St. Louis Poker Pro Josh ‘JT’ Turner Dies at 46
Seven-time WSOP Circuit ring winner Josh Turner was remembered by friends after a two-year battle with cancer.
Josh “JT” Turner, the St. Louis poker professional who won seven WSOP Circuit rings and recorded more than $2.4 million in live tournament cashes, has died at age 46 after battling cancer. Turner’s mother wrote on his X account that he died Sept. 2, after fighting the illness for the previous two years.
His mother waited before making the news public. She said Turner had “fought like a warrior,” comparing his fight with cancer to the way he played poker. Daniel Lowery had shared news of Turner’s death on Facebook, and later wrote that he had known Turner was ill but had not understood that the illness was terminal.
The news drew condolences and memories from poker friends on social media. Lowery called Turner “One of the truest, stand up guys on the scene,” while saying the death had shocked many people Turner had touched in the poker community. A memorial service was held Sept. 8 at Kutis Affton Chapel in St. Louis, Missouri.
A Missouri native born Dec. 20, 1979, Turner built much of his tournament record on the WSOP Circuit. His seven-ring total included his most recent win in 2018, while he also won titles on the RunGood Poker Series and Heartland Poker Tour.
One of his defining Circuit victories came at Lumiere Place in St. Louis during the 2014-15 season. Turner led the $1,675 Main Event after each of its first two days and went wire to wire to beat a 415-entry field. The win paid about $137,000, delivered his second Circuit ring and secured a seat in the season-ending National Championship.
Turner later claimed his fifth ring at Planet Hollywood in September 2016, winning a $365 no-limit hold’em turbo for $12,516. His results across that stop also earned him the Casino Championship by an $911 tiebreaker over Kindah Sakkal, producing his third consecutive at-large bid to the following year’s Global Casino Championship.
His largest recorded tournament payday was $294,760 for third place in the $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Double Stack at the 2018 World Series of Poker. He reached three bracelet-event final tables at that series, and his final recorded cash came at The Lodge Card Club, a room he favored.
