Bill Perkins has bought back from a $1 million fitness prop bet with Poker Star Shaun Deebwho, thanks to a little financial motivation, is now in the best shape he’s been in years.
Almost 11 months ago, poker players agreed to a 14-month bet on Deeb’s ability to significantly reduce his body fat percentage. There were basically no conditions for the bet – either you had to reach a body fat percentage of 17% at the start of the competition 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP)or lose $100,000.
Deeb was allowed to take almost any action necessary to reduce his body fat to over 40%, and if he did, he would own up to it Win $1 million at odds of 10:1. In March 2023, PokerNews asked the poker community to predict the outcome of the challenge, and more than half gave the six-time WSOP bracelet winner little to no chance.
Prop Bet Buyout Details
Last month, Deeb gave his X-followers an update on his progress, and it was certainly positive in his favor. A dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan on January 25 showed his Body fat had dropped to 23.9% still four months to go. This led Perkins to suggest potential takeover opportunities for X, even though no agreement had officially been reached.
On Friday he had another DEXA scan and was in even better shape – 22.0% body fat. Then on Saturday, the future Poker Hall of Famer informed his social media followers that Perkins was out of the bet just over three months after the tournament began for $800,000 WSOP 2024.
Deeb made it clear that even though he is no longer financially involved in the prop bet, he will continue to strive to reach 17% body fat out of respect for those who have side promotions. If he were to just pack up and call it quits now, those who bet on him winning or losing would be in a tough spot and have to figure out how to settle the bet.
The poker pro suggested that those betting on or against him should settle for a similar percentage as he did with Perkins. Deeb was clearly on his way to winning the challenge outright. But of course, despite still having a lot of time left, victory was no guarantee. As for his weight, which is not a factor in the side bet, he has lost over 80 pounds in the last 11 months.
Perkins is now batting .500 on body fat loss prop bets. He narrowly won a similar bet last year Doug Polkbut he came close to his goal failed and lost $200,000 to the hedge fund manager.
