Shortly after sharing with his X followers that he’d accepted an $800,000 buyout from Bill Perkins on a body fat loss prop bet, Shaun Deeb spoke with PokerNews to discuss his transformation from overweight to someone you might not even recognize this summer in Las Vegas.
The perennial World Series of Poker (WSOP) Player of the Year contender wagered $100,000 at 10:1 odds that he could drop from over 40% body fat to 17% by the start of the 2023 WSOP. He began the challenge in March 2022, so he had about 14 months to make it happen.
Deeb Dishes on Fitness Prop Bet
Although he hasn’t yet officially reached the target mark, his recent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan showed he’s down to 22%, clearly on pace to achieve his goal. As such, Perkins saw the writing on the wall and offered an $800,000 buyout, $200,000 less than he’d owe if Deeb were to see it through to the end and win.
“(Perkins) knew I was ahead of pace, knew my trainers were doing everything right. I was maintaining my lean muscle mass,” Deeb said.
Deeb didn’t initially want to publicize the buyout for reasons he explained.
“But the more I thought about with other people with side bets that’s not fair to them,” he said.
Following the announcement that he accepted the buyout, Deeb told his followers that he’s still committed to reaching 17% body fat composition by the start of the WSOP, which begins May 28 at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. He is going to continue battling to reach his goal out of respect for those who have side action on the prop bet.
“I didn’t celebrate, didn’t have pizza, didn’t cheat on meals, didn’t delete my meal plans,” Deeb mentioned, speaking about his continued commitment to fitness. “I am committed to proving to people it’s possible. And if I can do it, anyone can do it.”
Deeb’s weight transformation has been quite surprising to many. He’s lost more than 80 pounds, and equally important, dropped more than half his body fat, in just 11 months.
Listen to the New PokerNews Podcast with Deeb Here!
How Shaun Deeb Got in Shape
Losing weight and getting into shape isn’t always easy, especially for those who love to eat and don’t care much for exercise. But Deeb is a gambler at heart, and he stood to win a ton of money if he could reach his goal. Over the past 11 months, he’s been forced to change his eating an exercise habits.
He hired a massage therapist and trainer immediately after accepting the bet in 2023, and then he sought a nutritionist at the direction of Chance Kornuth.
“I had this team assembled like 24 to 48 hours once the bet was booked, and knowing what I know a year later, I had the ideal team,” Deeb said.
It’s hard to argue that point given the results. As the months went on, he realized his fitness team had the right plan in place to get him down to 17% body fat. In fact, his initial plan was to surpass that mark and get to 15%, which he believes he’ll still achieve by May 31.
“The only challenge that I had was just balancing the home life and the kids, and giving my wife a break.”
Deeb explained that his trainer would “back off for fear of injury” on days he had even the slightest hint of pain. But now that the bet has been locked up, he anticipates going harder over the next few months knowing that suffering an injury wouldn’t be as devastating, at least financially.
The poker pro has spent countless hours the past year in the gym, and he’s eating a healthier diet. He said a big part of his success came from lifting and eating “a lot of protein.”
“The only challenge that I had was just balancing the home life and the kids, and giving my wife a break, or trying to do that and not completely neglecting them,” he explained.
Deeb mentioned that he only cheated on his diet about 10 times since the challenge began, and “last week, there were cookies on the corner, and I broke off one little corner and ate it. That was my cheat for like a month.”
When Deeb’s done reaching his goal, he said he plans to celebrate with a meal at Ted’s Fish Fry, a New York restaurant that has been in his family since he was a kid.
Executive Editor U.S.
Executive Editor US, PokerNews Podcast co-host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.