Breast Man
How far would you go for a bet? Not as far as Brian Zembic perhaps, officially the world’s craziest gambler.
He’s a living legend. Immortalised in The Man With The $100,000 Breasts And Other Gambling Stories, Michael Konik's catalogue of the craziest bets and biggest gamblers in the world, Brian Zembic won $100,000 off a friend for getting breast implants – that was 10 years ago and he’s still got ‘em. He lived in a bathroom for a month to bag $14,000, he even slept rough in Central Park with $20,000 strapped to his leg. Now there’s talk of a Hollywood film being made about his life. Backgammon pro; magician; blackjack master; gambler. Brian, take a bow.
I suppose I must start off by asking about your, ahem, ample charms. How are they both doing? Any plans to increase them from a C-cup?
I just had a bet with Mike Sall, a world champion gin rummy player. If I made my boobs a size bigger he would pay me $50,000. If I took ‘em out I would get 10 grand. If I merely kept them as is I would have to pay $20,000. A tricky decision but I think they’re here to stay!
Haha! So you’re planning on leaving them as the doctor intended then?
Yeah, I paid the guy off already. But he’s lost it back to me. I’m crushing him in backgammon - naturally!
Can you explain how the bet originally came about?
It’s a while ago now but as I recall, a former friend of mine, Jobo, just offered me $100,000 one day to get them done. We agreed that I’d be responsible for the surgery costs and that they had to be 38C in size. As long as I wore the breasts for a year, I’d get the cash. Nothing much was done about it but then I lost a load of bucks on a stock he recommended I invest in. So here I am looking to recoup the money I lost. After some deliberation we decided that the breast bet was back on! The rest as they say is history! Ten years on and they’re still here!
No regrets about having them put in? I suppose in a way they’ve made you famous!
I have no real regrets about keeping ‘em in really. Just the occasional problem with my forehand ping pong shot. And I’m starting to get cramps every month!
How did you first get into gambling? Were you a gambler from an early age or is it a recent obsession?
I started gambling playing ping pong in Winnipeg. Then I got into magic. Some gamblers saw me do magic and flew me into Vegas to find out if there was a way they could beat the casinos using my magic skills. They knew something had to be better than card-counting. I’ve been here ever since, hustling and gambling. [The collection of gamblers and grifters was led by Robert “Mickey” Swift, also featured in ‘The Man With the $100,000 Breasts’. He and his team of sleight-of-hand experts switched fake dice at the craps tables and slipped marked cards into blackjack decks. Swift was responsible for taking $3 million of Vegas casinos’ money – and he was never caught.] Is there something about coming from Winnipeg?
Are Canadians big gamblers in general?
I don’t think there’s anything about guys coming from Canada being gamblers, just something about everyone from Winnipeg being incredibly cheap! Describe a typical day in the life of Brian Zembic. Wake up at 6.25am. Make breakfast for my 7-year old daughter Mika. Walk her to school at 7.30. Sleep a couple of hours. Go play poker for a few hours. Pick Mika up. Play a few games of backgammon online or just give a few lessons to one of the high stakes players that live in Vegas. Take care of my 10-month old daughter Zoey (whose name I had changed legally to Svobini for a $10,000 bet!). Give a ping pong lesson for $14 an hour (and rarely collect the money!). Go for a jog. Study backgammon. Go to bed and start the entire boring life the next day.
Got any crazy bets coming up?
The breasts are the craziest thing I’ve done so far, but I just settled a bet with a poker player called Harry Demetrio from England. I had to learn a piano song - ‘Pacobella in cannon d’ or something like that in a year [I think he means Pachelbel’s ‘Canon in D Major’- Ed]. If he won a major poker tournament by the spring he would win $100,000. But if I learned the song on the piano, I’d win the dough. I learnt most of the song and he hadn’t won a tournament so he settled and paid me off $10,000.
So no plans to cut your penis off for cash, as someone once challenged you?
No plans to chop my little Houdini off, unless the girlfriend has a go at it and I find myself having to look for it in a field somewhere!
You once slept in Central Park with $20,000 strapped round your ankles. Did you live in mortal fear of your life?
I was more afraid to lose the 20K than my life at the time. That or some group of homeless guys coming up behind giving me a good seeing-too.
You’re nicknamed ‘The Wiz’. What’s your best magic trick?
My magic can make any world-class magician fall to their knees. One trick is where I hold four silver dollars in my left hand. I close my fist and you can hear a clink. I open my fist but you see only three coins. The other one has passed to a glass in my right pocket. I’ve done this four times. No other pansy-ass magician can do this like I can! That is just one of the many gifts that God has given me!
You live in Vegas now and play a bit of high-stakes poker. Is there a temptation to become a full-time poker player?
Lately I’ve been getting crushed at poker in Vegas. But over time I will make it back. Like a true gambler, losing doesn’t bother me in the short haul.
Will we see you at the World Series of Poker? Or the World Backgammon Championships perhaps?
You will see me at the WSOP. I think I will play again this year. Shirt on of course.
Your gambling wins are well-reported. Any huge losses you can tell us about?
No huge losses except for the cash I lost in the stock market listening to those jerk-offs that lost the breast bet to me. It makes my stomach turn just thinking of it now.
“I have no regrets about keeping my breasts apart from the occasional problem with my forehand ping pong shot!” – Brian Zembic
3 comments
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Posted by Kempo1987 – 14 Sep 2007, 1:15 PM
I'm not sure if i'd be willing to tak a bet this far, but good on the lad for keeping his word!
Posted by JoeCollins – 17 Sep 2007, 3:53 PM
HaHa How far would you take a bet kempo1987?!
Posted by georgestam – 20 Oct 2007, 1:10 PM
That guys got guts.