Colorful poker pro Antanas Guoga, known to our community as Tony G, lost his re-election bid to continue representing Lithuania in the European Parliament. But, and this might come as a surprise to those who have followed his poker career, he handled defeat with class.
Guoga spent five years as a member of the parliament. Despite losing, he vows to “continue to fight for the people and country I love so dearly.” Defeat isn’t always so bad. If it’s any consolation, he now has more time to play cards. Plus, at least he didn’t lose to a Russian, which would have been devastating to him as we’ve learned in the past.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZIRE4P7Tcw
Bowing Out Gracefully
Tony G isn’t always gracious in victory. At times, at least at the poker table, he’s vicious, often attacking opponents for playing poorly. But oddly enough, he’s typically mild-mannered and complimentary in defeat. Sunday’s election day response was no different.
The 45-year-old high-stakes loudmouth joined the European Parliament in 2014 as a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats party. In 2016, he became a member of the European People’s Party, which is the biggest party in the Parliament.
Tony G spent his time in politics fighting for better working conditions for European businesses, most notably in the technology sector.
He also fought to convince Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to stop selling old Soviet Union products in 2018. Guoga has a rocky relationship with Russia, to say the least. A year earlier, he announced on social media that Russian President Vladimir Putin banned him from entering the country for trolling and using anti-Russian rhetoric.
Unsurprisingly, he appeared to be quite proud of his ban. That’s the Tony G the poker community knows and loves… or hates, depending on how favorable you are towards trash talkers.
More Time to Play Poker
If it’s any consolation for Tony G, he can now play poker whenever he wants. He also has time to spend running his businesses and investing in cryptocurrency. Regardless of what he does with his post-European Parliament days, we’re sure he’ll be a success.
Although he’s been a bit busy since 2014, Tony G still finds time to play poker. He has over $6 million in career live tournament cashes, most coming in 2013 or earlier. Guoga was also a regular on televised poker shows during the poker boom era.
He has always been a love-him-or-hate-him type of player. While many enjoy his colorful antics at the table, others despise the behavior. But regardless of which side of the fence you’re on, you can’t deny his ability to entertain.
Like in poker, you can’t win every election. To steal a phrase from Tony G, the Lithuanian voters told him to “get on your bike.”
