Veteran Slovenian-American poker pro Casey Kastle died on Monday at the age of 64. Kastle, whose real name was Cyril Kastelic, was one of the poker world's first true globetrotting players, spending a quarter of a century traveling the planet to play at poker events.
Kastle's passing was announced on Facebook by his brother, Stan Kastelic, who verified that Kastle died after battling leukemia and follicular lymphoma over the past three years. The news was met with sadness throughout the poker world.
Kastle arrived in the United States as a child and cut his poker teeth in cash games and tourneys in the Chicago area, then became one of the game's greatest travelers. His first recorded cashes came in 1998 and, true to his later form, came in festivals in three different countries -- the United States, Australia, and his native Slovenia.
He eventually cashed in tourneys in 51 different countries over 25 years, while amassing more than $2.2 million in winnings through October 2023.
GPA saluted Kastle with special award
Kastle was honored in February 2024 at the 2023 Global Poker Awards with the special Hendon Mob Award, for being the first player to record tourney cashes in 50 different countries, a feat which has since been matched by two other players. Kastle was not able to travel to Las Vegas to accept the honor, but his family did verify that he received it.
The Hendon Mob, sister entity to the Global Poker Awards, was among the first outlets to report on Kastle's passing:
'Mr. Please' and Fresh Air
Kastle's special GPA honor spurred PokerOrg's own Lee Jones to write a special tribute declaring that Kastle should have won two other honors -- one for his unfailing politeness at the tables and another for championing the battle against second-hand tobacco smoke in poker rooms and tourney venues.
Most of Kastle's efforts to popularize smoke-free poker-playing atmospheres came in Europe, and his work paralled that of Tom McEvoy in the US. As Jones noted, many of today's smoke-free rooms can be traced back in some way to Kastle's and McEvoy's lasting work.
