Tony Dunst may be able to read the cards well when he’s at the felt, but when it comes to other forms of gambling, he might not want to quit his day job. Dunst recently laid out $14,000 for the Patriots to beat the Eagles in the Super Bowl 2018, which seemed like a pretty safe bet considering the odds given to the Pats. In the end, it just wasn’t meant to be.
Dunst made the bet at the Green Valley Ranch Resort in Las Vegas, and posted his ticket on his Instagram account. Despite placing the bet on the Pats, he was actually pulling for the Eagles—maybe that mixed message had something to do with the loss. He incorrectly assumed that Nick Fole’s performance last week was just a one-off that couldn’t be repeated.
A few poker buddies didn’t share the logic created by Dunst. Noah Schwartz and Bill Perkins both let it ride on the Eagles, wanting to root for the underdog. The Patriots put on a good show, but Schwartz and Perkins had to certainly be happy to see the ball bounce to the ground in the end zone as the clock expired, giving the Eagles a 41-33 victory over the Pats.
The 34-year-old professional poker player from Madison, Wis., is ranked 258th on the US All Time Money List, and 3rd for Wisconsin. To date, Dunst’s earned just shy of $3 million in live earnings, with a best cash win of $700,000 that he earned for his second-place finish at the 2016 Aussie Millions Poker Championship in Melbourne, Australia, two years ago. Shortly after that runner-up finish, he placed first at the 47th WSOP $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament in Vegas. He pocketed $339,254 with that win.
Following the announcement that Mike Sexton would retire from calling the plays for the WPT tournaments, Dunst stepped in to fill the void. He continues to work with Sexton’s former co-host, Vince Van Patten, to offer colorful commentary on poker action. Dunst already has some broadcasting experience under his belt. He’s been the host of the WPT ‘Raw Deal’ segment for a number of years.
