Sept 23, 2006 -- CAMBRIDGE, MA. A highly intense contest of Roshambo was played today in the Charles Hotel. The stakes were laid out by Nellie Zupancic, officiate in the wedding ceremony of Marisa Suescun and Jay Greenspan. Zupancic said, “Marisa and Jay have each, privately, prepared some words of appreciation for each other, but have not decided yet who will go first. To decide the order, the bride and groom will Roshambo, otherwise known as rocks, paper, scissors.”

Greenspan, semi-professional poker player and the author of Hunting Fish: A Cross-Country Search for America’s Worst Poker Players talked before the ceremony of the importance of this single-throw event. “I don’t want to lose and start this marriage on tilt,” said Greenspan

Suescun was more at ease. “I had the advantage of being the underdog,” she said. “Jay has a lot more experience in Roshambo. So there wouldn’t have been any embarrassment for me, and there’s something nice about that. The pressure was really on Jay.”

The Throw

“I only had one chance to get this right, so I put a lot of thought into what I’d throw,” said Greenspan. “I tried to take into account the nature of the day and our history, but still I was having a difficult time coming up with the best choice.”

Unsure, Greenspan consulted his friend and former Roshambo World Champion, Rafe Furst. Jay posed a simple question: “Go rock?” Rafe responsed: “Definitely go rock!  Unless you suspect she will think you are going rock.” That settled it in Greenspan’s mind, he was going rock unless he decided not to.

Suescun opted for a different approach: “I decided not to think about it ahead of time. I was going to go with the feel at the moment.”

Finally it was time to throw. They both went paper. 

The Re-Throw

 “There wasn’t a lot of time to think,” said Greenspan. “The truth is, I didn’t really know what I’d follow up with. Said Suescun, “I think in some part of my mind I wanted to go rock. But I didn’t want to be pounding on scissors at my wedding.”

Suescun went paper, and Greenspan countered with scissors, winning the contest.

The crowd clapped, and in a show of great sportsmanship, Suescun cheered the victor. “There are no losers here,” said Greenspan.

The ceremony ended a few minutes later when Marisa and Jay were pronounced husband and wife.

Both parties have agreed to a rematch. A best-of-seven contest will decide who gets to name their first child.