The Great Dane is known for making some of the most insane calls in tv poker history.
World Series of Poker bracelet winner and poker legend of the 2000s Gus Hansen made another appearance in the gaming news recently, when he discussed a hand of high-stakes Chinese poker he played against Leon Tsoukernik, the controversial owner of the King’s Casino — the biggest land-based poker room in Europe.
Hansen said he spent 2 weeks at King’s Casino recently, where he brought home about €100,000 in winnings to show for his troubles. The Danish pro would have left with a lot more, but he lost the trip’s biggest hand — about $615k in US dollars — in a heads-up showdown with Leon Tsoukernik.
At least that is the suggestion on Gus Hansen’s Instagram page. Hansen gave a two-week recap in one short video, so it is possible the details for the one particular hand were different than is widely assumed. Hansen said in the video, “Lost the biggest hand, [€500,000] to casino owner Leon, but fortunately I ended up winning [€100,000] on the trip.”
People who’ve followed professional Texas Hold’em tournaments since the Poker Boom remember Gus Hansen as an early superstar on the scene. Hansen loose/aggressive style earned him a reputation as a poker-playing madman, who had the ability to get inside opponent’s heads with his unpredictable, aggressive play.
Gus Hansen’s Online Poker Career
Later, Gus Hansen became famous (or infamous) for losing the most money in organized online poker. Hansen is thought to have lost an estimated $20 million as a sponsored poker pro for various online card sites. While high rollers probably have lost more money in online ring games, Hansen made headlines for his big losses of promotional cash.
For the past few years, Gus Hansen has kept a lower profile. Over the past year or so, he’s had a bit of a reemergence. The story about a hand of poker with Leon Tsoukernik is the latest evidence of that emergence.
Leon Tsoukernik Profile
Newer poker fans certainly know of Leon Tsoukernik, if nothing else for a $2 million lawsuit filed against Tsourkernik to reclaim winnings in a poker session in Las Vegas in May 2017. The lawsuit continues apace in the Nevada court system.
Leon Tsoukernik is known for owning King’s Casino in Rozvadov in the Czech Republic. Situated across the border from Germany, King’s Casino is the largest poker room in Europe these days. King’s Casino hosts major PokerStars events, while it sponsored the WSOP Player of the Year Rankings last year — and introduced a controversial new scoring system.
Otherwise, Tsourkernik is an amateur, high stakes poker player himself. Thus, it should be no suprise that he was playing Chinese poker against Gus Hansen recently.
Gus Hansen Instagram Video
Gun Hansen’s full quote stated: “Back in Denmark after two weeks of gambling in Rozvadov. Lost the biggest hand, [€500,000] to casino owner Leon, but fortunately I ended up winning [€100,000] on the trip. Back in Vienna in three days for some more gambling. It’s going to be a great year.”
Hansen has not cashed in a major tournament since 2014, though he does not enter many events. There are signs he might enter more events in 2018, though it sounds like he still needs to tinker with his game.
In an interview at a Las Vegas tournament late in 2017, Hansen said his game still requires “getting into a rhythm. I have to re-discover and re-invent things.”
Best Poker Players 2018
Gus Hansen’s struggles throughout this decade underscore how professional poker has changed. A new generation of card players have evolved and advanced the game, making it difficult for some of the famous players of yesteryear to keep up.
His career descent also highlights the accomplishment of the poker greats who continue to compete at a high level, even if Fedor Holz, Christoph Vogelsang, and Steffen Sontheimer have surpassed them for the time being. Dominating year-after-year, decade-after-decade is hard. Poker is ever-changing and elusive.
