88-Year-Old Poker Newcomer Stuns Gambling World with Deep Tournament Run
An 88-year-old poker newcomer has stunned the gambling world with an unlikely deep run in a major tournament. Linda Hammons, playing her first-ever live poker event, finished 14th out of 2,628 competitors at the Beau Rivage Prize Picks festival in Mississippi. Her performance quickly turned her into a social media sensation, with fans rallying behind her improbable success.
Hammons entered the $500 Mystery Bounty tournament with no prior live tournament experience. Despite her lack of background, she outlasted nearly all of her opponents, narrowly missing the final table. Her final hand saw her go all in with king-nine, but she lost to an opponent holding pocket queens.
The Beau Rivage Prize Picks is one of the Gulf Coast’s biggest poker series, offering dozens of events with over $5.5 million in guaranteed prize money. Hammons’ run earned her $8,400 in prize winnings and an additional $1,700 in bounty payouts, totalling around $10,100. As a gesture of recognition, tournament staff presented her with a certificate for her 14th-place finish and covered her buy-in for another event. The tournament itself concluded with a deal between the final two players, Randall Chase Cummins and Michael Lech. Both walked away with $115,136 each after agreeing to split the remaining prize pool.
Hammons’ unexpected success has drawn widespread attention, proving that poker can still deliver surprising stories. Her $10,100 payday and newfound fanbase mark an impressive debut in competitive play. The Beau Rivage Prize Picks continues to attract players of all backgrounds, with this year’s edition adding another memorable moment to its history.
