ShaunDeeb,BillPerkinsWPT Global

With about four months remaining, poker pro Shaun Deeb appears to be headed in the right direction to win $1 million from Bill Perkins in a body fat loss prop bet.

Deeb, a perennial World Series of Poker (WSOP) Player of the Year candidate, shared a trimmed-down recent selfie on X along with a dual x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan showing his up-to-date body fat percentage. If the current trends continue, Perkins is going to owe him a healthy sum of cash.

Poker Pro Looking Lean

While Deeb’s been crushing it for years online and in live tournaments, especially the WSOP, his weight issues have been as noticeable as his six WSOP bracelets. But the weight problems just might be a thing of the past thanks to a little motivation from Perkins. Or, at least from his deep pockets.

In March 2023, Deeb wagered $100,000 at 10:1 odds ($1 million) that he could get his body fat down to just 17% by the start of the 2024 WSOP. Entering the challenge, he weighed in at 306 pounds, and his first DEXA scan on April 18 showed a 40.2% body fat composition. Many poker fans questioned if he could pull it off.

But on Jan. 25, 2024, he clocked in at 23.9% body fat, still nearly 7% off his goal, but he’s certainly on the right track. According to a chart the poker pro shared on X, he’s gone from 119.2 pounds of fat mass to just 53.2 pounds, and he’s dropped nearly 85 pounds of standard weight since the start of the challenge.

It should be noted that his final weight is irrelevant when it comes to the prop bet against Perkins. He only needs to reach exactly 17% body fat to win, and he loses the bet if he is unable to do so, regardless of his actual weight.

Deeb isn’t the only poker player to make a body fat loss prop bet against Perkins. Doug Polk made a $200,000 wager in 2022 that he’d get to 13.85% body fat by Feb. 10, 2023, but he came up a bit short, finishing the challenge at 15.1% body fat, 1.25% away from victory.

Deeb still has plenty of work left to do before he can celebrate, but he’s closing in on victory and $1 million. Upon announcement of the prop bet in March 2023, PokerNews polled readers to see their thoughts on Deeb’s chances of winning. With over 1,300 votes cast, only 37% of voters expected him to win or gave him a reasonable shot of winning, while 63% gave him little to no chance. That said, it’s time for another poll (below) to see if the poker community’s predictions have changed.

Click here to participate in this poll.

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