Jay Kwik leans out from the doorway, peering out of the room that will be his home for the next 30 days. He straightens up with a grin, clearly excited about the prospect of human interaction. It’s only been three days since Kwik moved into Bellagio, and his appetite for conversation is apparent. Everyone that has met Kwik can tell you that he is an outgoing and, more importantly, outspoken guy, but in the tight corridor of his hotel room it is tough not to notice the desperation in his voice, the need to fill a short amount of time with as many words as possible. He plays it cool the best he can, trying to give the impression that his current predicament doesn’t faze him in the slightest, but his obvious distress begs the question ...
Why is Jay Kwik spending the next month in his hotel bathroom?
It all started following a Kanye West concert on New Year’s Eve. Kwik, who is known as “Bellagio Jay” for having spent a majority of the past 10 years on the hotel’s premises, mentioned that he believed he could live in a bathroom for 30 days without a problem. Andrew “Good2CU” Robl and Alec “traheho” Torelli quickly jumped all over the errant comment and challenged him to put his money where his mouth is. The three wasted no time moving on to the negotiation phase, and the terms were eventually set.
Kwik will experience varying levels of solitude during his month-long hiatus from poker, but don’t feel too bad for him, he says the experience is nothing more than “easy money.” After getting permission from both sides of the bet, Card Player TV was allowed to enter his makeshift home for an episode of High-Stakes Living, or, in this case Micro-Stakes Living, a series that showcases the homes and lifestyles of the poker world’s elite. Click here to see that episode.
Kwik’s inflatable mattress takes up most of the admittedly swanky bathroom, but he has kept his spirits high by jokingly suggesting that visitors take their shoes off before stepping on his “newly installed carpeting.” He jokes that his shower is where he records his music, as he ties on a do-rag to spit a few lines. The rest of the room pulls double-duty. His bathtub area has been transformed into his kitchen, as fast-food leftovers are neatly lined up awaiting housekeeping. DVDs line the walls, his first choice being season three of Sex and the City. His toilet houses his television, which he must obviously move to go to do his business.
The rules for the bet are as follows:
- The bet will start on Jan. 12 and end Feb. 12 at 4:00 a.m. Pacific time.
- He is not allowed to have any access to a computer.
- He is allowed only 400 total minutes of cell-phone usage for the duration of the bet. This is being enforced by a prepaid phone specifically purchased by Robl.
- He is allowed the use of a small portable DVD player.
- His meals will be delivered either by room service or one of his friends; however, he is only allowed a maximum of four deliveries per day and is not permitted to speak to anyone under normal circumstances.
- He is not permitted be under the influence in any way that would allow time to appear to move faster.
- He is permitted to open the front door for any guests or hotel employees that come his way but must do so without leaving the bathroom.
Robl and Torelli agreed to give Kwik 2-1 on his money, meaning the cash-game professional will walk away with twice his investment if he were to last the full month. The amount of cash up for grabs remains a secret and is being escrowed in a Bellagio safe-deposit box, but circulating rumors have put the number as high as six figures. In addition to the money at stake, the loser has agreed to take care of all of the expenses, which, you may have guessed, can be quite substantial at a place like Bellagio.
Robl and his assistant, Nick Rainey, even went through the trouble of setting up a webcam outside of the bathroom door, and, as a result, have offered $500 to anybody who reports a rule infraction, whether it is a conversation with the hotel staff or exiting the room for any reason other than to open the door. This method of volunteer policing is crucial to Robl, who will be traveling later this week to rejoin the World Poker Tour. Except for the rare moments when a visitor enters the frame, the webcam is just a motionless visual of a dark corridor. You may think that a continuous shot of darkness would be a tough sell, but the webcam has had nearly 6,000 hits in the short time it has been up and at one point had almost 200 people watching simultaneously. Voyeurism being what it is, viewers tune in at all hours of the day, hoping to catch a glimpse of anything that would warrant a piece of the reward.
This isn’t the first time that Robl and Rainey have engaged each other in absurd prop bets. Robl once had to give up one of his three plasma-screen TVs as a buyout when he realized that Rainey had been training to walk from Las Vegas to Los Angeles in 7 days, 10 hours, a bet they had previously booked. Rainey is currently preparing to try to live 30 days inside a casino without ever stepping foot outside or in a hotel room. He will have to constantly keep moving and avoid security at all costs, but he feels up to the challenge.
Poker players are no strangers to the insanities of the prop-bet world. Earlier this year, Matt “hazards21” Giannetti, a tournament regular, won upwards of $20,000 for spending 12 hours in a hotel pool. Click here to see his exit from the pool and here for an interview afterwards. 1996 World Series of Poker main event winner Huck Seed once lost $50,000 for trying and failing to spend 18 hours in the ocean outside of an Atlantic City casino. Seed gave up after 3 hours. This past summer, Erick Lindgren won $340,000 when he played four consecutive rounds of golf, shooting under 100 in each round, in the 100-plus degrees Vegas heat. Oh, and there was the small matter of carrying his own clubs and shooting from the pro tees.
While these wagers may seem extreme, and possibly even dangerous, to the outside world, not every bet has been difficult to accomplish. Howard Lederer, a vegetarian, once won $10,000 for simply eating a cheeseburger. Not even celebrities can shy away from the action, as 007 himself, Roger Moore, reportedly lost a bet to none other than Doyle Brunson. Moore did not believe that the senior Brunson was capable of five sit-ups and ended up paying $5,000 for his doubt.
Whether or not Kwik is capable of the task that lies before him remains to be seen, but rest assured that CardPlayer.com will keep you updated on his progress as he tries to seclude himself from the outside world for 30 days.
