Justin Trudeau Can Play Politics…

The new Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, opened himself up to a poker challenge from the notorious Tony G when he apparently failed to realise that the Baltic countries existed.

The Canadian political leader’s faux pas came during a quick-fire round of questions on various topics. When asked what his favourite Baltic country was, he replied “That’s not a thing”, thus incurring the (good-natured) wrath of the outspoken poker supremo Antanas ‘Tony G’ Guogas – himself a prominent politician in his native Lithuania.

“I’ll take you for everything!” joked the poker pro turned European Parliament politico, saying he would consider returning to his poker roots to deal with Trudeau.

The son of legendary Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, Justin might struggle to match Tony G on the table in a number of ways. His salary of CAN$327,400 is mere pocket change compared to that of the Lithuanian mogul, whose live poker earnings alone amount to US$4,826,341.

Although it’s unknown if he plays poker or not, Justin Trudeau is also unlikely to be a match in any war of words which might emerge at the table. Tony G is infamous for his poker table humour and bar-room barracking, often reducing opponents to nervous wrecks as he berates their play and most everything else.

In response to Trudeau’s ‘Baltic mistake’, Guogas teamed up with several other Baltic politicians: Petras Auštrevičius from Lithuania, Iveta Grigule from Latvia, Kaja Kallas and Urma Paet from Estonia, to deliver a Christmas reminder to the Canadian that the Baltics do indeed exist.

The 60-second quiz had also seen Trudeau challenged to name his first pet and which languages he wishes he could speak, but the Baltic question caused the most ‘trouble’.

In a statement before the Town Hall, Trudeau claimed that of course he knew where the Baltics were, his initial quiz answer merely a ‘diplomatic’ answer.

Before Maclean’s town hall with Trudeau on Wednesday, the Prime Minister explained that he had meant to say that choosing one favourite Baltic nation isn’t a ‘thing’, adding he had dated a girl from the Baltics previously so was well aware of their existence.

As for Guogas, his legendary confrontational humour was often to the fore in his poker-playing career, with verbal run-ins against a whos-who of the game including the likes of the late Dave ‘Devilfish’ Ulliot, Phil Hellmuth, and the following classic hand vs Ralph Perry.