Gossip Column: Indian Gambler Loses 3-Year Old Son in Bet, Tom Dwan Seen Playing Cash Games at ARIA

We’ve heard of people losing big sums of money, even property in gambling bets, but what can you say if a man decides to wager his three-year old son over a game of chance, and loses? The story comes to us from a small village in India and the man in question was punished by the village panchayat, and rightly so.

Now who did we spot at the ARIA, in Las Vegas, playing cash games? Not our very own ‘Great Dane’ Gus Hansen, but Tom Dwan who’s been busy at the felts, much to the surprise and joy of 2018 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion John Cynn who looks up at Dwan as an inspiration. Jason Koon, we heard, also gave the players company.

Gambler in India Wagers His 3-Year Old Son in a Bet, Punished After Losing

Gambling is a passion for many, but when it gets addictive, it can become a serious problem. And so it proved for a villager in India who wagered his three-year old son while gambling, and lost him to an opponent.

The unbelievable incident occurred in a village in the Muzaffarpur district of Bihar. The man identified as Santosh Kumar was playing a game of chance with a group of locals. Kumar kept losing money, and soon bet some of his possessions.

Clearly the man was on a losing streak but he wasn’t in the mood to stop. Soon, he wagered his three-year-old son in the game, and as it would turn out, he lost that game as well. Kumar then gave away his son to his rival Ram Bhajan Sah who started to walk away with the boy.

Suddenly, Kumar’s paternal instincts awoke and in a fit of guilt, he tried to stop Sah from taking his son. A fight then ensued, and the dispute grew to the extent that the village governing body, i.e. panchayat got involved.

After an emergency session of the panchayat, the child was returned to his father, albeit not without punishment for the erring father. Kumar was ordered to perform 50 sit-ups right in front of the village elders. The winning gambler couldn’t let go unpunished and he was asked to do 25 crunches as well.

Well, what do you know! The panchayat finally took note of the rising problem of gambling in the area and banned all villagers from playing any game of chance.

Tom Dwan Spotted Playing Cash Games in ARIA

A lot of big names in poker are often spotted playing the cash games at the various popular Las Vegas casinos but when Tom Dwan made an appearance at the ARIA casino in Las Vegas, guess who was all smiles?

John Cynn, who took down the 2018 WSOP Main Event, was already seated on the cash game tables. For Cynn, who considers Dwan an inspiration, sharing the table with his idol just made his day. Jean-Robert Bellande shared a photo of the duo on Twitter.

moments ago, WSOP World Champ @john_cynn just met poker Legend @TomDwan for the 1st time right here @ARIAPoker #futurehalloffamers pic.twitter.com/slMsu3N8Bm

— Jean-Robert Bellande (@BrokeLivingJRB) December 6, 2018

Even for Bellande, the big game at ARIA is a familiar zone, but meeting Dwan was an added bonus.

Dwan was barely recognizable though, this time. In fact, a sharp-eyed critic also spotted what looked like a cast on Dwan’s right wrist, asking ‘Did the triads break Dwan’s arm?!’ – a reference to the pro`s disappearance for a couple of years in Macau.

The sight of this year’s Main Event champ in such illustrious company also garnered comment: “John Cynn taking down the Main Event and immediately starts to play the biggest Games there is. Must be a welcoming Guest (sic)”

Well, since Cynn won a cool $8.8 Million after winning the 2018 WSOP Main Event, it is no surprise that he would indulge in high stakes poker for a while at least. But it wasn’t only Cynn and Dawn who were sweating it out; Jason Koon was also seen getting in on the action.