Life in the dark: the mad bet of poker players

Professional poker players are undoubtedly gambling people. Even being away from the poker tables, they can't resist playing and diversify their lives as much as they can with the craziest bets. Some of the disputes are life-threatening or, at least, sanity-threatening, but if a lot of money is at stake, then why not take a risk?

Australian resident Rory Young and American Rich Alati met through common interests, or rather, love of poker. After meeting at a poker table in Las Vegas, they became friends and spent a lot of time together, both playing and just chatting. Young had one thing - he was haunted by an obsession about how long a person can be in complete isolation, without receiving information from the outside world.

"Do you think you will last long in a dark room without contact with people?" — Young asked his friends and acquaintances and received a variety of answers. None of the respondents was sure that they would last more than 23 days, but even these were just unverified guesses in practice.

Rich Alati and Rory Young

Rich Alati became the only person who called the deadline 30 days, and Young immediately offered a friend to make a bet. In just an hour, all the details of the crazy experiment were discussed and it was decided that Rich would spend 30 days alone in a room without light. The bet was more than tempting — 100 thousand dollars and the guys struck hands. The loser not only lost a round sum, but also assumed all the costs of conducting the experiment.

Both debaters were laughing at each other in their hearts and were confident of winning. Rory Young has been interested in the issue for many years and was, as they say, "in the topic". The guy had read the reports of participants in such experiments, articles by psychologists and people who were forced into complete isolation, so he knew how difficult a task he had set for a friend.

Rich Alati Surveillance Monitor

Rich Alati, in turn, did not think that he could have problems with fulfilling the conditions of the bet, as he had some experience of isolation. He was fond of yoga and meditation, and also went to Bali to a special holiday home where it is forbidden to talk. All this gave Alati reason to think that he was experienced enough to immerse himself in himself and not need information from the outside world.

The guys were not pioneers in this matter. In 2008, a similar dispute was started by Jay Quick, Andrew Robl and Alec Torelli. As a result, Quick agreed that for a six-figure sum he would be locked in the bathroom for a month, allowing him to take a mobile phone without an Internet connection and a portable DVD player. Already after 4 days it became clear that the guy was not experiencing any discomfort. Jay spent days lying on the mattress, watching his favorite TV shows, and Robl and Torelli gave up, offering Quick to interrupt the experiment for 40 thousand dollars.

Alati had to spend 30 days in much harsher conditions. He was not allowed to take electronic devices with him, and besides, the room had to be completely dark. In addition, it was planned to bring food irregularly and with a margin for several days, so that Alati could not navigate in time.

For the venture, a separate house was rented on Airbnb in the suburbs of Las Vegas and effective sound insulation of the room was performed. The room was equipped with 5 cameras capable of shooting in the dark, one of which was equipped with a speaker and microphone. This was necessary in order to have an emergency connection with a voluntary prisoner in case the situation got out of control. In addition, sound was recorded in the room, as the friends planned to release a documentary about their experience.

It was obvious that money was not the biggest loss that could be incurred in the course of such a dispute. Therefore, an official document was drawn up, absolving Young of any responsibility for the loss of Alati's vision, sanity or any other force majeure. Also in the know were Rich's father and sister, who acted as independent observers and could stop the bet if the cameras showed that something was wrong with Alati.

Experienced psychologist Michael Munro, who was also privy to the details of the dispute, considered the venture dangerous. In his opinion, prolonged sensory deprivation could cause both temporary and irreversible damage to Rich. Munro believed that it was possible to withstand such isolation, but the result of its impact on the psyche would be unpredictable.

Rich Alati performs exercises

As in the dispute between Robla, Torelli and Quick, a spacious bathroom was chosen as a room for privacy, in which there was a bathroom, a washbasin and a toilet. Also, according to the terms of the bet, a refrigerator with the lights turned off, a trash can and toiletries were added there. Alati, who was fond of yoga, took with him an expander, a massage ball, a scrub made of salt and sugar and a little lavender oil. He believed that he would be able to devote time to performing sets of exercises that can be perfectly performed even in the dark.

It turned out to be quite difficult to move in complete darkness, unaccustomed to it, and Rich had a hard time:

After a couple of days, the guy developed a certain regime. When he woke up, he brushed his teeth and made himself an aromatic bath with lavender and scrub. This was followed by a contrast shower and other hygiene procedures. After that, Rich would get dressed and start doing yoga and meditating.

A week later, Rich felt pretty good

Alati recalls that the hallucinations he was ready for began around the 4th day of solitude.

If Rich accepted the hallucinations, then the negative thoughts that came later turned out to be much more unpleasant and dangerous. To get away from depression, Alati began to devote more time to yoga and fully focus on each pose.

On the tenth day, Young became worried. Watching Rich with the help of cameras, he saw that he was absolutely calm and living locked up as if nothing had happened. Rory realized that he had underestimated his friend, who seemed to him such a sociable simpleton. It was a serious miscalculation and the debater began to think how to avoid paying a large sum. After 2 weeks, Young turned to Alati through a camera with a microphone and suggested that he stop the experiment right now and get 25 thousand dollars. He pondered for about an hour and refused to go out for such a sum.

The beginning of another day. Or nights?

A few days later, Young invited a friend to name his conditions and he said that he was ready to leave the premises ahead of time for 75 thousand dollars. After a short but lively haggling, Rory and Rich settled on the amount of 62.4 thousand dollars. At that time, Alati stayed in the dark for most of the agreed time, or rather, 20 days.

This is how Alati describes his way out of prison and meeting with the big world. It didn't take long for the guy to adapt and in just 3 days he participated in another poker tournament as if nothing had happened. The guy didn't have any consequences of being locked up and he felt just great.

Thanks to yoga, Rich took his time and saved himself from depression

This case had a certain resonance. Back when Rich was performing his asanas in a dark bathroom, Young got a call from a man who introduced himself as Huck Sid. He was a well—known personality in the poker world - Sid had won the World Series and many other championships. He was also an incorrigible debater who made the most incredible bets. One day Huck bet that he would master a backflip in two days and won, and another time he tried to sit up to his neck in water for 18 days, but could not.

Sid offered to bet a million dollars that he would be able to stay in a dark room for not 30, but 40 days, while the first three weeks he would do without food, using only water. In addition, Huck did not require a mattress, and at will the opponent could launch cockroaches into a dark room. It is not yet known what Yang thinks about this - perhaps it will take him more time to think about the proposal, due to a past miscalculation.