I Bet U
It’s funny how, when you are kid growing up, you always hear grownups telling you that you have no clue; that you don’t know anything. And as kid, I remember thinking that I knew everything. I remember when I was 14; I thought to myself, wow, I know that I know everything. It didn’t take long for me to realize that even today I don’t know squat!
If there’s one thing that I have learned throughout the years, it is not to get all hyped up about something until it actually happens. So often, certain things have come up that got me excited, and I’d tell all my friends this and that, only to be set up for disappointment when plans fell apart. I realized that you should never talk about any project to anyone until it really happens.
A bit off the subject, but I want to tell you all a quick story about a guy named Gary Leet. Gary is Phil Laak’s best friend, and for good reason. I have met many characters in my life and Gary is definitely one of the most unique. He has his own way of thinking and nobody can do anything about it. Now, I might get some of the details wrong, but the story is essentially this. After college, Gary decided that he wanted to make enough money so he would not have to worry about money ever again. How to go about this? Well, Gary thought that it would be most efficient for him if he cut himself away from the world and concentrated purely on his work. I kid you not; Gary called his friends and family and said, I love you all, but for the next two years I am going to focus on business and, as a result, will not be in touch. He literally did not talk or see anybody in his life until he accomplished his goal, which, in fact, he achieved in about two years.
As sick a story as this is, there is something very pure about it. After coming back to the world of friends and family (now financially secure for life), Gary continued his stake in business but not nearly as full-fledged. He met a girl, fell in love, and got married. A few years later, Newsweek magazine (I think it was Newsweek or maybe Business Week) put Gary on the cover for his accomplishment in some business thing that he did. What I am about to tell you is true. Gary did not tell a soul, not even his own father or wife. His dad was on the subway one day when the guy sitting across from him was reading a magazine with Gary’s picture on the cover. When his dad asked Gary why he didn’t tell him about the cover, Gary’s reply was, “What’s the big deal? It’s just business.” Can you imagine being on the cover of a major business publication and not telling a soul? I learned a very valuable lesson from this story. Thank you, Gary.
About a year ago, I received a phone call from my agent telling me that there was a production company in New York that wanted to do a TV show based on two gamblers who walked around and just bet on anything and everything. Phil and I flew to New York to meet with Charlie, one of the head honchos at North South Productions. He pitched the idea to us and we loved it. That day, we shot a little pilot on the streets of New York, and that was that. The next step was for Charlie to sell the show to a network. At this point, I would usually get very excited about us having our own TV show. However, having gone through so many things in the past that didn’t actually happen, I pretty much wrote it off. I didn’t tell anyone about it, and just figured if it happens, it happens.
Well, folks, it happened. Charlie sold the show. Phil and I could not believe that we were going to have our own TV show. In order for us to actually make the show it was going to take a lot of compromising as far as our poker careers went. We had to miss about five WPT main events in order to shoot all eight episodes before the end of the year for a March or April premiere. The choice was not easy but we decided that having our own TV show was just too fun to pass up.
It’s called I BET U, and the whole premise for the show is me versus Phil. I can’t get into too much detail just yet, but I can tell you we have done some crazzzzzy things. Some very humiliating and some too crazy to believe. I can promise those of you out there who have ever seen Phil or me playing poker on TV that you will get a serious kick out of watching us do the things we had to do.
More to come on the show… Look for a March or April premiere. Antonio
