Show of hands | SU student earns $20,000 winning a rock, paper, scissor tournament

By: Sarah Jane Capper

Posted: 4/15/09

When Jonathan Monaco clenched his fist to play rock paper scissors, he wasn't deciding who would get dish duty. Monaco was playing for $20,000. He pumped his fist three times, then stretched out a shaky hand into the flat sign for paper.

And he won.

"I woke up the next morning to … this huge check on the wall, and I'm like, that's mine?" Monaco said. "I was just in so much shock."

Monaco, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, was named the first USA Rock Paper Scissors League (USARPS) collegiate champion on an outdoor stage in Panama City Beach, Fla., in March. The event was sponsored by AMP energy drinks and was broadcast as part of MTVU's Spring Break coverage.

A desire to support education motivated the league to hold the tournament, said Dan Messinger, executive of League Affairs for the USARPS League, which was founded in 2005. Messinger said the event also helped generate interest in rock paper scissors.

"These athletes take it seriously, and they have a lot on the line," Messinger said. "As more people see that, more will take it as a serious sport, not just as a game to decide who gets shotgun."

Monaco first got a free Spring Break trip and the chance to compete in Florida after winning the tournament at Syracuse University, where he also threw paper to win. Preliminary rounds were held at 20 campuses across the country.

In Florida, paper secured him a spot in the finals after the first week of competitions. The next week, in front of a crowd that Monaco said was so dense he couldn't see the sand, he nabbed the grand prize with paper.

"In the beginning, I said 'You have to be kidding me,'" said Sabie Monaco, Jonathan's father. "You went out and played a game of rock paper scissors, and now you're going to Florida? That's unbelievable."

After Sabie Monaco studied the brackets and researched the game, he began to see the strategy behind it and view it as a sport.

"He started with nothing, and now he's $20,000 richer," said Sabie Monaco. "When you play basketball, you get paid. He got paid for playing a sport."

Monaco estimates that rock paper scissors is 50 percent luck and 50 percent skill. He observed matches to find patterns in how other players threw. Body language and the opponents' previous throws also helped him decide what sign to make. Players must collect and organize data about opponents, check their impulses and remember long sequences of throws, Messinger said.

"Like every sport, it's the right combination of strategy, skill and luck," he said.

For each match, Monaco wore a black T-shirt emblazoned with the white-lettered "Do work son," a gift his mother picked out for him at the MTV store in Times Square. She intended the shirt as a back-to-school gift that would remind him to study hard, but during the tournaments it was his good luck charm.

Monaco said wearing the same shirt also helped him to create a character, which the producers from MTVU encouraged. To build a memorable persona, Monaco adopted the nickname "Naco." He wore large plastic sunglasses to make sure opponents couldn't read his next throw.

Stepping into a new role provided an exciting fresh start, said Monaco, but he wanted to stay true to himself. Producers wanted to portray him as "Naco Knockout," because he played lacrosse. He declined, saying he was usually the one getting hit because of his small size.

"I didn't want to push it too far, you know?" Monaco said.

Monaco enjoyed the VIP status after his victory. On the beach, at clubs and on the street, people recognized him and challenged him to play rock paper cissors, Monaco said. He partied hard to celebrate.

Yet the hectic schedule was also tiring. On a typical day, he would wake up to film clips for MTVU from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. He then received instructions about where to enter and exit during matches and was prepped for questions he'd be asked on stage.

"It was a lot of fun doing it for that experience, but it's not something I'd see myself doing for the rest of my life," said Monaco, though he plans to defend his title next year. "You're not guaranteed everything. You sort of become a person that you might not want to be."

Dave Bauman and Kevin Matthews accompanied Monaco to Panama City Beach during his second week of competition. The three grew up on the same street in their Connecticut town, where they often settled disputes with rock paper scissors.

They spotted posters for the Syracuse tournament when Bauman and Matthews were visiting, then entered because it was something they'd always done together. Bauman was the group's rock paper scissors champ, while Monaco always lost.

Bauman believes his friend's unexpected victory happened for a reason. He knows things were tight for Monaco, who has faced family difficulties and was taking out loans.

"He needed that money more than anybody else I saw down there at the competition," said Bauman. "Everyone else took it as a joke."

sjcapper@syr.edu