Euro Poker News: Swede Strikes Gold With WSOP Bet$100 Bet on Jon Kalmar in WSOP Main Event Turns Into $25,000 for Lucky Swedeby Brendan Murray | Published: Aug 06, 2007 |
 
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A mystery Swedish poker pro made a great call recently when he placed a $100 bet with www.partybets.com on Jon Kalmar to make the final table of the World Series of Poker main event at odds of 250/1.
"I read in a poker forum that PartyBets.com was offering odds on making the final table at the main event and that some Swedish players were over 150/1," explained the lucky punter who won $25,000 on the bet. "I decided to have a look but ended up backing John Magill, who made the final table last year, and Jon Kalmar. I recognised both from being great multi-table tournament players online and had $100 on each of them. I never even saw Kalmar in the chip counts until day four or five when he was in the top five. Up until that I had only been able to find Magill, who had a good start but went out before the money.
"I count myself as having been really lucky a lot of times but this must be number one. I don't even bet that much at all. I have never met Jon but I will buy him a drink! Judging from the blogs I read during the WSOP, he seems to like beer so it might be a hefty bill but I guess I can afford it thanks to him!"
The 22-year-old from Skane, Sweden doesn't bet on sports frequently and wasn't in Vegas at the time. He wishes to remain anonymous.
When told of this bet, Jon was amazed. "I still cannot believe that someone from a different country was willing to put $100 on me to make it that far. It feels great," he said.
Jon, known as "Skalie" to most, had been a poker pro for two and a half years.
"I was struggling and had lost a lot of confidence. I went to Vegas with $15,000 and was down to my last $2,000. Once I qualified for the main event I sold 10 percent of myself so I could play in another satellite and win some money to pay for a flight for my wife, so she could come out to Vegas and join me. I didn't succeed and then I promptly sold another 10 percent to pay for my expenses out there."
Jon finished fifth and won $1,255,000 and PartyBets.com has put Jon and his mystery 250/1 Swedish fan in touch with each other. They intend to meet up at the WSOP Europe.