Gossip Column: McDonald Wins Basketball Prop Bet, Esfandiari Burglarized For $1 Million & More

High-stakes poker pro Mike ‘Timex’ McDonald has done it! He finally won the free-throw prop bet worth $200,000 on August 25. However, there was some controversy surrounding his win when it came to light that McDonald took a 30-minute break during the session. Former WSOP bracelet winner Nick Schulman expressed objection to McDonald’s win but was overpowered by the poker Twitterati forcing him to concede.

A piece of shocking news came to light when an Arizona woman, Svitlana Silva, was arrested last Sunday for stealing over $1 Million in cash, chips, and jewelry from well-known poker pro Antonio Esfandiari and his father, Bejan. While Silva has posted a bond following her arrest, she will have to appear in court on October 22.

Moving over to the Legends Showdown currently taking place on Run It Once Poker, Week 2 of the challenge saw Pauli Ayras take over the top seat from GGPoker Ambassador Fedor Holz.

In other news, football star Cody Latimer was let go by the Washington Football Team after being charged with alleged assault with a gun during a private poker game.

Mike McDonald Wins Basketball Prop Bet For $200K

About a week ago, we had reported that poker pro Mike McDonald aka ‘Timex’ was on the verge of completing his free-throw prop bet. Well, it is done now. The Canadian claimed victory on August 25, but the win wasn’t without controversies. A prominent poker pro, who had bet $15,000 against McDonald, alleged that the bet wasn’t successfully completed because McDonald didn’t do all of the 90 successful throws in a single session.

McDonald, who had minimal previous experience on the basketball court, bet in April that he could make 90/100 free-throws in one go before the end of the year. Many poker-playing sports fanatics such as Eric “Barstool Nate” Nathan gave him no chance to win. For McDonald to win the bet, he had to sink free-throws at a 90% clip over 100 shots.

As part of the wager, he was given as many attempts as he needed, so long as he made 90 in one set of 100 shots before the end of 2020. While live-streaming on Twitch on Tuesday, he completed the challenge, although some dispute that claim due to a technicality.

McDonald, who resides in Canada, says he lives nearly three hours away from an organized basketball gym. So, for his recent live-streams, he’s been driving quite a way to shoot free-throws. But given that he plays at a community gym, he only has access to a hoop for a specific time.

During his session on Tuesday, the poker pro was midway through a set, and well on pace at 56 for 61, when his time on the court got over. Other hoopsters were waiting in line to play. So, he took a break for the evening and returned to the court, on the opposite end, a half-hour later.

The person who had made the $15,000 and held the objection to McDonald’s win was none other than three-time bracelet winner Nick Schulman. Along with him, some other poker fans on Twitter subscribed to the notion that the rest gave him an advantage. Others argued that taking a break messes up a shooter’s rhythm.

Following the session, in which he hit exactly 90/100 shots that included draining his last 16 attempts, McDonald acknowledged on Twitch that he may have to continue shooting if some bettors disputed the win. But he also believes he’s deserving of the victory.

“I told people that breaks are allowed,” McDonald said after hitting 90 of 100 shots. “I’m guessing people are going to be pissed off at me if this is deemed my win. If this was December 10, I would be arguing that this is a win, and I don’t think there’d be much of a case against it.”

Schulman disputed the win and said he thinks taking a break in the middle of a set was unfair. But after taking some heat from others on Twitter, he reluctantly conceded by tweeting a video.

Conceding the free throw bet I can’t take it anymore pic.twitter.com/qyoH8IK7Bf

— Nick Schulman (@NickSchulman) August 26, 2020

“I just can’t take it anymore,” Schulman said in a Twitter video. “I’m feeling this heat like I’m being scummy or something. So, yeah, the first bet I made for $15,000, take it, Mike. I mean, I guess you can just go take a night off in between the 100.”

Schulman then said he’s played basketball many times and didn’t agree with McDonald taking a break but still winning the bet.

“If you make a free-throw bet, you just go shoot the number,” he argues. “He’s getting his own (rebounds) too, so now we get to just, I don’t know, you get a little dizzy walking back.”

McDonald claims he made it clear months ago that he was allowed to take breaks. He said he’s never once said taking a break during a set would nullify the bet. Still, as he wrote on Twitter, he’s going to leave no doubt by shooting again and posting a video of him making 90/100 with no breaks.

Given that there are still four months to go till the year ends, McDonald can definitely pull off this feat again.

Arizona Woman Arrested for Stealing $1 Million From Antonio Esfandiari

An Arizona woman was arrested on suspicion of stealing approximately $1 Million in cash, gambling chips, and jewelry from poker pro Antonio Esfandiari and his father, Bejan. The 46-year-old, Svitlana Silva was booked on August 23 at the Clark County Detention Center on charges of residential burglary and possession of stolen property valued at least $100,000.

The stolen items reportedly included:

>$150,000 in cash

>$300,000-$500,0000 in poker chips

>A platinum diamond bracelet valued at $350,000

>Four watches valued between $2,000 to $35,000 apiece

>A gold carry-on suitcase

According to an arrest report, Silva was the only other person with a key, as she had lived there off-and-on for a few months. Silva confirmed the living arrangement but said she returned her key, though she said she knew where to find a spare.

Bejan told police that Silva may have known his safe passcode because it was similar to the passcodes on his iPhone and iPad, which Silva reportedly used.

On August 22, Esfandiari reportedly called the police and said Silva had recently participated in a poker game at someone’s home. After losing several rounds, Silva reportedly left and came back with a safe. Silva reportedly pulled out approximately $300,000 in Aria and Bellagio chips. Someone else at the game reportedly cashed out with some of the chips Silva had brought.

Silva later reportedly texted this person asking to buy back the chips, saying they would have a hard time cashing them out due to a “computer mark.”

According to the arrest report, police arrested Silva on August 22 in the Aria parking garage with Aria and Bellagio poker chips and large amounts of cash in her purse. Silva’s husband told police that Silva told him she got the chips from either Antonio or Bejan’s safe.

According to court records, Silva posted bond shortly after her arrest. Her next court appearance was set for October 22.

Pauli Ayras Claims Pole Position in Week 2 of RIO Legends Showdown

Last week, we had left off with the seventh match between Kevin “krab42” Rabichow and “Makeboifin” about to begin. The first week saw GGPoker Ambassador Fedor Holz take the lead, but he lost it to Pauli Ayras. The latter was in the second spot in the first week and eventually pulled ahead of his German rival the following week.

Let’s take a look at how things progressed.

Kevin “krab42” Rabichow vs. “Makeboifin”

It was Rabichow who took down the match, booking himself a seat in the semi-finals.

The action was front-loaded tonight, as we saw @KRabichow grab a few early #BIGpots. Kevin managed to hang on until the end and book himself a seat in the Semifinals. GG & WP! pic.twitter.com/RlUDaZ3rlE

— Run It Once Poker (@RunItOncePoker) August 20, 2020

Watch the highlights of the match below.

After this match, the overall standing for Week 2 are as follows:

Rabichow and Ayras have booked spots in the semi-finals, but the last two spots remain in the air. The winner of the first match of the final stretch of first-round play — Thuritz vs. Li — will be guaranteed to advance. The loser could still make it as well, depending on the outcome of Ayras’s match with Holz.

NFL Star Cody Latimer Removed From Team Following Alleged Poker Shoot Out

NFL star Cody Latimer will no longer play for the Washington Football Team after having his contract terminated following an incident at a poker home game in May. The wide receiver had been charged with felony charges for an alleged assault with a gun during a private poker game.

The police report states that the argument was over an alleged sexual assault case involving Latimer’s son. The Ohio native took offense to comments made, and a fight broke out. Latimer reportedly left the scene before returning 30 minutes later, brandishing a gun. He was arrested soon after and charged with assault in the second degree, menacing, and illegal discharge of a firearm.

Latimer was arrested in May but later released on a $25,000 bond. He attended a hearing at Douglas County District Court via video link on Monday and was ordered to surrender his gun. He was subsequently placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List, pending the outcome of his trial.

The case remains open, but Latimer won’t be a Washington player when he returns to court on September 10.

The team tweeted the announcement.

Roster Update: We have released WR Cody Latimer.

— Washington Football Team (@WashingtonNFL) August 23, 2020

Latimer had been inactive for the club since July. As per the NFL’s policies, any player on the Commissioner’s Exemption List is excluded from practices and games. Latimer remained a paid employee of the club, despite facing three felony charges.