‘Total darkness’ prop bettor Rich Alati wins WSOP NLH Online Championship

Arizona’s Rich Alati, most famous in the poker and gambling worlds for once taking part in a ‘total darkness’ prop bet, has posted perhaps the most important win of his poker career in the championship event of the just-completed WSOP Online domestic series. Alati’s victory in Event #32, $1,000 NL Hold’em Online Championship, was worth $65,155.79 and was accompanied by his first career gold bracelet.

Alati, a one-time Circuit ring winner as well, has posted a handful of larger cashes, but the prestige of winning the centerpiece of the online bracelet series sets this achievement apart from the rest. Alati, playing as ‘callmelater’, secured the bracelet by knocking out his final opponent, 12-time Circuit ring winner Michael ‘mkstr’ Setera.

Setera earned $48,231.97 for the second-place run. One of the WSOP’s leaders for all-time cashes in WSOP-branded events, seven-time Circuit ring winner Arkadiy ‘IBackgammonU’ Tsinis, finished third for $36,385.52. The event drew 362 total entries (217 original buy-ins, plus 145 reentries), and paid out a $338,470 pool to the final 48 players.

Controversial prop bet brought Alati initial fame

In late 2018, in an era when prop bets were somewhat more commonplace than they are today, Alati became involved in one of the most controversial prop bets of the time. Alati agreed to a $100,000 wager offered by Aussie pro Rory Young during a Las Vegas poker game on whether Alati could spend 30 days in total darkness and seclusion, in a specially-prepared bathroom with food delivered at random intervals.

The largest part of the controversy had to do with the nature of the darkness and isolation involved, which has been known to cause extreme mental stress in other circumstances, such as solitary confinement. Alati, though was free to leave the darkened room at any time, had some luxury items such as bath scrubs to enjoy, had some yoga training, and thought he could win the bet despite the risks. (He still started to hallucinate at times during the prop bet.)

Alati won the bet after 20 days, negotiating a $62,400 buyout from Young. After 15 days, Young hoped that it would instead be Alati buying out of the wager for $50,000, but as more days elapsed – and though Alati was mostly unaware of exactly how much time had passed – it became more and more clear to Young that Alati would complete the 30 days despite the risks. 

WSOP Online 2024 Event #32: $1,000 NL Hold’em Online Championship results