Circus Circus founder, philanthropist, businessman and avid poker player Guy Laliberte has revealed some startling figures from his online and live poker adventures in an interview with the Journal de Montreal.
Although the live tourney scene is now more his personal style, there was a time when Laliberte rode the crests and troughs of the high stakes online poker tables on the Full Tilt Poker site, playing some of the most formidable and aggressive exponents of the game for “crazy” high stakes.
Using a range of nom-de-plumes that included “LadyMarmalade”, Laliberte matched wits and skills with the best in the world….and not always successfully; he ruefully admits to losing $26 million in just over a year at one point.
That sort of mind-numbing loss makes Gus Hansen’s frequently reported $16 million in the red pale by comparison.
Laliberte appears philosophical about historical media reports that in some games he was set up by integrity-challenged groups of players, commenting only that he was aware that he had been “scammed” in some games by players that he knew but does not identify.
These days Laliberte is respected as a highly competent player who is often seen at major international tournaments….and of course for his sterling charity work on the Big One for One Drop games that raise funds for water projects in developing nations.