Great Prop Bets Part 1
Thursday, 31 October 2013
Five of poker's wackiest wagers.
The 18th century English essayist Charles Lamb wrote, “Man is a gaming animal. He must always be trying to get the better in something or other.”
What was evident in Georgian drawing rooms still rings true today, especially when it comes to high stakes poker players. Not content with wagering massive sums at the tables, many top pros can’t get enough action away from the felt.
Here are some of the best of them.
The Breast Bet
In what sounds like an episode of The Jeremy Kyle Show, poker, blackjack and backgammon player Brian Zembic was offered $100,000 to get himself a pair of breast implants. Amazingly, he agreed and became the proud owner of a pair of 38C knockers. Even more amazingly, he decided to keep them after he’d been paid the 100 grand, saying that his new additions had massively improved his life. Not only has Zembic won way more than the $100,000 offered in the wager he also claims that they are a total babe magnet saying, “I get so many chicks like this it’s unbelievable”.
The Taser Gun Bet
There are plenty of charity tournaments on the poker circuit but the TASER event in aid of the Arizona Police benevolent fund is one that Brandon Cantu will probably want to avoid in future. After busting out of the 2009 tournament, Clonie Gowen offered to re-buy Cantu back in, providing he agreed to a rather extreme prop bet. The loser of their last longer side action would be on the receiving end of a 50,000 volt shot from a Taser gun. Despite having Gowen outchipped five to one at one stage, Cantu eventually lost the bet and was forced to take his high voltage punishment.
The Weight Loss Bet
Forget all the miracle pills, fad diets and Atkins inspired nutritional regimes. When it comes to poker players and weight loss, a little bit of willpower and a whole lot of cash prove the best incentive. Witness Mike Matusow. Offered $100,000 by Ted Forrest to get back to his college weight of 181lb within a year, The Mouth looked in good shape until a seven-day cruise just before judgement day left him needing to lose 15lb in just nine days. Through a combination of starvation, Jacuzzis and a master cleanse, Matusow somehow got down to 179lb and pocketed Forrest’s $100k.
The 200m with Tony G Bet
Tony G’s physique may resemble a discus thrower rather than a sprinter but that didn’t stop the prospective European parliamentarian from taking a wager from fellow Aussie high stakes player David Saab that he could beat former basketball professional Nick Lackovic in a 200m race. The wrinkle was that Lackovic would run the race backwards (albeit with a 50m start). Despite the handicap, Lackovic won the race convincingly, leaving the loud mouth Aussie out of pocket to the tune of $7,500AUD.
And the Prop Bet That Wasn’t
The forums were buzzing with news of a $3m prop bet involving Barry Greenstein masquerading as a rabbi and taking a synagogue service at the Congregation Ner Tamid. Barry’s beard may give the look of a Talmudic scholar but his lack of Hebrew soon got alarm bells ringing. It transpired that Barry had left his laptop logged in on the Two Plus Two forums and his nephew had started a hoax thread. It’s also thought that the mischievous nephew was behind another fake thread suggesting that Greenstein had won a $500,000 bet after beating Phil Ivey in a Guitar Hero contest. Barry should remember to log out of his account next time he visits Two Plus Two.