Buddhist poker player wins $671,000, will donate it all to charity

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A Buddhist poker player who won $671,240 at a tournament in the Bahamas plans to donate his biggest ever windfall to charity.

Canadian Scott Wellenbach, 67, has been playing poker at a high level since 2010 with his previous personal best win having been $72,176.

In his nine years of buying in, having learned the rules of poker in his youth, Mr Wellenbach has been playing for peace of mind, donating all his winnings to charity along the way.

For his generosity, he earned the nickname ‘The People’s Hero’ in poker circles as his latest outing was streamed live around the world, and not even this enormous win – received after coming third in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure tournament – is enough for him to change his ways.

Among the beneficiaries of his past winnings have been charities Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders, while he also donates to a number of Buddhist organisations.

"Poker gives you a tremendous opportunity to work with the heavens and hells of your mind," Wellenbach, who hails from from Halifax, Novia Scotia, told the BBC.

"You're winning and losing every minute-and-a-half, and so some sense of how your hopes and fears go up and down with the passing circumstance of the world is brought to fore at the poker table."