Gus Hansen Covers Poker Losses through Backgammon?

Former footballer and professional poker and backgammon player Jean-Philippe Rohr says Full Tilt Poker Pro Gus Hansen plays high stakes backgammon and is a major winner.

Gus Hansen used to be a shark at the high stakes tables but is today one of the prime targets of the regulars. The WSOP champion lost a total of $8.5 million this year in online high stakes cash games and the sum is an even more frightening $11,786,654 if we consider his performance all the way since the re-launch of Full Tilt Poker. This makes him one of the biggest all-time losers, second only to Guy Laliberté. However, Laliberté is a recreational player, owner of Cirque du Soleil and an estimated wealth of $2.6 billion in 2012, rendering his losses seem almost insignificant.

On the other hand, Hansen is a professional player who should be able to make a living by playing. As a result, the question arises: how can he cover his losses in poker?

The answer, apparently, is backgammon. Former professional footballer and current professional poker and backgammon player Jean-Philippe Rohr told in an interview for Pokerlistings.fr that several outstanding backgammon players made a spectacular career in poker, including Hansen, Leo Fernandez, Tom McEvoy, Paul Magriel and Dan Harrington. The French pro says that Hansen is still an active player of high stakes backgammon and is also a consistent winner.

“Last year in Monaco, Gus Hansen was the chip leader of a high roller event after Day 1 but he did not even come on Day 2 because he played backgammon in his room, and he earned $2.5 million in a weekend,” he claims.

Hansen has been considered one of the best players of blackgammon in the world; in 2011, he made it the top 30 in the world rankings.

In an interview in November, Hansen told FlopTurnRiver’s Rob ‘Hippy’ King that, even though he still had money in his pocket, his aim was to become a winner in poker again by evolving and paying attention to his game selection. He admitted to being lazy and the necessity of improving his game to catch up with the field. He was optimistic nevertheless and joked about being able to run out of money.