his multi-colored jackets, his Panama hat, his eccentric playing style and his desire to bring a party atmosphere to the table
‘I feel blessed to have achieved this great success and truly hope my story will inspire others to have fun playing poker as that was my mood throughout my amazing run last year.
‘I have met some really nice people throughout my journey and just hope I have demonstrated that a regular small-town guy from Bridlington, East Yorkshire, England, has shown that it’s possible for anyone to do it.
‘Throughout my run in Vegas last year I was playing in Party Mood and I often commented “let’s make poker fun’.
Mr Hesp headed to Sin City for the World Series of Poker last year as a complete amateur, but wanted to tick the tournament off his bucket list.
He had virtually no experience before he touched down, and his friends said he rarely won when they placed small bets during their games at Napoleon’s Casino in Hull.
But it didn’t take long for him to rake in some serious prize money while taking on some of the top players in the world.
Mr Hesp touched down and hit The Strip not knowing that his life would drastically change in just two weeks.
He paid £7,000 ($9,300) to enter, and played back-to-back games for 12 hours a day, surviving on bananas and very little sleep.
As time went on, and the number of players in the tournament began to dwindle, he knew something crazy was happening.
Mr Hesp said he hopes the film inspires people around the world to have fun playing poker and wants his ‘party mood’ during games to be infectious
After his success, all Mr Hesp wanted to do was fly back to the UK, get home, sleep in his own bed and tuck into a plate of fish and chips at his son in law’s restaurant. He is pictured alongside his DeLorean
Soon he was down to the last 500, then 300, then 200. He missed his return flight and before he knew it he was done to the final table.
He was living the dream, something he never expected thousands away from his beloved caravan sales business.
His name was even trending on Twitter in the US.
Mr Hesp came fourth — out of 7,221 — and won $2.6 million (£2 million). ‘It’s tax-free,’ he said last year. ‘The Americans have to pay 30 per cent tax on theirs!’
Soon his phone started ringing off the hook. The world’s media had picked up his remarkable story.
But all Mr Hesp wanted to do was fly back to the UK, get home, sleep in his own bed and tuck into a plate of fish and chips at his son in law’s restaurant.
Champagne was also off the table as he wanted to stick to his favorite tipple, Bacardi and coke.
Emmy-nominated producer, Marc Ambrose, was drawn to this fish-out-of-water story as it practically writes itself, he told DailyMail.com
Mr Hesp touched down and hit The Strip not knowing that his life would drastically change in just two weeks. He paid £7,000 ($9,300) to enter, and played back-to-back games for 12 hours a day, surviving on bananas and very little sleep
During his debut 12 months ago he reached the final table and took home the huge jackpot. At the same time, he shocked his friends who said he never usually won during their nights out at their local casino. He is pictured during the end stages of the tournament last year
‘Mr Hesp is such an engaging, charismatic and funny guy. A feel-good story set against the backdrop of poker is hard to find and the fact that it’s a true story is quite unbelievable.’
‘Most poker movies are about the dark and seedy side to the game, but this story flips that right on its head.
‘In such turbulent times, it’s a movie that truly allows one to escape and witness John’s fantastic journey.’
‘But saying the movie is about poker is like saying The Full Monty is about stripping.
‘This is really a story about living life to its fullest but realizing the grass isn’t always greener
Mr Ambrose has teamed up with fellow L.A.-based producer, Niall Perrett.
Mr Hesp came fourth in the 2017 tournament — out of 7,221 — and won $2.6 million (£2 million). ‘It’s tax-free,’ he said last year. ‘The Americans have to pay 30 per cent tax on theirs!’ Soon his phone started ringing off the hook. The world’s media had picked up his remarkable story
He is a co-producer of an adaptation of Damien Lewis’ bestselling book, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, with Paramount Pictures, renowned producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, and the Oscar-nominated writers of The Fighter.
Perrett is also producing a film about Sergeant William Bee, a hero US Marine who was captured in one of the most iconic pictures from the War on Terror, where he was almost shot and killed by a Taliban sniper.
With his background in private equity and angel investing, Perrett fully expects online poker and gambling companies to jump at the opportunity to get product placement in the movie.
The movie is going to be filmed in Vegas, as well as Mr Hesp’s hometown of Bridlington.
He hopes one day the world poker authorities will host a tournament in the area off the back of his success.
The screenplay is being written by Yorkshireman, Richard Shepherd, who has just completed 13 Angels with Oscar-nominated writer-producer Paul Tamasy.
A book about him is being written by Judy Broadbent.