Pleasantville man goes for Rock, Paper, Scissors championship

by Kevin Devaney Jr.
The Journal News

PLEASANTVILLE - Whenever a dispute or a standoff arises, Hans Gentile III resolves it the way he knows best - with his fist.

Or with paper.

Or sometimes even with scissors.

Gentile has been using the same playground method to settle problems well into his adult life. His mastery of Rock, Paper, Scissors has not only awarded him "shotgun" in car rides to Yankee Stadium and helped him avoid countless trips to the grocery store, it also has earned him a trip to Las Vegas and a thin slice of local celebrity.

This weekend, Gentile will be one of 325 competitors from across the country vying for $50,000 in the most improbable national tournament you've probably ever heard of: The USA Rock, Paper, Scissors championship.

(Yes, it actually exists.)

"People are shocked when I tell them. They don't believe me," Gentile said. "But I've been bragging about being the best Rock, Paper, Scissors player in the world for years. Now I get to prove it."

Gentile, a 25-year-old Pleasantville resident, left for Las Vegas yesterday on a four-day, all-expenses-paid trip to Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, which is hosting the second annual event.

The opening round begins today, and the field will be trimmed to 16. They'll advance to tomorrow's finals, which will air on ESPN this summer.

The road to Vegas began back in January for Gentile, who works for his family's company, G&G Heating and Air Conditioning. He and buddy Tim Foley, who went to Briarcliff High School together, stopped in for a drink at Michael's Bar in Pleasantville, which was hosting a preliminary round of the event.

Amazingly, the two advanced to the championship out of the 12-competitor field, and it came down to one throw - Foley threw scissors, and Gentile threw rock.

From there, Gentile advanced to the regional final at the Katonah Bar and Grill in March. Gentile again reached the championship, which featured a scoring system much like tennis - you have to win two out of three throws to win a set, and the best-of-seven sets wins the match.

Gentile found himself down 3-0 in the final.

"One more loss and I was going home," Gentile said. "Any sport, you're done, and everyone is betting on the other team."

Gentile staged a furious rally, winning the final four sets to punch his ticket to Vegas.

"People look at it as straight luck or chance," said Gentile, whose regional win also included a trip for a guest (he took Foley). "I see it as a lot more mental. People who don't take the game seriously always throw scissors. And everybody is scared to throw paper. It's the least thrown out of the three. So there is a mental side to it."

Gentile, who'll go by "Handsome Hans" this weekend, feels he has a decided mental edge. He claims to experience deja vu at least once a day and truly believes he has some psychic power.

"I've always been able to read people," he said. "I can look at somebody and just know what they're going to throw. ... Psychics have told me and my sister that we have some psychic powers. We just don't have a way to channel it."

Until now.

Gentile already has seen how the weekend will play out.

First he's going to wager $1,000 on his long-shot odds at a Vegas sportsbook. Then he'll win the $50,000 first prize. With that money, combined with the payout from his bet, he's going to buy a Maserati, like the one in "Entourage," and drive home, stopping at every major national landmark along the way.

Gentile isn't going into the tournament with any strategy or technique. All he's got is the swagger of a guy who eloquently talks trash between throws, wears polo shirts with the collars up, has double diamond studs in both ears and sports $400 Gucci loafers.

"I have no clue about the tournament," Gentile said. "All I know is that they're paying for my hotel, airfare and food."

Although Gentile is taking a tongue-in-cheek approach to this endeavor, he legitimately views it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

It's a chance to network. It's also a chance for Gentile, who spent his youth working on cars while other kids were throwing baseballs, to get the shot at sports glory he never experienced.

"Every one of my friends was an all-state athlete in high school. I wasn't," Gentile said. "I never knew what it was like to score the game-winning touchdown or hit the winning basket. Now I can."

Pleasantville resident Hans Gentile III, who's a cut above in the game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, will compete for a national title in Las Vegas.