If I told you the “Polish Open” began yesterday, what image pops into your head? A sausage eating competition? A golf tournament on frozen, barren ground? A giant Catholic confession booth?
Yes, the European Poker Tour has made it to scenic Warsaw for the 2nd year in a row (and I’ve actually been to Warsaw, so when I say it’s scenic…well I’m still joking, but the city’s really not that ugly.)
Anyway, it’s nice to see that people from around the world are gathering for a “sporting” event in Poland. It’s only a matter of time before Roger Goodell and David Stern are dying to showcase their brand of athletic entertainment in the old country.
Hey, look at that. I got through the whole post without making a Holocaust joke. Good for me.
We’ve all spent a night of our lives asleep on the floor of a bathroom, the toilet and sink our only companions. It’s generally something you don’t want to do again, but professional poker player Jay Kwik is about to do it for 30 nights—all in the name of prop betting.
It all started following a Kanye West concert on New Year’s Eve. Kwik, who is known as “Bellagio Jay” for having spent a majority of the past 10 years on the hotel’s premises, mentioned that he believed he could live in a bathroom for 30 days without a problem. Andrew “Good2CU” Robl and Alec “traheho” Torelli quickly jumped all over the errant comment and challenged him to put his money where his mouth is.
The bet will be monitored by video cameras and Kwik must adhere to a strict set of rules. He may not have a computer with him, but he is allowed to have a portable DVD player (porn?) and 400 cell phone minutes (phone sex?) He can open the door for room service (hookers?), but he is not permitted to speak to anyone under normal circumstances (no strippers). Although the exact amount of money at stake is a secret, “reports” say it’s as high as six figures plus the hotel bill.
Some people out there are sure to call Kwik a degenerate gambler. I prefer to call him a modern day Thoreau. Secluding himself from society for 30 days is an extremely difficult task that will surely elevate him to that higher psychological plane where Britney Spears’ day-to-day activities are no longer important.
I hear that Kwik’s time in the bathroom has even impressed Roger Clemens. The controversial Mitchell man once spent 4 straight hours in the bathroom for a massive steroid injecting session, but that was as much as he could take.
Chris Moneymaker, Gregg Raymer, Daniel Negreanu, and…..Boris Becker?
Yeah that’s right.
With his tennis days behind him the three-time Wimbledon champion has become the newest member of team PokerStars. Becker will begin playing in major European tournaments and he will appear in PokerStars commercials. Overall, he sounds really doggone excited about the whole thing.
“When I was still playing professional tennis, I started learning to play poker casually in-between games because it helped me to improve my concentration,” said Becker: “Now I want to develop my poker skills and challenge myself to become really competitive at the highest levels in poker.”
Becker and poker may sound like a strange match, but let’s face it, at this point the only thing keeping tennis going is heavy gambling on matches fixed by the mob. Well, that and Rafael Nadal’s nubile deltoids. The point is, gambling and tennis go together like Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anna Chakvetadze. Besides, it’s possible that Becker needs some cash, and being paid to sit for long stretches of time is a fine way to earn some. Just ask Jerome James.
Erick Lindgren is one of the world’s most well known poker players, but after what he did last week he may become one its most well known golfers. It all began when Lindgren was sharing a few drinks with his friend and fellow poker pro Gavin Smith. At some point the following bet was proposed.
“Did Erick Lindgren want to play 72 holes of golf after a night out on the town? All he had to do was shoot under 100 for all four rounds at one of the toughest courses in Vegas, carry his own bag, and do it all between sunrise and sunset – in 108 degree heat.”
Just to recap, the prop bet required Lindgren to play four sub-100 rounds from the pro tees while carrying his own bag in 100+ degree heat.
Smith originally made the bet for either $50,000 or $100,000, but word of the wager soon spread and numerous other poker pros took a piece of the action. The group of pros included Phil Ivey, who went in for $200,000. By the time Lindgren arrived for his 6 a.m. tee time more than $300,000 was at stake.
Lindgren breezed through the first two rounds, and though he struggled in the third, he managed to shoot a 92. In the fourth and final round Lindgren finally hit a wall. He collapsed in the middle of the 13th fairway, an apparent victim of heatstroke. After a short rest Lindgren somehow recovered and won the bet by finishing the round with a 94. When all was said and done Lindgren’s winnings totaled $340,000.
So how does it feel to win $340,000 in a bet? Well, according to Lindgren not so good. Despite the money Lindgren says he felt so bad afterwards he regretted taking the bet. He reportedly shed 10 pounds on the golf course and the next day he still wasn’t sure if he would ever feel right again.
Lindgren’s agent (who used to represent PGA golfers) says what Lindgren did was the most amazing thing he had ever seen on a golf course. My vote still goes to Jean Van De Velde, but one thing is for sure—Michelle Wie couldn’t have won the bet, and not because of the heat or her endurance, but because she probably wouldn’t have been able to break 100 in her first round.
Above is some video of Lindgren’s day—it ends with the standard “You’re the Best” musical montage. If you want more, below is part two of the video.
