The Magician Up to His Old Tricks With Prop Bet of the Year
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During the grueling grind of the tournament circuit, professional poker players often engage in prop betting to liven things up. Today we witnessed a display of prop betting that, while not reaching nosebleed stakes, still provided many in the Pavilion Room with a good laugh.
Andrew Chevalier, of Rhode Island, was on hand today to rail his favorite player and prop bettor extraordinaire Antonio Esfandiari. While standing just a few feet away from “The Magician,” Chevalier seized the opportunity and told Esfandiari how much he enjoyed his show I Bet You. Esfandiari, currently the owner of a huge stack, was in a good mood and responded by challenging Chevalier to a little prop bet of his own. The terms were as follows: If Chevalier was willing to cross the rail and touch Tom Dwan’s hair for ten seconds, Esfandiari would ship a crisp $100 bill his way.
Chevalier quickly manned up and entered the tournament area, which put him at risk of being kicked out of the Rio, to accept the bet. He then snuck behind Durrrr and proceeded to touch the poker phenom’s hair for precisely ten seconds, much to the confusion of Dwan. Esfandiari roared with laughter as Dwan caught on to the hijinks, and Chevalier was awarded his prize.
Never one to back down from some prop betting action, Dwan decided to pitch in and challenged Chevalier to touch Freddy Deeb’s bald head for another ten seconds. Emboldened by his recent brush with danger, Chevalier sauntered over to Deeb’s table and casually asked to see his iPod, all while resting his chin on Deeb’s head. The intrusion certainly confused Deeb, but he complied long enough for Chevalier to win his second bet of the day. The railbirds cheered their approval as he returned to claim his cash.
To top things off, Esfandiari and Dwan agreed that none other than the Poker Brat himself, Phil Hellmuth, would be the perfect final victim. They made things a bit tougher for Chevalier this time, telling him that he had to touch Hellmuth for ten seconds without the benefit of an introduction.
In an effort to sweeten the pot, Chevalier pointed out that “of all the players, Phil’s the most likely to call the cops.” Esfandiari countered by reminding the young fan “hey, you’re on a two-hundred dollar freeroll kid, you have nothing to lose.” The encouragement prompted Chevalier to reenter the tournament floor and make his way towards Hellmuth’s table. With Esfandiari, Dwan and about forty railbirds standing to watch, he then stood behind the 11-time bracelet winner and began rubbing his shoulders as casually as you can imagine. The Poker Brat never even flinched, staring straight ahead and smiling as the massage continued, no doubt thinking one of his fellow pros had stopped by to offer support.
After ten of the longest seconds of his life, Chevalier returned to cheers and congratulations, with $300 in his pocket and the experience of any poker fan’s lifetime to take home with him.
and Clements was sent home.
and a couple of checks from the players.
. This time Hinkle's opponent led, tossing out a bet of 1,500. Hinkle considered a moment, then let it go.
. The short-stacked player held 
, and the initial raiser 
.
, bringing the case king and a set for Little and all but ending it right there. The turn was 
and river the 
, and Little scored two knockouts and a nice pot.
. After already building a huge stack of chips, Esfandiari could easily afford the call with a chance to bust a fellow player. The opponent held 
and would need to dodge the deck's aces and diamonds to survive.
and The Magician's ace-high was bested by the queens of his opponent. Esfandiari took a small hit to his stack while the opponent doubled through and retook his seat.
