The Interview: Shaun Deeb on the WSOP, his $800k prop bet and his epic powers of motivation

The Interview with Shaun Deeb - PokerOrg branded
Craig Tapscott
Posted on: March 06, 2024 24:45 PST

Shaun Deeb has been in the headlines this year, but not for the usual reasons. The six-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner and former WSOP Player of the Year has already booked a big win in 2024 thanks to a prop bet with Bill Perkins. Deeb dropped his body fat from 40% down to 22%, losing more than 80lbs but gaining a huge $800k in the process.

It was no walk in the park, to say the least, and required Deeb to engage his own support crew of nutritionists, doctors, trainers and therapists - not to mention the patience and love of his family - to meet the challenge. But those that know him would not have been surprised by the intensity and sheer determination the opportunity brought out in Deeb.

And those that don’t know him can now put that right, as he joins Craig Tapscott for an intimate and honest conversation on all things poker - as well as the past year’s prop bet challenge - in PokerOrg’s The Interview.

Watch the full interview below, or check out the audio version for free right here.

Deeb on friends, rivals and making hay while the sun shines

“I know the game is going to pass me by at some point,” Deeb tells Craig, “I’m trying to make as much money as I can before that, make investments, so I can be that 50-year-old guy at the World Series who’s retired, who’s super-wealthy, who has great income coming in, and just be that drunk idiot having fun who used to be good at poker.”

From our time spent with Deeb, it’s clear that day is still some way away. During the course of our hour-long talk, Deeb shares his thoughts on various aspects of his career and some of the secrets of his success. Watch or listen to hear more about…

  • How he nearly had a ‘Brazilian butt lift’ to win a prop bet
  • Why Phil Hellmuth isn’t as good at Razz as he thinks he is
  • The time he accidentally threw $10k in the trash
  • His take on this summer’s Tice vs Becker rivalry
  • The time he bust out of a $10k event… and bought straight into a $3 event
  • Why WSOP events are easier for him to win when deeper into the series
  • His thoughts on the WSOP Player of the Year race
  • His extraordinary powers of motivation, and why he’s continuing with his weight-loss challenge even after collecting on it

Deeb is even briefly joined by his most crucial team-mate - his wife, Ashley - in this access-all-areas chat with PokerOrg.

Don’t miss this chance to get up close and personal with one of the greatest tournament players the WSOP, and poker, has ever seen.

Missed episode one of The Interview, with Phil Hellmuth? You can catch it here.