Runner Up of 2011 WSOP Main Event Martin Stazko Was Target of Kidnap Plot

Submitted by Nagesh Rath on

Written by :

Nagesh Rath

Published on :

Czech poker pro Martin Staszko was the target of a kidnapping plot by a group of individuals suspected in the disappearance of two wealthy businessmen, it was revealed last week.

The plot was hatched shortly after Stazko took 2nd place at the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event.  The runner up walked away with a cool $5,433,086.

Staszko only learned of the shock kidnapping scheme after authorities apprehended Michael Šváb (AKA Robert Kelner) and six other men last April.

Šváb’s crew allegedly tried to arrange a private poker game in Cannes, France that would feature Staszko as a “special guest of honor”.   Staszko, through a third party, politely declined the offer.

The gang reportedly had already lured a number of Czech businessmen into taking similar trips where they were ultimately kidnapped and held for ransom.  Two of the businessmen went missing.

The seven men are facing life sentences if convicted.

- Nagesh Rath, Gambling911.com

Related Content

Rapper Chocolate MC, Las Vegas Casino Sued Over Alleged Rape of Teen

Rapper Chocolate MC, Las Vegas Casino Sued Over Alleged Rape of Teen

Chocolate MC is already incarcerated separately regarding an attempted murder-for-hire plot in Florida.
South Florida Casino Carjacking Suspect Captured One Month Later

South Florida Casino Carjacking Suspect Captured One Month Later

Julio Salermo, 33, was charged with robbery/carjacking on Tuesday, one month after the incident occurred at the Miccosukee Casino & Resort outside of Miami.
Game Fixer, Jalen Smith Sentenced to Six Year Prison Term

Game Fixer, Jalen Smith Sentenced to Six Year Prison Term

(AP) PHILADELPHIA -- The man called the "fixer" of a scheme to rig college basketball games will spend six years in federal prison.

Vegas Casino Flamingo Theft Trial Kicks Off With Witness Testimony

Las Vegas Casino Flamingo Theft Trial Kicks Off With Witness Testimony

The trial for a Canadian tourist accused of stealing and torturing a flamingo from a casino pool began on Wednesday with a security guard on his smoke break during a graveyard shift testifying about a voice crackled over the radio, “someone took a flamingo.”