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Posted by Editor | Filed under 2010 WSOP, Mike Matusow, Ted Forrest, Weight Loss

One wants to die. And he thinks the other could die. I’ve covered a lot of strange stories in poker. I saw Phil Ivey win $10 million in one day. I saw Andy Beal lose $8 million to Ted Forrest and then win it back. I visited Mike Matusow in jail. But those stories were nothing compared to the strangeness of this past evening. And I promise you, the next part of this story is way more strange than this part. 

At 7:14pm Ted Forrest stepped on the scale in the Pavilion Room and once again into history for a gambling feat that will never be forgotten. By weighing 138.0 lbs., 50 lbs.pounds less than his weight after a meal at the Commerce in May that led to this bet, Ted Forrest won $2 million from Mike Matusow and Justin Smith.

I make my living with words but the whole thing was so strange that I am going to let pictures tell most of the story. For instance, when I got to the room at 6:56pm, Huckleberry Seed was waiting, holding an elaborate electronic scale.

It was fitting that Seed would be the first person I would see at the weigh-in. He is not only a close friend of Ted Forrest, but the unofficial “master” of death-defying prop bets. I asked Huck how he would compare the danger involved in this bet compared with the time he and Forrest ran a marathon in Las Vegas on the 4th of July. (I meant to toss into the mix the danger of Huck golfing five rounds in one day without a cart on another broiling Las Vegas summer day, but never got far enough.)

Seed said, “That’s a very interesting question.” He proceeded to explain to a friend standing nearby why he and Ted were running 24 miles on the UNLV track in 110+ degree heat. When he got to the part about how Ted’s girlfriend at the time was supposed to show up with water but instead, as Ted put it when he told me the story originally, “she decided to kill us instead,” it was clear I wasn’t going to get a short answer.

 I wasn’t going to get a long answer either, because at that moment, Ted Forrest – or what’s left of him – entered the room.

 It appears he has been well cared for. He came accompanied by his girlfriend Pui, his longtime friend Tibor, and his coach, “Karate Mike” Santoro. I got to hear a great deal about the exercise regiment, the absence of dangerous drugs, and Forrest’s overall intake.

Notwithstanding any of that, I was freaked out of my fucking mind when I laid eyes on Forrest.  I saw him less than two weeks ago and this literally did not look like the same person. It was disorienting, alarming.

Ted removed his shoes and socks and energetically hoped up on the stage, at least three feet off the ground. At the same time, he radiated energy AND looked like a stick figure with his skin pulled so tight over his face that you could make out every bump and ridge of his skull. With ESPN filming and recording, Ted Forrest weighed 139.8 pounds on Huck Seed’s electronic scale.

But where was Mike Matusow? Forrest hadn’t eaten anything approximating an actual meal in eleven days. More important, his body was begging him for liquid. He needed Matusow to be there to declare the bet over so he could answer the urgent needs of his body.

In the meantime, they did a second weigh-in. Ted said, “Oh, I’ve got stuff in my pockets.” He emptied his pockets, then removed his heavy trousers along with his t-shirt. At 7:14pm, wearing only a pair of grey shorts, Ted weighed exactly 138 lbs. ESPN asked Ted how he felt, to which he said, “Iactually feel pretty good.” Trying to create something better for television, the ESPN interviewer asked the question again. How do you feel? “I don’t know. Where’s Mike?”

Forrest stepped down and accepted congratulations, applause, and hugs all around. When I stood next to Ted and gave him a hug, I thought maybe I was going to cry. “Congratulations Ted,” I said as we posed for a picture. After Shauna snapped it, I whispered in his ear, “I’m glad you didn’t die.”

Ted reassured me. “It was never even close.”

With that, Ted, Pui, Mike Santoro, and Tibor made the long walk out of the cavernous, now empty and largely dismantled Pavilion Room.

“I guess we’ll be in touch,” Forrest told me as they walked away. “We gotta wake Matusow the hell up so I can finally get a drink of water.”

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10 Responses to “One Wants to Die … – #1111 – 2010 WSOP #92”

1. VinceVega78 Says:
   July 14th, 2010 at 5:29 am

   pretty sick, i never thought he would make it in that period of time, probs to forrest, hopefully there won’t be negative effects to his health

2. johnny Says:
   July 14th, 2010 at 5:32 am

   WOW…….lost 50 lbs gained a cool 2 mill…I would of taken that bet too!

3. Jack Fry Says:
   July 14th, 2010 at 8:32 pm

   He better exercise/watch what he eats. He’ll gain all of it back and more if he doesn’t.

4. Sidney Says:
   July 15th, 2010 at 12:02 am

   I hope Forrest give the entire 2 million to starving children.

5. Casino Chique Says:
   July 15th, 2010 at 7:18 am

   We invite mr Forrest to visit our website and spend at least some of that 2 million.

6. Aces007 Says:
   July 15th, 2010 at 4:33 pm

   WOW TED YOUR 1 SICK PUPPY. CONGRATS BUD I KNEW YOU WOULD DO IT, NOW GO GET SOME FOOD SICKO LOL… EMB!!!

7. Poker Club Says:
   July 16th, 2010 at 11:32 am

   Unbelievable, he actually looks worse than before with this new look..

   Great accomplishment though!

8. donk Says:
   July 17th, 2010 at 3:55 pm

   he needs to camp out at McDonalds for about a week

9. Ryan Says:
   August 12th, 2010 at 6:18 am

   lol very nice on winning that i personally didnt think he would of done it.

10. Poker for money Says:
    June 15th, 2011 at 1:00 pm

    I think that kind of stories usually happen in the clubs of people who want to lose weight. The main difference is only that they are not connected to poker industry and they are doing it for free – nobody will pay them such a huge money for getting a good shape.

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