Crypto millionaire loses record-breaking $3.1 million pot by trying to bluff a poker legend
Crypto millionaire Wesley Fei may by a whiz when it comes to virtual currencies, but it would seem his skills don't translate to the poker table.
That became clear this week when he suffered a devastating financial loss at a high-stakes poker game against the legendary Tom Dwan.
The two went head to head at LA's Hustler Casino with a whopping $1 million buy-in.
Fei, the founder of investment firm Infinite Decentralization Capital, tried his best to triple-barrel bluff Dwan, but instead ended up losing $3.1 million - the biggest pot in televised poker history. Ouch.
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It all kicked off when a player named LSG Hank raised to $7,000 and Wesley Fei decided to raise to $30,000.
Not to be outdone, poker pro Tom Dwan raised $100,000.
While LSG Hank folded, Fei decided to rise to Dwan's challenge and plough on with an eye-watering $275,000 raise.
At this point, with a whopping $562,000 in the pot, Dwan called and the two players entered the flop phase of the game.
Even though he only had an ace high, Wesley tried to bluff, betting another $125,000.
But Tom called his bluff, adding a further $300,000 to the pot.
Yeah, it was an intense game.
Still trying to throw Tom off, despite only holding his ace high, Wesley bets a further $350,000 - but Tom doesn't fall for it, and decides to call.
By now, the pot had tallied up to $1.5 million.
When the final card, aka the river, arrived on the board it was clear to Fei and to viewers watching from home that the crypto genius had nothing but an ace high and a prayer.
Still, convinced he could throw Dwan off, Fei boldly decided to go all in, bringing the pot up to $2.3 million.
It was a simple win for Dwan - though he didn't know it - only needing a pair to beat Fei.
A computer reader was able to detect that Dwan was holding a pair of queens, so all he had to do was call Fei's bet and the jackpot was his.
After a few minutes of deliberation, Dwan did call, bringing the pot up to a record-breaking $3.1 million.
One look at Fei's face was all Dwan needed to realise he had won the game.
You just can't beat the pro.
Congratulating Fei on a good game, Dwan said in a post-game interview with Hustler Casino Live: "Wesley Fei plays really good.
"I had a guess that he might go for a little bit today. I wasn't sure that was right. I could have easily been wrong and paid him off.
"But I had a bit of a read that my queens were good."
Hope that helps to soften the $3 million blow.
Topics: Cryptocurrency, Money
Ali Condon