On Wednesday night, poker pro Phil Ivey posted a picture of himself on Twitter with a glass of red wine and a caption that read, “Big no drinking bet starts today… My last sip” (pictured). Apparently, Ivey has embarked on a no alcohol bet, which has sparked the buzz of the online poker world.

A conversation on Two Plus Two about the bet began with the question, “Don’t these guys have anything better to do with their lives than make bets on everything?” Meanwhile on Twitter, fellow pro Tom Dwan questioned, “Hey @philivey, if u couldn’t go without chicken, how are u gonna pull off no alcohol? #wantmoreaction?” What Ivey has at stake financially is unclear.

Pokercast Co-Host Mike Johnson also chimed in, saying a bet mandating no alcohol would affect each person differently: “Needing booze and enjoying booze are two completely different things. Fine wine and spirits are one of the great pleasures in life for many people. Just because people like and want to drink doesn’t mean they need to drink.”

One poster said he had already tried to avoid alcohol for a month, but quickly caved: “I just bought out of a no alcohol bet. Made it two weeks into a four-month bet. The bet was a trivial amount, though, and if it were significant, I think I could have made it, but it would have been tough. The kicker was thinking about going through football season without once drinking at a bar, and that seemed like a wasted football season.”

According to the Global Poker Index, Ivey’s bet will last one year. The site also harkened back to Dwan’s bet that Ivey couldn’t eat meat for one year. Even after Ivey tried to increase the size of the bet, he ultimately did not succeed: “Despite his confidence, Phil soon pulled out of the bet after being unable to resist a tasty looking piece of chicken and incurred a $150,000 penalty.”

PokerListings speculated that Ivey’s latest prop bet was worth “at least” $5 million and could be closer to $10 million.

For the last word on the story, we’ll turn to one Two Plus Two member, who joked, “Anyone who thinks this is easy has never been to Cabo.” Ivey has a residence in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico where he frequently visits (pictured). Cabo, Cabo, Cabo!

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