By Sean Chaffin
Tony Miles lived a dream this summer many only dream of – making the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event. He came up just short of the bracelet, however, finishing runner-up for $5 million. With that huge finish, Miles now has another dream – competing in American Ninja Warrior.
The challenge actually came about from a prop bet with Shaun Deeb about a month ago, and he’s now training in Orlando.
“I’ll be pursuing that pretty seriously,” says Miles, who was among those in the field on Day 2. “It’s going pretty well. I’m pretty excited. I was always pretty athletic and played sports growing up. I did a little bit of gymnastics when I was younger so I can still flip around. So I like my side of the bet.”
Time to Travel
After the WSOP, Miles hit the road a bit for some traveling and poker abroad. He played in EPT Barcelona and then stopped in Edinburgh, Scotland, for a major online poker event. He also traveled to London, Amsterdam, and the French Alps.
“Now I’m home and trying to study again and be focused and continuing to be successful,” he says. “I’m studying a little more tournament strategy. I come predominantly from a cash game background, so I’ve been studying tournament theory and strategy a little more.”
Many who win big money might be tempted to splurge. Not Miles. He made one purchase, a new Toyota Tacoma truck. Beyond that, he says, “nothing too crazy.”
When not at the card table, Miles liked to wakeboard, snowboard, and watch sports. His poker goals are simple.
“I just want to continue to have freedom,” he says. “Freedom to travel and freedom to do whatever I want to do and not have to go to work.”
Addition Inspiration
As the hype and publicity built during the WSOP Main Event, Miles was forthcoming about some tough times in his life battling addiction. He’s struggled with alcoholism and opioid addiction.
By 2008, Miles had been in rehab and attributes much of his addiction issues to being self-conscious and insecure about himself. His lowest point came about two years ago when he was trying to detox at his mother’s home in Florida. One moment sticks out in his mind.
“I was so cold that I was under four blankets,” he told the Tacoma, Washington News Tribune newspaper. “I was just shivering so bad that my mom was holding a hair dryer under the blankets, moving it up and down, pouring hot air on my body.”
Now that he’s clean and has had so much success on a major stage, Miles sees his story as a way to inspire others with similar problems.
“I think I’ve always embraced it,” he says. “It’s part of my story and it’s one of the things that drives me, and always hoped that I would be able to use poker and my success as a platform to give others hope in situations that are similar.
“I know how dark it can get at times when you’re dealing with a disease that is as destructive as addiction. So I embrace it and I talk about it frequently, and it’s one of the driving forces behind doing what I do.”
Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer in Crandall, Texas. His work appears in numerous websites and publications. Follow him on Twitter @PokerTraditions.
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