Poker Legend John Gale Passes Away
‘Gentleman’ John Gale has passed away at the age of 65, after struggling with a brain tumour.
Poker Community Honours John Gale
John Gale, a popular member of the poker community and two-time WSOP bracelet winner, has passed away at the age of 65. Sadly, he was afflicted with a brain tumour that had been growing for three years.
Gale’s Poker Career
John Gale has been playing in poker tournaments professionally for nearly two decades. His biggest win game from in 2005, when he earned $890,600 at the PCA Main Event. His two World Series of Poker bracelets were collected in 2005 and 2015.
Over the course of his career, Gale had accumulated $3.8 million in tournament winnings. He was placed at 19th on the England All-Time Money List on Hendon Mob.
The poker community has reached out over Twitter to express their condolences:
Many players have mentioned that he was a great person, and definitely deserved his nickname of “Gentleman”. They stated that he was a great person and wonderful to play with at the poker table.
Brad Willis of PokerStars wrote a touching tribute to the player on the company’s blog, stating that he “never looked poker the same way” after playing with John Gale for the first time in 2005. He continued on to say:
“You’ll meet all kinds of people in poker, but it’s rare to find one like Gentleman John Gale. He was gracious when he was successful. He was compassionate when others were down. He was humble to a fault. And even when he struggled, Gale could find a smile”.
Health Issues
In 2012, Gale was diagnosed with a brain tumour. He underwent various treatments and eventually had brain surgery. Shortly after this, he won his second WSOP bracelet in 2015.
Unfortunately, it turned out that he continued to suffer from his health problems. His brain tumour surgeries had been unsuccessful, and he stopped taking his medication before of the side effects. When speaking to reporters from the World Poker Tour, he said:
“I don’t know if it was the right decision. I’ll probably know in a couple of years’ time. The neurologist strongly advised me against it because, even though it’s benign, the tumor is still growing. But if I can have a little bit of quality of life instead of a great deal of quantity that is of no quality whatsoever, I’d rather have that.”
John Gale will be truly missed in the poker community. Our condolences go out to his family.
As an avid follower of sports and the newly recognized industry of esports, Heidi uses her expertise to help the team push out the best sports content. She is also continually learning more about the gambling industry in general and pushes out a variety of content.
