Octogenarian ‘Granny’ Linda Hammons runs deep in $1m poker event

88-year-old first-time player Linda ‘Granny’ Hammons put up $500 in 'slot money' at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino and came 14th out of 2,628 entries to win $10,100.

When Linda Hammons arrived at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, she was unable to find her usual slot machines. Instead, she played a poker tournament for the first time... and won over $10,000. The 88-year-old Hammons, nicknamed ‘Granny’ by her fellow players, took on the $500 Mystery Bounty event, which was on the schedule of The Beau Rivage Heater.

The Gulf Coast Poker Tour (GPT) series event, which has run for the past fortnight at Biloxi in Mississippi, only appealed to Hammons because it was taking place close to where her favorite slot machines were usually located. Once in the tournament, Hammons’ ran deeper and deeper in the No Limit Hold’em event, eventually finishing 14th when she called with king-nine of clubs after Harold Evans’ shoved with pocket queens.

Although Hammons gained a gutshot straight draw on the turn, Evans had two blockers to it with his queens and Hammons bricked the river. Around her, the rail exploded into applause, and Hammons stood to take the acclaim, giving a little bow before she departed to collect 20 times her original stake.

Hammons in good company of elderly poker crushers

After Hammons’ departure, the tournament petered out slightly, with her conqueror Evans cashing in seventh place for $16,335, just marginally more than what ‘Granny’ grabbed herself. The event was eventually won by Randall Chase Cummins, who chopped when heads-up with Michael Lech, both men taking home $115,136.

While Hammons’ run is rare, and her cash of $8,400 and bounty prizes totalling $1,700 virtually unheard of among her age group, she’s not the only octogenarian or nonagenarian to find success at the poker felt. Jack Ury (above) famously slowrolled his opponent Steven Friedlander when aged 94 at the WSOP Main Event in 2009.

Other poker legends such as Doyle Brunson, who passed away aged 89 in 2023, have enjoyed success very late in their lives. ‘Texas Dolly’ famously final tabled the $10,000 No Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship event at his final WSOP, finishing fifth for $43,963.

The next day in Biloxi, ‘Granny’ Hammons was back at the felt, clearly bitten by the poker bug and back in another tournament. Asked by local newspaper, the Sun Herald, Hammons explained the night before in charmingly naïve terms.

“They took out the machines that I wanted to play, so I just wandered up here.” She grinned. “Everybody’s been really nice, they treat me good. I showed them! I wish I’d stayed longer. I gotta win this one, I gotta outdo yesterday.”

Proof if you ever needed it that, at whatever age the poker bug bites you, it has the same potent effect.