Photos by James Glover II / Star staff Patrick Kellett, 83, of Camarillo plays poker at the Players Club in Ventura. Kellett recently won $11,600 and entry into the World Poker Tour's World Poker Challenge in Reno, Nev. "I can win this thing," he said. "I'm lucky. The pros, they don't know me. They don't know my game."

Patrick Kellett's poker-playing pals say he has as good a shot as anybody in today's opening round of the World Poker Challenge in Reno, Nev., and if the 83-year-old Camarillo man advances, he'll undoubtedly do it his way: with a wry grin, a fine sport coat and a glass of scotch.

"He's definitely old school," friend Jim Johnson said. "Patrick loves to gamble. He lives for poker and Vegas and the track. That's what gets him up every day."

Now, Kellett has a shot at becoming the oldest champion at one of the World Poker Tour's weekly televised events.

World Poker Tour officials don't track the ages of players in all qualifying and satellite events, like the one Kellett won to advance to Reno. They say poker legend Doyle Brunsons victory at age 71 makes him the oldest winner of a regular tour event.

Kellett, a regular at the Players Club poker room in Ventura, likes his chances. Two weeks ago, the World War II fighter pilot entered on a whim at a qualifying tournament at the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino in Reno — and won. Organizers said he was the oldest winner in that qualifying event's history.

His prize: $11,600 in cash and a free seat, valued at $7,500, in this week's Texas Hold 'Em tour event at the same casino.

The victory "made me feel good that I could compete with these kids with their hats on backwards," Kellett said Friday during a break from a morning game at the Players Club, where he picked up the nickname of "Silver Fox."

"I can win this thing," he added. "I'm lucky. The pros, they don't know me. They don't know my game. The cards will do the talking."

Kellett may not be the biggest name in Reno, but few will have more fun, said Johnson, who has joined Kellett for several all-night poker benders in Vegas.

"For him, it's about the action," said Johnson, 41, who wasn't even born when Kellett started picking up the game.

Although four decades his junior, Johnson asked Kellett to be his best man at his wedding. "You're not going to find a better guy," Johnson said.

Regulars at the Players Club, where Kellett has placed bets for 40 years, described him as one of the good guys, a real character who enjoys the camaraderie of the game. He's also a regular face at the Derby Club, an off-track horse betting venue at the Ventura County Fairgrounds.

"The whole club is going to be rooting for him," said Bill Kracht, the Players Club's general manager.

Born in Yorkshire, England, in 1925, Kellett grew up in a working-class neighborhood. His father was a linotype mechanic at the Yorkshire Evening Post, and his mother was a homemaker who raised six children.

Some of his fondest childhood memories involve trips to the horse track with his grandfather, he said.

During World War II, Kellett served in the British Air Force, flying planes over North Africa and the Suez Canal, he said.

His love of poker came later, when he moved to western Canada and his children were older. As an engineer, he spent time on the road on field inspection jobs.

"When I would arrive at the hotel, I'd always ask if there was a card room nearby," he recalled.

He figures he's been playing for 50 years, long before Texas Hold 'Em and televised poker gained popularity.

After he outlived a couple of his "lady friends," Kellett said, poker became a positive outlet for him. The Players Club in Ventura was a home away from home.

"Playing poker really helped me to forget my problems," said Kellett, who also lost a daughter in a traffic accident.

His latest girlfriend, Shirley Frances, will be with him in Reno.

"She's wonderful," he said. "She understands poker is one of my basic priorities. For players like me who like to gamble, you just can't stop them. We love it too much."