Dan “djk123” Kelly could probably do anything he wanted with his life, but he will almost certainly never be a news man.
“There’s not a whole lot to tell, really,” Kelly said this week when asked about what’s been going on in his life.
In his defense, Kelly is as understated a human being as you’ll ever meet. Quiet and unassuming, you could almost forget he was in the room if not for the reflection off his gold bracelets. Before the beginning of this year’s World Championship of Online Poker, Kelly had two WCOOP bracelets, a 2009 WCOOP Player of the Series trophy, and a WSOP bracelet. Now, he has a third WCOOP title after winning $23,529 in Event #37 of of WCOOP 2011.
Not a whole lot to tell, he says.
It’s not just his most recent and record-tying WCOOP win (he is one of only three people with three WCOOP titles). Kelly has also up and left his home country. One of America’s most successful tourney grinders in recent years, Kelly left the US in recent months and moved to Malta.
“I always planned on traveling the circuit a bit after finishing school, but I had thought I would be able to play online as well,” he said. “Without being able to play online, it made the most sense for me to move out of the country for a while.”
Malta had a lot to offer the young man. He wanted somewhere close to the European Poker Tour and WSOPE. Since setting down on the archipelago in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, Kelly has returned to the life he knows best. He spends nearly all his time grinding.
“I didn’t play much at all last year, so I’ve been playing as much as possible now that I have the chance again,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of fun getting back in the swing of things. Of course, winning a WCOOP is always nice. Hopefully I’ll be able to win another one this week.”
So, for the rest of this week, the American expat will be sitting in the middle of the Mediterranean, playing the world’s biggest online poker tournament series, and looking to win a record-breaking fourth WCOOP bracelet. After that, he has trips planned to London for the EPT, Cannes for the WSOPE, and San Remo for the EPT in Italy.
“After that I’m not sure,” he said.
Of course, because for Dan Kelly, there’s not a whole lot to tell.
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