Poker is taking off in Hunstanton and already more than 30 players with colourful names like Saul "baby face" Cassie, Vicki "the rose" Davies and John "the jewel" Pesci are battling it out at the card tables each Thursday in No Limit Texas Hold 'Em Poker.

But No Limits applies to the type of poker – not the money at stake for the league is about the skill and fun of a card game, and not money changing hands, although the player who wins the regional and national finals of the league will take home a prize of £2,500.

Gary O'Quigley, tournament director at Bowlers Bar, said that 1,000 pubs around the country are running similar Red Tooth Poker leagues. In Hunstanton the league operates each Thursday evening and poker for all-comers is also played each Monday.

"I started playing with friends and we played in each other's homes. But unlike the poker games you see in American films which makes it look like a game of bluff, it's really a game of chance though there is an element of skill."

Mr Chilvers won with 520 points and now goes forward to the regional finals in Northamptonshire together with runners-up, Kevin Panks (500 points), Ricky Buck (460) and Spencer Smith (460).

After presenting the trophy Mr Bird said, "I'm keen to support local businesses and sporting activities of all types – anything that encourages people to broaden their horizons."