One would be hard pressed to find many players with a better record in the World Poker Tour than Little Antanas Guoga (Tony G). Tony has only played in eight events, made money from five of them, finishing seventh at the WPT stop at Mirage in 2004. Paul Sandells - our newest contributor - had a chat with Tony G.

Hello Tony, Thank you for giving me a few moments of your time. Next month sees the start of the Tony G. Invitational tournaments in Vilnius, Lithuania.  Can you tell me a little more about those.

That is looking great.  There will be four events starting from April 7th with the main event April 10th - €1000 no limit holdem.  All the structures will be made by me so the play will be very fair. I think that this carnival will grow stronger every time we hold it, the plan is to have four great carnivals every year with this one being the first one.  I think that some of the events will be full as we are already seeing many sign ups which is unusual in Poker generally.

Will you be playing in any of the events?

Unfortunately I can not play as I am associated with the casino.

Poker has really taken off in the Baltic states, it seems nowhere is safe from the poker explosion.  Who is the next big star to come from this area, any names we should look out for?

The guy that won the main event in Latvia last week, this guy is so far ahead its scary.  Arvydas Kondratas, he is probably better then me right now.

I'll keep an eye out for him.  The WSOP main event looks set to be a record one for player numbers again this year.  Will you be there? 

Yes I will be there.

Many people have seen you on TV on shows like the WPT in France in 2003, you seemed to really enjoy yourself there!  What was the reaction of other players and the public like towards you after that tournament?

Well I will know soon.  The WPT event is being aired this Wednesday in the USA and I am the only person they show on the ad's.  WPT are giving me a special copy today. They are very excited and say this could be the highest rated show ever with the biggest advertising campaign.  After the 2003 WPT show I found that pro poker players thought I was bad for the game.  People like Howard Lederer didn't talk to me or shake my hand even after I knocked him out.  He felt he is from a higher class then me.  But I have many, many fans that love the way I behave and play.  It's all fun to me, it's never personal, I don't hate anyone not even Howard (I can laugh though and say that he has not won anything this year!)

You are a keen online poker player as well, where can we find you playing? 

I play on Poker Champs, my nick is Wraptduck, usually in the $10-$25 Pot Limit Omaha game.  Also on Noble Poker everyone gets a chance to play with me at Noble Poker via the freeroll.  You must register before 23rd March, my nick at Noble is TonyG.  That is where I will be online over the next few weeks before The Bellagio campaign that comes up in April.  I will also be in London playing the Partypoker Million tournament which will be live on SKY TV.

You also own a popular poker website, Poker News, how are things going with that?

We are getting to the no.2 spot with Alexa rankings in the poker market, just pipping PokerPages and behind Cardplayer.  These are very exciting times. The thing with me is I put money back into poker, I am happy to pay other poker players good money to write for us, we get really good poker news and strategy articles.

Many players are keeping online journals or blogs, do you keep one?

Yes: http://www.tonygpoker.com - That is the place to go if you want to find out about me, as well as tell me what you think of the show I am going to be on, Eurosport on the 5th of May and Travel Channel this Wednesday.  So come one, come all and tell me what you think!

Back to offline poker, when did you start playing, what inspired you to become a professional?

I started playing in Philip Island, Australia at 12 years of age.  When I was beating all the pros in Melbourne, Australia in the late 90's I knew that I should just play poker, other gambling activities were hurting me.

Cash or tournaments?  which do you prefer and why?

I prefer cash online and I made a promise to only play tournaments live until I win a big one, after which I will probably retire from tournaments totally and go play the big game in Vegas.  I used to play with Gus Hansen in Europe in all the big cash games and I know he is the no.2 player in the big game at The Bellagio.  I know that I am very close to him, although he is better then me I would love to be the no.3 player in the big game.  It's just a dream but I have a knack of  making dreams happen.

What's the worst thing about being a professional poker player?

When you have to do things, get dressed for things.  I love to wear thongs and a worn out t-shirt, I hate bowing down or saying sir, so when you have to please... its just not me.

...and the best?

The best is when you get to play for free as I have 3 poker rooms lined up that want to put me in to any tournament I play.  Noble Poker won the bidding this time but I am doing one at a time.  I did take my family this time (to Monte Carlo) and that was great.

It was great talking to you again Tony, all the very best to you and your family, I will see you in Vilnius at Grand Casino World in April.  Have a Happy Easter.

Thanks mate, see you then.