Gus Hansen, one of poker’s all-time most popular players, will compete in Friday’s World Poker Tour (WPT) Premier Meet-Up Game (MUG) at Wynn Las Vegas.
The “Great Dane” was a fan favorite during the poker boom era, regularly competing on popular shows such as High Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark. Fans loved his colorful personality and loose style of play. Any two cards were good enough for Gus, which created great action.
Epic Cash Game Lineup
Hansen will compete in the Premier MUG starting at 9 a.m. PT Friday on the Strip in some low-stakes no-limit hold’em games against some big name pros and regular poker fans. The noted players in attendance include poker vlogging legends Brad Owen and Andrew Neeme, poker G.O.A.T. Phil Ivey, and others.
The MUG will kickstart the upcoming WPT World Championship series, which includes the largest guaranteed poker tournament in history — $40 million — Dec. 12-21.
Last year’s Premier MUG featured an equally stacked lineup that included WPT commentators Vince Van Patten and Tony Dunst, celebrity DJ Steve Aoki, and poker legend Patrik Antonius.
Return of a World Poker Tour Star
Hansen’s online poker results are often brought up when discussing the long-time pro. But many forget that he was once one of the best tournament players in the world.
According to The Hendon Mob, the “Great Dane” has over $10 million in live tournament cashes, but only one cash since 2014. Back in the 2000s, he was one of the top performers on the World Poker Tour, and still sits among the all-time WPT leaders in many categories.
Hansen is tied for second all-time with three Main Tour wins, one behind Darren Elias. He’s reached seven WPT final tables and has over $4 million in World Poker Tour cashes, his biggest being $1.7 million for second place in the 2007 WPT World Championship.
“Gus is one of the original superstars of the World Poker Tour and holds a special place in WPT lore as the first ever WPT Champion,” stated Adam Pliska, WPT CEO. “We are honored to have him as a part of the opening activity of the WPT World Championship festival.”
In May 2002, he took down the first ever World Poker Tour event, the Five Diamond World Classic at Bellagio in Las Vegas, for $581,480, beating Poker Hall of Famer John Juanda heads up.
The 49-year-old Danish poker player hasn’t appeared much in televised or live events the past decade, but poker fans will have an opportunity to see him in action and compete against him on Friday at Wynn.