Tony Kendall

: "For the Italian actor, see Tony Kendall (actor)"Infobox poker player
firstname=Tony
lastname=Kendall
nickname=tikay


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hometown=Ilkeston
wsop bracelet count="None"
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wsop main event best finish rank="None"
wsop main event best finish year=2004
multi-year wsop winner=
wpt titles=
wpt final tables=
wpt money finishes=
ept titles="None"
ept final tables="None"
ept money finishes=1

Anthony (Tony) James "tikay" Kendall (born 10 September 1947 in Middlesex) is an English professional poker player, based in Derbyshire.

Biography

Anthony lost his mother at the age of four months, as she died from cancer. He was raised by the help of his aunts and uncles, as his father had 11 siblings. Tony had psychological and learning difficulties when growing up - as he could not read or write at the age of 15, but nowadays reads a book every week.

Kendall worked as an apprentice building merchant, but was given a break by John Kirkland, who allowed him to set up a company. The company went on to make a turnover of £53,000,000 per annum, allowing Kendall to retire early and concentrate on poker.

Timetable

2003

He shared his beginning on the poker circuit with Julian Thew and Ian Oldershaw.

In 2003 Kendall finished in the money of three tournaments, scooping over $5,000. His highest finish was at the £100 pot limit Omaha event at the Napoleons Owlerton Casino, Sheffield on 12 June 2003. He finished 5th out of 69 entries and 94 rebuys.

2004

2004 was a busy year for Kendall, seeing him cash in ten tournaments. His highest finish and prize money was 2nd and $14,386, at the £150 pot limit hold'em Grosvenor Grand Challenge 2004 at the Grosvenor Casino, Luton on 23 January. The tournament saw 129 entrants and 315 rebuys. He earned $51,014 in prize money throughout the year.

Retired from business in April, just decided to enjoy my final years playing poker & chilling. Split with 10 year partner Wendy in October.

Began writing articles on The Hendon Mob and for Poker Europa.

2005

2005 was an even busier year for Kendall, as he cashed in fifteen tournaments. Kendall cashed in events of both the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and the European Poker Tour (EPT). Although entering both of these prestigious tournaments his highest earning tournament of that year (and his career to date), was at the SportingOdds.com London Poker Masters at the Gutshot Card Club, London on 1 - 2 October. Although he finished runner-up, he collected $27,895 in prize money. This was his highest earning yet to date, accumulating over $63,000.

Was invited to Screen Test as a Presenter for Poker 425, & got the job, the show airing nightly for the rest of the year.

Became a contributor to Cardplayer Europe, continued to write for Poker Europa, started up www.blondepoker.com with Dave & Rhowena Colclough in January, went on to start the now famous blonde Live Updates. Accepted an offer from Sporting Odds to become their Site Pro.

2006

**He was approached by BSkyB, for a role on the Sky Poker channel in October and was offered the role of Poker Consultant, which he accepted. He later screen-tested for an "analysts" role on the same show, were he was given the job.
**He ceased to write articles for Print Media due to time constraints.
**His role of Sporting Odds Site Pro continued throughout the year.
**Blonde Poker was started up in March.
**He was retained by William Hill to help organise, host, & run their four Land-Based Qualifiers for the William Hill Grand Prix.
**His beloved old tabby cat, Charlie, died in April.
**Dave Colclough, Tony's Partner in Blonde Poker, stepped down in August to concentrate on Poker.
**Kendall is the Chairman and one of the founders of the Amateur Poker Association and Tour (APAT) ^{[http://www.apat.com/]} .

2007

**Began his role as an analyst on Sky Poker in January.
**After resolving his contractual problems, returned to Poker Night Live in April as a Presenter.
**Signed a 35 week deal as a television presenter for Poker Week Sky Poker.
**His roles of Site Pro of Sporting Odds, chairman of the APAT and remained as the majority shareholder in Blonde Poker.
**Won the £250 Omaha Tournament at the Luton Spring Festival
**Cashed in on the following tournaments across the UK as well;
***Southend
***Newcastle
***Cardiff
***Luton
***Sheffield
***Lebanon

As of 2008, his total live tournament cashes exceed $200,000.

External links

* [http://blondepoker.com/profiles/003027.html BlondePoker profile]
* [http://www.blondepoker.com/index.php?q=blog/8 Blog entries]
* [http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=3265 Hendon Mob tournament results]
* [http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=25486.0 Tikay's Diary]