G. Wiz?

TONY G. ISN’T ONE OF THOSE POKER PLAYERS you see on TV and then forget about. Tony sticks in your brain. His Australian-accented voice embeds itself. Maybe you find him wildly entertaining. Maybe you find him utterly unbearable. But you definitely find him making an impression on you.

Tony G. (real name: Antanas Guoga) made a major splash by haranguing one opponent after another on his way to a second-place finish in the World Poker Tour’s Grand Prix de Paris event last year. He repeatedly told his foes, “I’m going to destroy you,” or “I’m going to take everything you have.” As he went head-to-head with respected veteran Surinder Sunar, he called himself the “table captain.” Nearly everyone in attendance was rooting for the demise of Tony G. And ultimately, they were pleased, as Sunar outlasted the brash Aussie. But it was an emotionally exhausting battle, and one that pushed Tony a step closer to stardom. He’s a player the fans (and some other players) love to hate, but away from the table, he’s actually a cordial guy who’s nearly impossible not to like.

“People don’t really know me, but I’m a different person altogether when I’m not competing,” Tony explained. “And when I’m competing, I’m just having fun. I love to talk at the table, and I enjoy myself. Poker to me, it’s a hobby, and I’ve been successful at it, maybe because I don’t take it too serious. I don’t study two hours every day on how to become a better poker player. I actually suggest to everybody they should treat it as a hobby because if you take it too seriously, it can get out of hand. I don’t recommend to play for a living when it’s a grind.”

The 31-year-old Tony began playing when he was 11. A childhood Rubik’s Cube champion, he got kicked out of school in ninth grade when he was busted for taking bets from his classmates on soccer games, and he quickly made gambling his profession.

Tony went a more traditional route for a brief while—moving to Hong Kong and working for Citibank—but it wasn’t long before he was traveling the world, going broke playing poker, and building his bankroll back up. Tony, who speaks five languages, now lives in Lithuania with his wife and three daughters.

He’s recently emerged as a force on the WPT, finishing in the money in five of his nine tournaments, and just as significant, he’s emerged as someone whose personality demands that the WPT find a way to get his tables on television.

“They put me on because they’re looking to get exposure for themselves, and they realize people want to watch someone that is actually enjoying the game,” said Tony, who used to run the day-to-day operations of the Web site pokernews.com, and still has a major stake in the company. “I know people don’t like me because I talk and I abuse people, but I hope everybody can understand it’s never personal. I want to be known as a simple person that enjoys poker, and an example of how anyone can come from their homes and become a star for one day.”

The way he’s going, Tony G. is probably going to be a star for a lot longer than that.