Ken Flaton

Ken Flaton, born on 28 June 1940 and died on 7 November 2004, was an American professional poker player. He was born in New York City and settled in Henderson, Nevada, after serving in the US Army. He won a World Series of Poker bracelet in 1983 in the 1,000 dollar seven-card stud event and finished in the money of the 10,000 dollar no limit hold'em main event in 1986 (28th), 1988 (23rd), 1990 (31st) and 1997 (18th). He won the first United States Poker Championship in 1996 and competed on the World Poker Tour. He got the nickname Skyhawk when Stu Ungar, watching him spread his arms and rake in a pot, said he swooped down on piles of chips like a skyhawk. He died of a heart attack in November 2004, aged 64, while suffering from lung cancer, and his total live winnings were at least 2,575,000 dollars, with 568,525 dollars from 39 WSOP cashes.