WSOP and Punta Cana Classic Staff Fund Rising for Family of Late Poker Dealer Casey Jones

The poker community is still mourning one of its own following the tragic death of 29-year-old father of three-year-old twin daughters, Casey Jones.  While traveling with his family in the Southwest USA succumb to a mysterious disease that rendered him unconscious and ultimately took his life. 

William “PokerMonkey” South explained Jones role in the poker community on his blog:

"Some people are not so fortunate. If you are a poker player...there is a good chance you know Casey Jones. Casey is the son of Dennis Jones...who has been working in some capacity for the WSOP for years now. Dennis is one of the good guys. And Casey has always been one of my favorite guys. He started out as a dealer. His silent demeanor, and dry sense of humor have always drawn me to him. He is one of those rare types that are intelligent beyond its usefulness in his chosen field...which have always made for entertaining conversations with him.

"Casey worked his way up the ladder in poker. At this summer's WSOP, he could be found working as a floor supervisor during tournaments."

A number of folks involved with the World Series of Poker and the upcoming Punta Cana Poker Classic have begun raising money for Casey’s family after he passed away on August 18. 

Julius Maxwell, who will be providing live updates from this year’s event for Gambling911.com, had this to offer:  “I did not meet him but a lot of the WSOP/Punta Cana staff did and I was surprised about how my friends like Thomas Mcgee, Jena Phillips, Troy Iverson and all of them start raising money in a New York Minute to help Casey's family with the burdens that medical care can bring and help return his remains to Texas.”

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Jack Craig Effle, Vice President – International Poker Operations
Tournament Director – World Series of Poker®,  provided a memorable tribute on his Facebook page. 

Just a few short years ago, a young Casey Jones applied to deal the WSOP for the first time. He ended up becoming an A++ dealer, and just missed winning dealer of the year by a hair. Casey wanted badly to become a supervisor. When he first applied, I didn't feel he was ready to move up. My advice to Casey was if he really wanted to work the floor at the WSOP, he needed to gain more experience as a...

supervisor before I would be comfortable hiring him in that capacity. I also knew that if he was anything like his father, Dennis Jones, he would gladly accept the challenge to prove he had what it took to be on the floor at WSOP. 



Casey was determined, and took my advice to seek more experience. He traveled the WSOP Circuit for a couple of seasons and even took a job as Tournament Director at Delaware Park to "get some seasoning." His hard work paid off, and when he applied for a floor position the next time, I knew he was ready. I placed Casey in an entry level floor position supervising side events his first year (2011), and quickly realized that he was going to work out just fine. By his second year (2012), Casey was rocking the 2pm deep stack with daily field sizes of 1000+ players. Casey worked as hard as anyone at the 2012 WSOP. No matter how crazy his day was, he always kept things under control. Recall joking with Casey on occasion when i would ask him how it was going, he would reply with, "things are good over here in the junior varsity." He really wanted to floor bracelet events, and would been given that chance had his time with us not been cut short. 



Yesterday was a very sad day for all who knew Casey Jones. In remembrance, I want to recognize Casey for what he accomplished during his time at the WSOP. I never got the chance to do this properly on a 1-on1 basis, and It's important to note that Casey loved working the WSOP. 



Dennis Jones and I have worked side by side for more than 15 years. We are also very close friends, and i would do anything in the world for him and his family. We have shared a lot of great times together, and have seen each others kids grow up. I met Casey in 1997 when I was working as a shift supervisor for Dennis in Bossier City. He was 14 at the time. Casey was always pleasant, well mannered, and respectful. His father taught him well. I knew Casey would grow up to be a great man. Well....he didn't let any of us down. He excelled in his profession, loved his family, and really worked hard to do right in life. Unfortunately, Casey passed away before reaching his full potential. There is no doubt that he would have went on to accomplish everything in life he ever wanted.



It saddens me to know that Sadie and Kennedy lost their daddy, and all who loved Casey will only be left with the memories we have shared with him. 

I would like to thank Casey for all his hard work at the WSOP, but also for being a great person in life. Everyone will remember Casey in their own special way. I'm glad I had the opportunity to know Casey both professionally and personally. I will always remember him. 

RIP Casey Jones 8/18/2012

[You Can Help Casey Jones Family By Buying One Of These Shirts - Please Spread The Word On Twitter And Facebook]

- Payton O’Brien, Gambling911.com Senior Editor