Poker Pro pees in Bottle to win Bet - Disqualified from Tournament

Famed poker pro Antonio Esfandiari was recently kicked out of a tournament for peeing in a bottle at the table. And it appears that the motivation behind his outlandish behavior was a lucrative prop bet.

Esfandiari was playing in the 2016 PCA Main Event last weekend when he had to relieve himself. Unfortunately, the WSOP champion was locked in a serious proposition bet where he had to lunge everywhere he went. Given how sore his legs were, Esfandiari decided that rather than lunging to the bathroom, he would simply urinate in a bottle.

The prop bet amount was reportedly for $50,000, which makes sense given that the 37-year-old risked his $5,300 tournament buy-in. In fact, Esfandiari had to forfeit his entire buy-in when PCA officials found out and disqualified him.

European Poker Tour President Edgar Stuchly told CNBC News that Esfandiari was kicked out for a “serious breach of tournament etiquette.”

According to Esfandiari’s Twitter page, he did at least win his prop bet with hedge fund manager/poker player Bill Perkins. However, according to comments left on his Twitter, it also appears that the poker pro offended lots of people with his actions.

Esfandiari has been very apologetic in the aftermath, even telling PokerNews that he plans on donating $50,000 to charity to help make up for the incident.

“I won the prop bet and $50,000, but I lost my way,” said Esfandiari. “It was a grueling two days, both emotionally and physically, but that is no excuse. I have been mulling over how to have some good come from this sorry situation and to this end I have decided to donate the entire amount to charity.”

Despite forfeiting the $50k that he won, it doesn’t seem like Esfandiari will have trouble making ends meet. He’s earned $26,495,567 in live tournaments and plenty more from sponsorship deals over the years. His winnings include an $18,346,673 payout that he won for taking down the 2012 WSOP Big One for One Drop tournament.

Esfandiari also had a pretty good 2015 WSOP, cashing in eight different tournaments while adding to his lofty winnings total. Unfortunately, he didn’t get much of a chance to win at the 2016 PCA, considering that he was kicked out of the tournament.