Freaky Fortnight – A Look at Some of Late April's Funniest Gambling Stories
We managed to burst our way into April with a few funny stories relating to the gambling world. Those amusing tales have continued on into the later part of the month. So following on from early April's Freaky Fortnight shenanigans, why not entertain yourself with some more amusing escapades that took place in the gambling scene from the latter half of April 2023?
The Simpsons Take a Shot at Sports Betting
Most of us probably wouldn’t turn to an animated series for gambling jokes or escapades. Yet if you’re a fan of “The Simpsons,” you may have witnessed an altogether enjoyable episode recently. It’s no secret that sports betting is becoming much more popular in the United States. It is only set to continue increasing, considering a larger number of states now have legal sports betting opportunities than ever before.
During the latest episode of “The Simpsons,” sports betting was brought right into the spotlight within the first few minutes of the episode. The plotline sees Homer watching a game of American football. He’s waiting for any points to be scored in the game although it seems his hopes will be in vain.
It is at this point that he takes a look at his tablet, which he has been browsing the internet on. The page he has open is the fictional sports betting site “Longshot-Gimmick.com”.
The markets that are available to wager on at this sportsbook are deliberately absurd. “The Simpsons” is clearly poking fun at sports betting in the way that only “The Simpsons” can. Included in the fictional sports betting website’s markets are odds for:
- Blimp Hits Stadium
- Ref Kisses QB
- Eight-Year-Old Streaker
- Thanos Appears
- No Concussions
- Coin Lands on Edge
- Armageddon Arrives
- Math Is Inconsistent
- You Win Any of These
Following the episode’s airing, “The Simpsons” Twitter page posted a screenshot of the tablet held by Homer:
It questioned people on which long shot they would be betting on. Of course, “The Simpsons” is all about providing entertainment to its viewers. Some of this light-hearted enjoyment could be what many of us need these days!
Bearded Man Wins Over $5,000…In a Ladies Poker Tournament
As if there wasn’t enough outrage sweeping through the USA and the world in general at the moment. Now there’s outrage in the poker world after a man with a huge beard entered a women’s poker tournament in Florida. Not only did he enter it, but he won it, too!
David Hughes, of Deltona, Florida, chose to enter the $250 buy-in tournament on April 29. Competing in the Ladies’ No-Limit Hold’em event, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Poker Showdown Series in Hollywood, FL, he walked away with the top prize of $5,555, leaving the other 82 entrants fuming.
It was all made possible due to the state’s anti-discrimination laws. Despite the fact that he is likely a man and for all purposes outwardly looks like a man, state legislation prevents him from being excluded from such tournaments. The same is true in states like Nevada, where a man can outrightly enter women’s tournaments. Some competitions do offer a 90% discount for women to deter men from trying to enter them.
The incident sparked a heated debate online over the 70-year-old man being involved in the women’s tournament. Many of the ladies competing in the same poker tournament took to social media so that they could voice their displeasure not only at his decision to enter, but for being allowed to do so as well.
One professional poker player, Ebony Kenney, wasn’t about to hold back on her opinions about Hughes. She took to Twitter, stating:
Playing the @WPT ladies event today, and Dave here is the only man…While we appreciate the dead money, I really wish men would get what these events stand for.
Her views were backed up by various other professional female poker players, with Charlie Carrel stating that it “pokes fun” at the idea of anyone being able to identify as a woman and be allowed to enter.
More women are interested and active in the poker world today than ever before. Yet this doesn’t mark the first time a man has competed in the ladies’ poker scene and won. Former World Series of Poker (WSOP) champion Abraham Korotki did the same thing at the Borgata in 2009, and he won the event too, much to the consternation of the other entrants.
Bill Perkins and the Bluff of the Month – He Wasn’t Even Present for It!
What could be better than enacting the greatest poker bluff while in the midst of a game? Pulling the greatest poker bluff off when you’re not even at the table to witness it, that’s what!
That’s precisely what Bill Perkins managed to do when playing against a selection of the poker elite. The live stream of the game came from The Lodge Card Club based in Texas. The funniest thing about it is that Perkins didn’t even know he had won the six-figure pot until about an hour later.
Bill PerkinsBill explained on Twitter that his friend was the opening act for comedienne Tiffany Haddish in Phoenix, and he wanted to show up in order to support them. So he left the game of poker a couple of hours earlier than its end.
Doug Polk is one of the owners of The Lodge, and there were a few big-name players seated at the table for the round involving Perkins. The $100/$200/$400 No-Limit Hold’em game not only starred Polk himself, but Dan Smith and Xuan Liu, who were all duking it out for six-figure pots. As it happens, both Perkins and Polk were a part of a previous Freaky Fortnight edition, released in March. This highlighted the wager Perkins placed against fellow poker player Shaun Deeb losing weight – something he had done with Polk before, too.
It was after about three hours of gameplay that Perkins realized he had to leave. He had a final look down at his hand, which featured K♠ J♥, before raising the pot to $3,000.
After this, Alex made the call in the big blind, holding A♠ 5♥. Then Handz, who is a Hustler Casino Live regular gamer, three-bet to $17,000 with his hand of 10♥ 10♣ from the straddle. Perkins then called, and Alex chose to step aside.
The flop came out as 6♣ 3♠ 2 ♦. Handz loved that outcome, so he bet $20,000 as a result. Despite whiffing the flop, Perkins chose to go for a min-raise, receiving a call afterwards. When it was the 9♣ that showed up on the turn, both players opted to check. It was only when the 6 ♦ came into view on the river that things picked up.
Handz opted for a value route, using his overpair to bet $40,000 and leaving $134,000 behind. Perkins moved for the all-in before he stood up and left his chair, heading for the exit. He noted that his wife would be very angry with him if he missed the plane and, of course, their friend’s opening act in Phoenix.
His cards remained in front of his stack, face-down. Handz then had a tough decision to make, facing up against the all-in wager of Perkins. Not only that, but his opponent was now no longer present at the table and a $331,600 pot was at stake. Handz tanked for a short timeframe to consider his next move. In the end, he opted to fold, concerned that his opponent had hit three-of-a-kind on the river. Yet as it turned out, he had been bluffed by a non-existent player via live stream – probably the first time it has ever happened.
Until the stream of the game aired about an hour later, Perkins had no idea he had secured the $331K+ pot. He chose to watch how it unfolded, appearing in the chat on the Lodge’s YouTube channel to find out. That’s quite the outcome to a game when you’re not present at the table to witness the finish!