Jon Kalmar Bio

Jon Kalmar is a 34-year-old professional poker player who plays mostly in clubs located in the north and the Midlands region of England. He is married and has one child. Among his prior accomplishments, Kalmar was once the lead singer in a punk rock band.

Before entering this year's world championship, Kalmar admitted to enduring a "terrible" run of bad fortune at the 2007 World Series of Poker. He failed to cash a single time in the preliminary tournaments, but everything changed the night before the main event began. Dejected, Kalmar tried to switch his airline ticket and return home early. However, he was told the cost to change his departure from Las Vegas back to England would be about $600. Instead, Kalmar decided to enter the last mega-satellite at the Rio just before the start of the main event. He ended up winning a $10,000 seat and ultimately finishing in fifth place, which was good for more than $1.25 million.