Gossip Column: Prop Bet Between Somerville & Veldhius, Poker Player Shot in Texas Recovering & Gus Hansen Spotted Playing Backgammon

We are back again with yet another Gossip Column bringing you the tastiest bits of news doing the rounds in the poker world. There seems to be something about prop bets that make them irresistible! Or are they a new strategy for poker players to find their way back to fitness? In yet another prop bet, in our first tale, we see poker buddies Jason Somerville and Lex Veldhuis betting against each other to a continuous run of gym workouts right till the much-awaited Run It Up Reno event in October.

Then there came a story about a poker player from Austin, Texas who got shot outside a poker club and is now recovering with his friends, family and police attempting to identify the accused from the footage of the club’s surveillance videos.

And then there’s Gus Hansen who seems back on the speculation table as he was Instagrammed playing backgammon and poker in Monaco. So, folks, here it is all – the facts, the figures and the rumors. Read on…

Lex Veldhuis & Jason Somerville’s Prop Bet on Their Fitness Routines

Okay so who hasn’t heard of Jaime and Matt Staples winning their prop bet against Bill Perkins when the duo won managed to work up a body where both players weigh the same – 188.3 pounds after a one-year period. Another two poker pros – Jason Somerville and Lex Veldhuis now seemed to have saddled up on the betting wagon.

Veldhius has reportedly hooked Somerville onto the idea of betting on working out 5 times a week, and at least for 30 minutes, without fail all the way up till “Run It Up Reno” that comes up in October 2018! And Jason has agreed!

“I mentioned to Jason I would love to have a bet like that for some extra motivation. He immediately said he was down for that” Lex said.

Though Veldhius is more confident and is already a twice-a-week gymmer, Somerville claims that he’s going to make it and he’s ‘deceptively athletic’. We’re watching the two very keenly as if either of them lose, the person will pay a quit penalty of $10,000 and on messing up or losing a week they’ll be fined $3,000.

Veldhius certainly doesn’t want to turn into a desk potato! And he already thinks there will be gaps in their fitness routine. “I do think there will be some weeks we’re going to have to pay the $3k fine for not doing five workouts, but ideally we both won’t have to.” But for Somerille, it’s more of a ‘reasonable and friendly way to get a little healthier’.

So will we see Veldhuis and Somerville going through the bet as smoothly as a game of poker, or lose some to each other? We’re hooked on to their Twitch stream to keep a watch and so should you!

Poker Player Shot Outside a Club in Austin, Texas Out of Danger

A poker player who suffered from serious injury after he was shot outside a card room in Austin, Texas is now out of danger. Everyone was wondering who he is and the police did not make any official confirmation but thanks to social media, we now know the player’s identity. Well known in the poker circle as ‘3betpanda’, Tom Steinbach is reportedly out of danger.

Tom who was near fatally injured seems to have recovered his senses and also his good humor. He even shared his photograph on Instagram, drawing claps of relief from his friends and local poker mates. But what really happened back there at the parking lot of Texas Card House where Tom was shot early at 4 am on April 30?

The grapevine has it that Steinbach had stepped out of the members only club with a friend and as the two were walking back in from the parking lot they were stopped and accosted by an armed robber. They made a dash to run inside and the culprit shot at them. Police investigations are on, footage of the incident has been recovered from the surveillance camera outside the club and one can hope that the culprit is identified soon.

Tom’s friend and poker mate Jillian Zellner posted updates on Tom’s condition on her Instagram account where she is known as ‘Jillianfades’.

Now that I’ve confirmed he is in stable condition and his family is on their way to be with him, I’m gonna speak on this. Last night someone victimized 2 of my most favorite players. Dudes with hearts of gold and light that cannot be darkened. One of them was not physically harmed but will emotionally battle for years to come. The other wasn’t so lucky and was shot in the back. You coward selfish piece of shit who cannot work for your own money: You think you are big and bad because you tote around a gun, you will pay and you will be sorry that you fucked with this family. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. No one should have to go thru this but if you asked me to make a list, they would be on the absolute bottom of it. PSA: I don’t carry stacks with me but I DO carry a cute little 22 and I know how to use it better then you. Fuck with me or my family and you will be sorry.

A post shared by Jillian (@jillianfades) on Apr 30, 2018 at 12:35pm PDT

The incident has certainly shaken the poker community in Texas and has sparked anger among local club goers. There are some who are blaming poker players for exhibiting their wins openly on social media. A twitter user reacted by saying that card rooms are responsible for announcing a fixed closing time.

“I just heard that 3Betpanda (IG) was shot in the back during an armed robbery leaving a private poker club in Texas this morning. As someone who played in a similar private game community previously, it’s quite jarring. Leaving these clubs at their announced closing time”, said the user, Paris87 in his April 30th post.

Gus Hansen and Backgammon in Monaco

We all know who Gus Hansen is. The elusive high stakes WSOP champion has off-late been in the news for his astounding losses rather than milestone wins. Or so we believed! But if rumors are to be believed and we have reason to believe them – Hansen has been making big money and expectedly recovering his past losses in backgammon!

Backgammon definitely seems to be Hansen’s new favorite as while the European Poker Tour in Monte Carlo last year, Hansen was spotted at the cash games tables where he entered the €200/€400 Pot-Limit and also played backgammon.

200-400 PLO In Monaco

A post shared by Gus Hansen (@therealgushansen) on Apr 26, 2018 at 8:36pm PDT

We don’t know whether he did attend the World Championship of Backgammon that took place in Monaco after the WSOP and Hansen didn’t give any hints either. But we’d say this is big improvement over Hansen’s looming absence from the poker table since 2014. For those who remember, how Hansen lost nearly $17 million on Full Tilt Poker between 2012-2014 according to some tracking sites it was $20 million – his backgammon wins seems to be a sign of a comeback!

But even in 2014 when everyone was missing Hansen from the poker scene he seems to be actively playing backgammon. According to footballer and backgammon pro Jean-Philippe Rohr, Hansen is a major winner in backgammon where he likes in play high stakes.

High Stakes Backgammon in Monaco

A post shared by Gus Hansen (@therealgushansen) on Apr 27, 2018 at 11:22am PDT

“Last year in Monaco, Gus Hansen was the chip leader of a high roller event after Day 1 but he did not even come on Day 2 because he played backgammon in his room, and he earned $2.5 million in a weekend,” Roar had stated in an interiew in 2014.

Not that the Danish poker champ who was at one time (2011), ranked among the top 30 poker players worldwide is vocal about it. While he’s been posting backgammon tutorial videos and stuff, Hansen hasn’t really come forward acknowledging his backgammon wins.

In an interview, Hansen did talk about his losses, admitting to being lazy, rusty and unlucky and announced that he intended to become a winner again by evolving and paying more attention to game selection.

So hold on tight to it Hansen, and don’t give up on gaming yet. If it’s backgammon, then so be it!

And with that, we bid adieu to you all in this edition of our gossip column. We will be eagerly collecting more news for your reading pleasure in the days to come.