Gossip Column: Michael Haag Breaks Up A Couple Fight In The Venetian, ‘Kagome Kagome’s Disappears From High Stakes Poker & More

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  • PG News October 27, 2018
  • 7 Minutes Read

Getting on with the usual game of poker wouldn’t be just as spicy as it is, had it not been for the crazy antics of poker players! Recently in The Venetian that happens to be one of the most popular poker haunts in Sin City, Las Vegas, Michael Haag did more than just play and win in poker. He took the right decision to intervene a couple`s fight and stopped the man in question from beating the girl black and blue.

While the story of the meteoric rise of Julius ‘Kagome Kagome’ Fleischer from the backbenches of online rise, his fame and then downfall may not be new for many, what we know from his latest scores is his fairly good performance on PokerStars, and him netting a profit of $1.7 Million before disappearing back into mysterious oblivion!

Phil Ivey’s legal tangles with the MGM-owned Borgata Casino continue, but this time Borgata has claimed that Ivey, who allegedly emptied out his New Jersey bank account to avoid paying the $10 Million in damages, owns $100 Million worth in holdings across US and Mexico.

Yet another Triton $300,000 buy-in short deck cash game was hosted in Jeju, South Korea and the felts were stage to high intensity action. Creating a buzz all around the poker circuit was a particular hand that saw big money at stake.

Michael Haag Breaks Up A Couple`s Fight At The Venetian

Poker player Michael Haag has been spotted frequently at The Venetian in Las Vegas lately, and just a few days back, he hit a queen-high straight flush in a $2/$5 game that got him a high-hand bonus of $1,000. But Haag’s day turned a few shades darker, when he stepped out for a break.

Michael Haag
Michael Haag

What happened next, was highlighted by Haag’s friend and Las Vegas-based vlogger Jeff Boski in a video he shared on his YouTube channel.

In Haag’s own words, he spotted a couple get into an argument that soon turned violent. Right next to the Venetian poker room by an empty poker table, the guy punched the girl in the face and started to choke her. A jiu-jitsu expert, Haag jumped on the attacker’s back and pushed him away. Haag knocked the guy out and, “Put him to sleep.”

Meanwhile, Boski, who had witnessed the incident and later shared details of the scene, had Haag talking about what had happened.

Haag, who learnt poker in prison, thought it wasn’t going to turn out right and he’d be banned from The Venetian. Much to his surprise, when Boski told the casino management about what he had seen, and the surveillance camera footage was checked, the Venetian staff applauded Haag’s timely intervention and even gave him complimentary dinner! The player who has $356,602 in live tournament winnings definitely did the right thing.

Watch the video here.

‘Kagome Kagome’ Disappears After Scoring Profit In High Stakes Poker

For anyone who has been mapping the rise and fall of online poker players over the past few years, ‘Kagome Kagome’ is a familiar online moniker. With his online winnings and phenomenal performances that saw him crushing the Draw and Fixed Limit Hold ‘em games between 2009-2011, the player made heads turn and sent the poker fraternity hunting for his real identity.

Julius ‘Kagome Kagome’ Fleischer
Julius ‘Kagome Kagome’ Fleischer

Many have been wondering who the mystery player is, given the fact that he has given big sweat to superstars like Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, Viktor ‘Isildur1’ Blom and Timofey ‘Trueteller’ Kuznetsov.

Way back in 2010, when he made his first $1 Million, it came to light that the player was German. He was earlier known as ‘IHateJuice’ on Full Tilt Poker till the site made him change the name in January 2011. He chose the moniker ‘Kagome Kagome’ after a Japanese children’s name, and requested his profile from Germany to Japan because he admitted he was, “a huge fan of this country and love to spend time there.” Before the year ended, ‘Kagome Kagome’ had added another million to his online bankroll.

He also gave a series of interviews in 2011 where he narrated that he had started playing poker at the age of 16, and freely talked about his approach to the game. “If you only think about the money, you won’t improve. I still pretty much look at poker as a computer game – I sit in front of the PC and hit certain buttons. If money meant anything to me, I would have to throw myself off balcony every time I lose $200,000.”

Just before ‘Kagome Kagome’ disappeared completely from Full Tilt, an Italian poker site AssoPoker mentioned a name, Julius ‘Kagome Kagome’ Fleischer in their list of top 5 losers in 2014. Evidently, Fleischer’s downfall had already begun. He had lost a massive $2.8 Million!

We’d have thought Fleischer will not be seen in online poker again. But he played by the name, ‘JesusLebtNOT’ on PokerStars that fared pretty well till 2015. In fact Fleischer seems to have profits of close to $1.7 Million, and popped up in the spotlight once again. The high stakes player has since then disappeared from the online circuits, and we are wondering where he is!

Phil Ivey’s Assets Total $100 Million & Borgata Seeks To Collect $10 Million

Poker Hall of Famer Phil Ivey has been in the eye of a storm since 2012 over an edge sorting case where the Atlantic City based Borgata Casino accused the poker superstar of cheating.

Phil Ivey
Phil Ivey

The matter eventually landed in court that ruled that Ivey should pay back the $10.1 Million he won through edge sorting to Borgata Casino. However, Ivey was clearly in no mood to pay since he appealed the judgment in the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Ivey also claimed he didn’t have the assets to pay so much in damages.

Looks like Ivey and Borgata have been taking potshots at the other, as Borgata claimed that Ivey emptied his New Jersey bank account. The casino asked the court to allow the judgment to be registered in Nevada, so that they could pursue Ivey’s holdings in the state.

According to the casino, Ivey has holdings to the tune of $100 Million that include a home in Mexico, a Clark County condo and several business ventures, headed by ‘Phil Ivey Enterprises.’

We do know that Ivey has more than $26 Million of poker winnings and is currently placed seventh in the all-time money list, in addition to the $19 Million he banked during his online forays on Full Tilt Poker. But $100 Million, really?

While Ivey remains silent and is certainly letting his lawyers do the talking, Borgata is clearly hell-bent on squeezing the $10 Million, if not more, out of him.

Triton Cash Game Jeju Witnesses Crazy Hand

With the who’s who of Asian high stakes circuit lining up to enter, the Triton $300,000 buy-in short deck cash game hosted in Jeju, South Korea is known to spring up exciting action on the tables. In the latest from the cash game highlights is a hand that witnessed eye-popping action, something that involved a four-way all in.

Cash Game At Triton Jeju
Cash Game At Triton Jeju

The hand began like how it usually plays out. Qiang ‘Shanghai’ Wang open raised with ace-jack, followed by a few sensible calls and hands. What was then seen was Elton Tsang jamming jack-ten and the audience expected that everybody else would fold. But this is not what happened! Wang tanked for a while before making the call, and then two more players decided to make the call as well. Paul Phua held eight-seven suited while Rui Cao held queen-ten.

What transpired next can easily be labeled as one of the best TV poker scenes witnessed in a long time. The pot had $864,000 and while it was bigger than most of the hands witnessed in live tournaments, it wasn’t such a surprise coming from the felts of a cash game in Jeju. The flop brought where Wang paired his ace and went on to pair his jack as well, on the turn and the river. Though Cao had also hit a queen-high straight, Wang’s full house won him the massive pot.

Street by street, the hand panned out great action and the Asian players were seen fielding with spirited fearlessness, making it a gripping watch for viewers.

Watch the video here.

So this is it for this update on interesting tales from the poker world, we shall soon return to regale you with more stories and tales!

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