Poker Legends: Tony G

“Of course I lied. It’s poker.”

Antanas Guoga, better known by his nickname Tony G, is one of poker’s most memorable personalities. The now-famous quote above comes from a session of The Big Game where he tricked Phil Hellmuth into going all-in and responded to Hellmuth’s outrage by stating the obvious: poker is a game of deceit.

With total live earnings pushing $9m USD, a best live cash of $1,196,000, and dozens of money finishes at the WSOP and WPT despite never taking home the trophy, Tony G is a popular contestant on television poker because of his reputation for outlandish table talk and verbal assaults.

That doesn’t mean, however, that he’s a bad guy. After winning the Asia Poker Tour in 2006, he said, “I’ve become rich!” and donated half of his winnings to charities in Asia and Australia. To this day, he continues his philanthropy.

Photo: PGT

A Poker Businessman

Tony G’s net worth is reportedly above $36m USD, and though plenty of that comes from the poker table, it’s his businesses that really rake in the cash for him. As the principal owner of major poker sites like pokernews.com, pokeraffiliateworld.com, and pokerworks.com, Mr. G is a big player in the big businesses that surround the poker world.

In addition to his poker-related holdings, Tony G is also the director and CEO of Cypherpunk Holdings. He’s also expanded in other ways, such as by being the major sponsor of the Lithuanian Basketball Federation and by serving in the Lithuanian national parliament, the Seimas, as a member of the Labor Party Political Group, the Deputy Chair on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Head of the Group for Inter-Parliamentary Relations with the People’s Republic of China, Australia, Oceania, and the United Arab Emirates.

Let’s just say he stays busy.

The Entertaining Troll

He may not be the best poker player in the world, but he still earns spots on shows like The Big Game and Poker After Dark because of the energy he brings, the laughs he makes, and the controversy he creates.

Between telling his opponents that he’ll make them “never want to play poker again” to commentator Mike Sexton having to say that “he could work on his grace after winning pots,” Tony G may act like a jerk sometimes, but it’s always a good time to watch him in action.

When someone can play great poker while also getting under their opponents’ skin, you just have to give them props.