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