Gus Hansen’s Expensive Miss of Flight

Gus Hansen chose to play on instead of flying home and paid the price. Hansen first hit the high stakes tables in Macau in January this year and made the most of it: he is said to have piled up $3.86 million in three 24-hours long sessions. The Dane pro then headed for Melbourne, Australia for the Aussie Millions for $823,579 by finishing 3rd in the Super High Roller event.

Gus Hansen

Following his successful sessions, Hansen returned to Macau for yet another set of high stakes games; only this time, it cost him more than he had bargained for. Although exact amounts are as yet unconfirmed, the pro was relieved of a huge load of money at the StarWorld casino.

“We have just begun a new session and my flight is leaving in 6 hours. I used to have the world record in missed flights, but lately I have been a good boy and making in time to the airport, but I have my doubts about this flight? If I feel comfortable at the poker table and are not losing too much I might finish out this session and catch a later flight,” he wrote in his blog on 8 February.

A day later, he sounded much less optimistic: “Back on track with the missed flights and sadly I must admit this could be the most expensive one I have ever missed Right at this moment we are playing 9 handed and I am not exactly winning. I did just hit the Nut-flush against top pair so the deficit is decreasing, but I have still some ways to go. I am planning to catch the midnight flight to Helsinki, but this is obviously not a ‘For Sure’ thing.”

“After a lengthy session (29 hours) I was finally off to the airport heading back to Europe. It was a session that started off poorly, then suddenly turned into what looked like a lucrative session only to end as a losing horse trying to make it to the finish line. It was the most expensive flight I have ever missed and in hindsight maybe the most expensive anyone has ever missed, but I shouldn’t forget I had a great trip the first time I was in Macau, so I was definitely due for some losing sessions. Now it is Denmark for a week or two, and since the EPT is stopping by Copenhagen very soon I might try my luck there,” his latest entry reads from 10 February.

Hansen’s worst session was on 6 February, when he lost – among else – a HKD14.7 million (or $1.89 million) pot. Following a raise on the 9 6 2 flop, he pushed with 9 7 and two other players called. One of them held a set and the other had a nut flush draw, while Hansen missed his runner-runner outs.

Speaking of Macau, the youngest player ever to have played at the high stakes tables there turned up this year: 19 years old Ole-Kristian Nergard has been known in the community as ‘SOLID_FUNDS,’ playing high stakes at FTP. Even though he is considered a promising grinder, poker is by far not his only source of income: he has $28.8 million worth of shares in his father’s fishing company.

Ole-Kristian Nergard