Player Profile

Gus Hansen - The Great Dane

Gus Hansen - The Great Dane

Fact File

Age: 32

Born: Copenhagen, Denmark

Resides: Monaco

Featured in: Episode 2

Key stats: Three-time WPT title winner

Did you know?: Also a world-class backgammon player, "The Great Dane" was named one of the 50 Sexiest Men Alive by People Magazine.

Also in Episode: Johnny Chan, Mike Matusow, Shawn Sheikhan, Nicholas Gonzalez, Yancey Arias

Fact File

Gus Hansen was born in 1974 just outside of Copenhagen, Denmark. Little did anyone suspect that Gus would someday grow up to be a great poker player, let alone one of People magazine’s 50 Sexiest Men Alive.

"The Great Dane" played a lot of sports as a kid, especially tennis. In summer camps, somebody always had a deck of cards and Gus started playing for dimes and nickels. Gradually, the stakes increased...

As a young man, Gus moved to New York, touring backgammon and gin rummy clubs, and hanging out with guys like Huckleberry Seed and Phil Laak. Between matches, Gus worked on his English by listening to Pink Floyd albums.

Gus played his first World Series of Poker in 1996, but looking back, says he should’ve saved his money. Since he had never really played No-Limit Hold 'em before, he didn’t have much of a chance of winning. After being knocked out on the first day, Gus decided to practice more, testing new plays and experimenting with different styles. Experimentation and mixing up his style has been part of Gus' game ever since.

By 1998, Gus found himself playing more poker than backgammon, and making more and more trips to Las Vegas. When the World Poker Tour kicked off in 2002, Gus had developed a loose, aggressive style that immediately paid off, both in terms of money and recognition.

Gus won the WPT's inaugural event, the $10,000 No-Limit Hold 'em tournament at the Five Diamond World Poker Classic. He would go on to win three more WPT titles, a feat that has yet to be matched. All in all, with four WPT wins and five final table appearances, Gus earned induction into the WPT's Walk of Fame the first year they launched it.

When not playing tournament poker, Gus is a regular participant in the "Big Game" at the Bellagio battling it out in as many as 13 different poker games with players such as Phil Ivey, Chip Reese, Doyle Brunson, Barry Greenstein, and David Benyamine with hundreds of thousands of dollars in play in any one hand.

Gus lives in Monte Carlo, and he’s always ready to play high-stakes games against anybody who wants to challenge him. If you want to play him, make sure to bring your dice; aside from poker games, Gus’ favorite high-stakes games are Yahtzee! and backgammon.