Online Poker Pro Drops Golf Lawsuit

by Michael Burger

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Dusty Schmidt fought the USGA and the USGA won. (Image Courtesy Oregon Golf Association)

It’s not exactly news that golf and poker go together like bread and butter. What is news is that online poker pro Dusty Schmidt lost his status as an amateur golfer for trying to mix them. Well there was also that little matter of a $1 million bet.

It all began when Schmidt offered up what he called the “One Million Dollar Challenge,” which gave anyone in the world a chance to try and beat him in a mixed competition of poker and golf.

While there were no takers on the bet, the United States Golf Association (USGA) did take notice, and stripped Schmidt of his amateur status.

Schmidt took a shot at battling the USGA in court but has given up now after already losing two decisions to try and delay the USGA’s ruling so that he could at least play in upcoming tournaments. After consulting several different attorneys, Schmidt has given up on the lawsuit.

"The USGA is pretty ingeniously designed," Schmidt said. "The way their rules are set up, they're almost impenetrable from a legal perspective. I don't think I could win with O.J.'s lawyers. No matter what angle you tried to go for, they had the loophole covered. There was just no way."