Tony Miles Gets Back On American Ninja Warrior To Continue Prop Bet With Shaun Deeb

American poker pro Tony Miles is continuing his prop bet with fellow player Shaun Deeb! The 2018 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event runner-up is joining the American sports entertainment competition American Ninja Warrior for the second time around after failing during his first attempt last year.
Prop Bet Terms
In September 2018, about two months after winning $5 million for his runner-up finish in the WSOP Main Event, Miles booked a prop bet with four-time WSOP bracelet winner Deeb, betting $5,000 at 25:1 odds that he can enter and advance an obstacle course on American Ninja Warrior. The bet is on for three years, with the odds decreasing yearly to 20:1 for the second year, and 15:1 for the third year.
With the odds now at 20:1, Miles will win $100K for the $5K he had wagered, if he accomplished the terms of the prop bet. The American player is now officially back on the challenge after receiving a call from American Ninja Warrior confirming that he’s in!
Tough Application Process
Sharing the good news, Miles said he was over the moon after learning that he was considered for the competition. The show screens thousands of applicants each year, and chooses just 100 participants for regional qualifiers, the survivors of which will then advance to the city finals.
The application process follows a set of criteria and begins with online application in which the aspiring contestants submit an audition video that showcases their personality, life experiences, the challenges they’ve been through, and their athletic abilities.
The video should be well-crafted and should highlight why they deserve to be in the competition. Some applicants reportedly spend huge sums of money in this two-minute audition video as it serves as a determining factor for their chances to be accepted into the show.
Miles announced in a tweet in March that would be participating in the competition, originally scheduled to take place on April 11-12. However, with the as the deadly coronavirus continues to spread on a global scale, and with the US now recording the highest number of COVID-19 infections and death around the world, American Ninja Warrior has been postponed.
Not Enough Training in 2019
Miles was able to join the competition last year, but he admitted there was a lack of preparation on his part, as he did not undergo enough training. Apart from that, the American player also revealed he suffered from depression and went through a difficult time in the months after the Main Event, which was the main reason why he only started training in January of that year. But Miles was pretty confident about his ability to accomplish the goal.
Upon personally witnessing the course in Atlanta, Miles believed he had a high chance to advance further, however it did not materialize after he failed in the spinning blocks obstacle. The contestant should be able to successfully run over the top of the blocks to move on to the next obstacle. Miles went off-balance on the second block and failed to reach the next platform.
A New Purpose
Fortunately, contestants who didn’t make it through to the final stages in previous seasons are still allowed to try again and submit their application, and Miles was among the lucky ones to be given a second chance.
Now, Miles is dedicating himself to the competition and started training early. After competing in poker tournaments, he would train for four to five days a week and also sought help from the stars of the show. In return, he’s giving them a freeroll of 2% on his bet with Deeb.
Miles admits money is a huge factor in his decision to take part in the competition. Miles said training and preparing for the show has turned out to be a lot more difficult than he expected, but he would go for it in exchange for the $100K, as well as bragging rights from Deeb. But apart from the money, the most important impact of the competition on Miles was the fact that it gave him a new purpose and helped him get through his personal issues.