Ted Forrest, Mike Matusow Spat Turns Ugly Over Weight Loss Bet

Back in 2010, Ted Forrest and his “friend” Mike Matusow agreed a  $2 million prop bet which eventually saw Forrest reduce his weight from 188lbs to under 138lbs to scoop the enormous wager. One problem, however, was the fact Mike Matusow didn’t have a few million dollars knocking around and so he then agreed to pay him $1.8 million in $5,000 monthly installments over the next 18-years.
The poker landscape looked a lot different four years ago, when Mike Matusow was a sponsored pro with Full Tilt Poker and had a lucrative deal in place with the site. Following Black Friday and the site’s well documented problems, however, Matusow’s fortunes have waned further and apparently he has only been able to pay Forrest $70,000 of the money he’s owed. As 6-times WSOP bracelet winner Ted Forrest, 49, tweeted recently:
“@CardPlayerMedia Correcting the numbers: @themouthmatusow has payed me $70.500 of the 1.8million he owes me for the weight loss bet #4years.”
Whilst airing his grievance online, Ted Forrest also recalled he had previously paid Mike Matusow $100,000 when Matusow successfully shed 60lbs himself, and added that “When I won my weight bet, he did not even pay me the $100K.”
In spite of his protestations, by all accounts that is likely to be it as far as Mike Matusow is concerned. As well as stating that he has “struggled to survive” since “full tilt stole mine and everyone’s money,” Matusow, 46, has called into question the legitimacy of the original bet, tweeting the following:
“4 yrs ago me and Ted made a bet and were very drunk when we made it I then told him I don’t want the bet cause I can’t afford to lose.. He then said sorry you owe me 500k to cancel bet, I laughed at him and said fine don’t cancel the bet but I’m not changing my life style.”
While the spat between the two poker pros rages on, its worth noting that Ted Forrest has amassed $6,235,104 from live poker tournaments throughout his career, while Mike ‘The Mouth’ Matusow has earned $9,015,656, his latest big score coming in 2013, after taking down the $20,000 NBC Heads-Up Championship for $750,000.
However, the figures highlight the fact most players would  not even be able to afford some of the bigger buy-in tournaments without giving away a significant portion of their winnings to backers. In spite of his successes, for instance, Ted Forrest is apparently a regular participant in low-limit cash games, and so was looking for Matusow to at least make some “good faith payments.”
Nevertheless, Matusow has insisted he wants to draw a line under the whole episode, and he had these words to say to his “buddy”:
“Sorry Ted if you think you’re getting anymore money sue me I got 4 people who were there when the bet was made and I made it clear I wasn’t changing my lifestyle for you or any bet when it was made.”
“So stop lying about me to people in public or I will out you for the thief and crook that you are, take care my friend, Mike.”