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In the immortal words of Howard Cosell, “It’s over! It’s all over!” Poker pro Rich Alati is no longer in the dark as he has accepted a buyout to end his 30-day stay in solitary confinement in a pitch-black room while having zero contact with the outside world.
The bet, as we chronicled, was between Alati and fellow poker pro Rory Young, and would have resulted in Alati making $100,000 if he would have stayed in the pitch-black room, following every requirement in a crazy 11-page contract, for the entire 30 days.
Instead, Alati will now pocket $62,400 as he and Young agreed to a buyout after Young went inside the room for a food delivery on Monday and found Alati still feeling very strong.
According to The Action Network…
Young said he initially offered $25,000 for Alati to immediately exit the room, where he had been in darkness since entering on Nov. 21. Alati said no. Eventually, the two settled on Young paying $62,400.
“I saved a chunk of change,” Young said.
Young had been monitoring Alati by live video feed since the start of the bet. He told The Action Network on Friday that he couldn’t believe how lucid Alati was and thought he was going to lose the bet.
“At the last food drop, he was stronger than ever,” Young said Friday. “I underestimated his mindset, his resolve. I’m not disappointed I made the bet, I thought I had the better side, but he has exceeded all my expectations.”
Rich Alati was attempting to win a $100,000 prop bet for living in an isolated bathroom for 30 days, but instead he received a buyout of $62,400 after it ended on Monday, just 20 days in.https://t.co/y0XMLBFuf7
— PokerStake (@pokerstakecom) December 13, 2018
Amazingly, Young reported that Alati somehow was still able to discern day from night, despite being secluded in the dark the entire time “by the faint sound of landscaping,” so he had some idea of how many days he had actually been in the room.
Don’t feel bad for Young though, being the smart gambler that he is, he hedged his bet a little bit.
https://twitter.com/RoryYou44565767/status/1068657559551143936
So his actual loss on the bet comes to around $42,000, quite a savings from the $62,400 they negotiated, and the $100K he was going to be on the hook for if Alati had completed his stay.