The biggest bet over the weekend by poker players wasn’t on Super Bowl XLV, surprisingly. Apparently, a wager in Orlando drew tremendous attention from fans on Twitter and the poker forums.
According to information from Justin “Boosted J” Smith over his Twitter account, a prop bet was set up for Ashton Griffin. The bet apparently was whether Griffin could run 70 miles in a 24-hour period, which breaks down to just less than three miles an hour. For those involved in the prop bet, wagering reached mythical proportions as to whether Griffin could complete the job.
Smith Tweeted about the action, “Almost $1M bet on Ashton Griffin @arfarfhowl being able to run 70 miles in 24 hours… whim of the moment bet.” Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo laid out some of the details in a 200+ post thread on TwoPlusTwo, which Bonomo admittedly stated was from a third party: “Ashton was out drinking last night. Got super drunk and only five hours of sleep. Bet started next morning.”
Bonomo continued, “He (Griffin) ran to the gym (this running did not count towards the bet) instead of taking a car. Bet was on a treadmill. Somewhere in Orlando. Any walking did not count. Had 24 hours to run 70 miles. He laid $900k to $300k vs DogIsHead (his roommate). From what I hear, Ashton is super in shape for college wrestling.”
From information provided by Bonomo, the 70-mile prop bet was somewhat of a continuation from a previous wager. A “year or two ago at the WSOP,” according to Bonomo, Griffin and his roommate were at a Las Vegas sushi restaurant when a similar prop bet took place. “After eating, Ashton was bet he couldn’t run home (~15) miles in under 3 hours,” Bonomo wrote. “There was apparently a very large amount of frozen yogurt involved too. He successfully beat the 3-hour time limit, albeit with a lot of puking. Obv he was not prepared/dressed/whatever for this impromptu bet.”
Several people wagered on the Orlando prop bet. Apparently, Smith got in on the action on Griffin’s side, reportedly for $700,000, but someone who avoided the action altogether was World Poker Tour “Raw Deal” host Tony “Bond18” Dunst. In the thread, Dunst wrote, “I lost some money on the Ash running home 15 miles after Naked Fish/Ice cream bet this summer. That was the last time I’ll ever bet against Ash in anything that relies on physical endurance or heart.”
Although he could take breaks during the endeavor, there were times when Griffin appeared to be in trouble. A reported quote from a friend after he had finished 30 miles was, “He’s at 30, he just went to ‘sleep’ in his bedroom. Honestly, I doubt he’s sleeping. He had to hobble upstairs. I think he’s a huge dawg, he stopped eating/drinking for the past 5/6 miles. When I saw him in his room, he was rocking back and forth honestly I feel kinda bad for him… He is still sure he is going to win, though.”
For those who bet against Griffin, they should get their money out. “Boosted J” reported over his Twitter feed, “A very big/insane prop bet just came to conclusion. I booked action on @arfarfhowl (Griffin) to be able to run 70 miles in 24-hour window. Ding we win! He just completed it with 45 minutes to spare… He’s so sick!”
The Griffin prop bet brought back memories of one of the all-time great prop bets in recent memory involving Erick Lindgren. During the 2007 World Series of Poker, Lindgren made a prop bet with Gavin Smith, Phil Ivey, and others that he could play four rounds of golf in under 24 hours, breaking 100 for each round, walking the course, and carrying his own bag. Lindgren pulled this off and reaped a reported $350,000 from those who bet against him.
Determining whether Lindgren’s winning prop bet or Griffin’s amazing feat is the most astounding is up to the individual to decide.