The Legend of Huck Seed Continues

I’ve been involved in many ventures but currently I’m doing a capital raise for my greatest venture, the white labeling of my brand. I’ve reached out to many old friends and some new ones. One of the most interesting is the legendary Huck Seed, the “King of Props.” I met him when he first appeared at the Bike in 1991 when he was 21. He is an extraordinary athlete. I’m somewhat athletic but being a competitor is what describes me best. We’ve battled at the poker tables and on the golf courses at various destinations. His partner was the now famous Phil Hellmuth. My partners were ‘Big Al’ Decarolis and the controversial Puggy Pearson. We battled on the golf courses in Acapulco, Sante Fe, New Mexico and in Kohler, Wisconsin at the Black Wolf Run Golf Course. Once after playing golf at Brookside, Huck, Phil and I went out to dinner. I had read Entertainment Weekly on their picks for the Oscars and they were usually 100% accurate. I don’t remember Phil’s source but it wasn’t Entertainment Weekly. I think he had watched some show where they were giving their Oscar picks. We started betting on the Oscars and I ended up winning $11,000 rather easily.

I spoke to Huck at length last week and he told me he hadn’t played much poker in the last 10 years. He was doing well in crypto and was up to $25 million but he said that was easy come, easy go. He did tell me a crazy story. The WSOP reached out to him when he was hanging out in Columbia last year. They offered to free-roll him and other former World Champs in a $5k bounty tournament and they would be the bounty. He thought that was a good deal and that perhaps the WSOP was becoming more generous. During the tournament he told the story to a female player on his table. She said the money was coming out of the prize pool. Huck couldn’t believe that the WSOP would be that cheesy not paying for the freeroll, but that it was the players that were actually paying and he bet her. The bet ended up being for a drink but Huck lost. Another young player at the table said he heard about his legendary props and the conversation turned into running. Then negotiations began on a running bet, but the young man said, but you never lose your prop bets. Huck said, “I just lost one to this girl.” An older man spoke up and said how many marathons do you think I’ve run? He said 33. The young player’s offer was for a 5:50 mile for 20k but he would only bet it if the older player also bet. The older player said make it 5:39 and I’ll bet a million dollars. Huck told me that was his warm-up time. After he ran a 5:20 mile, the old man wrote out a check for a cool million with a very pleasant smile. Huck said he’s never seen anyone seem so happy after losing a million. Huck turned the conversation into me running a mile but I quickly nixed the idea.

My Running Bet

I’m not a runner but when I was 39, I bet Mark Weitzman $25k on a mile race. We’re both about the same height, 5’4” but he weighed 225 lbs. I thought surely I could beat this fatso. We set the date for 3 months, which was a major mistake. By then, he was down to 180 lbs. I didn’t make the same mistake with a hopping bet I made 2 years ago with a much younger but also overweight opponent.

During our long poker sessions, Huck would say he hit the wall and quit the game. It was usually less than 24 hours where I might play for a couple of days longer so I wasn’t daunted by the wall. During my training for this race, I finally hit the running wall. It was scary. I could not will my legs to take another step no matter how hard I tried. I now understood what Huck meant about hitting the wall. I wondered when I would be able to move. Eventually I was able to move but now I had a new found respect for the wall. During my training for the race, I was leaving the track at Cal State Long Beach and coincidentally I saw Mark and his trainer arrive on the track. After warming up, he ran the mile in 7:30. My time was usually around 7 minutes and my best was 6:50. My lifetime best was in high school at 5:58 as backs were required to be under 6 minutes. I felt comfortable with my bet. Wait, that was just his warm-up! Now he turned in a 6:30 mile and I thought to myself that I was dead. During the race, I used Mark as a rabbit and after 2 laps we were on a 6 minute pace. I was worried I could maintain this pace and I was worried that I might hit the wall. Nearing the end of the 3^rd lap, I decided it might be prudent to negotiate a settlement. I told Mark I would take 2k. He said no. I countered with 1k and he said, no but I’ll call it off. I thought well if I’m willing to take 1k and still risking 25k, I should call it off so as we reached the end of the 3^rd lap, I agreed and we stopped much to the shock of all the spectators. My friends all thought I was going to win but I wasn’t sure if I could maintain the pace or when the wall would hit. I bet $100 on a hundred yard dash after the race and won easily so I didn’t walk away completely empty handed.