Houston Curtis, who was the source of the screenwriters of The Molly's Game, began to regularly bring interesting stories from Hollywood and private cashiers full of world icons to the public. In addition to the stories of nosebleed cash regulars like Tobey Maguire, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, Curtis revealed something none of us knew.
Phil Hellmuth certainly needs no introduction, and anyone who has heard the term poker has certainly come across his name. The record holder for the most WSOP bracelets won is one of the most famous players in the world for his extravagance, and a few years ago, TV producers wanted to take full advantage of this prestige. How?
Curtis one day witnessed an interesting prop bet between WSOP ME champion Russ Hamilton and well-known cheater Kasey Thompson. Hamilton was a poor golfer, yet he challenged Thompson for $1 million by proving he could beat him on an 18-hole course. Thompson enthusiastically accepted, but the day before play, he was drawn into another prop bet where he was promised $10,000 if he could climb to the top of a giant redwood tree within five minutes. The gambler in body and soul couldn't refuse such an offer, and he eventually conquered the tree and secured the $10,000 reward. However, the next day during a round of golf, his hands were weakened and Hamilton was able to beat him and earn the promised $1 million.
1994 WSOP European Championship winner Russ Hamilton (left) and avid gambler Brian Zembic (right)
A stunned Curtis immediately ran off to Hollywood with the idea, where he proposed to make a show focusing on the crazy bets that poker players are capable of. Mike Matusow, Gavin Smith, and "the guy who won't refuse any bet" Brian Zembic (the guy who got $100,000 worth of breast implants and decided to keep them after the bet was over) were gradually drawn into the idea, and the whole thing was to be hosted and moderated by Phil Hellmuth.
Although some interesting footage was shot, by the time the powers that be were deciding whether the format was suitable for television, Hamilton's story appeared on TV and left the public with a less than favorable opinion. Television producers quickly decided they wanted nothing to do with gambling and put a stop to the whole project. In today's internet age full of crazy prop bets, we can only confirm that we think this project would have been very successful, but unfortunately we will never know how it would have turned out. Would you give such a show a chance?
Sources - YouTube, Reddit, HighStakesDB, CardPlayer
