Beast Games Season 2 player 118, Nick Mariano, has reflected on his time on the Prime Video show, saying he has one major regret relating to the $250,000 he took during the Bury Me Alive challenge – but it might not be for the reason you’re expecting.
Nick had a wild ride on the MrBeast show, having become a favorite to win early on after he solved the smart test in Game 6. He was one of the most trusted contestants, resulting in him becoming one of 10 finalists.
However, his decision to take $250,000 from a million-dollar split caused division, and ultimately saw him losing out in the penultimate episode of Beast Games Season 2 (more on this shortly).
Still, there are no hard feelings on Nick’s part. Now that the dust has settled, he’s been reflecting on the decisions that defined his game while enjoying his newfound fame.
Where is Nick Mariano now?
Originally from Troy, New York, Nick Mariano is currently making the most of his experience and following gained from Beast Games Season 2, posting regularly on Instagram where he now has more than 43,000 followers at the time of writing.
And he may just have his next project lined up. In his latest post, he thanked MrBeast and Beast Games, describing it as the “most rewarding experience” of his life.
“I could go on for hours about how amazing y’all made this for all of us. The memories alone on Beast Games Season 2 are some of the best times of my life and for my friends I made in the games, I love you all and I know our relationships will last a lifetime,” he wrote.
“We really pulled up to the biggest TV show in the world and made the best alliance to ever do it thank you all.”
What’s interesting is he finished the post with, “FLOOR 2 BABY, ASK ABOUT US. With that being said I will see you all very soon, 118 out.”
Now, “Floor 2” could just be an unrelated reference, but last month, Nick, Player 58 (Jack), and Player 172 (Auguste) shared a skit in which they joke about the card shuffle debacle from the cube challenge.
Alongside Beast Games and MrBeast, the post tags casting companies MysticArt Pictures and The Casting Collective. Interestingly, the latter’s pinned post from December 2025 is a casting call for the next season of the game show The Floor.
Will Nick be joining the series? This could, of course, just be a case of reading too much into a celebratory post, with “Floor 2” simply a nod to his in-game participation. It’s important to note that Nick hasn’t made any announcements as of yet.
For now, he’s enjoying the glory of making it to the final 10 now that Beast Games Season 2 is out.
Prior to joining the show, Nick was best known for his wrestling alter-ego Conan Lycan. According to his bio, he’s been active in the ring since 2018 and was trained at The Black and Brave Wrestling Academy.
He’s previously appeared for Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling (TNA), and his sports background no doubt gave him a competitive edge, which saw him join the strong team in Beast Games.
Player 118 reveals Beast Games Season 2 regret
In a Reddit AMA, Nick revealed that if he could do things differently, he would’ve taken the full $1 million during the Bury Me Alive challenge – not just to bag the cash for himself but to use as bribes for the next challenge.
You see, in Season 2 Episode 7, the remaining players are told to pick a captain who they trust, and the majority vote for Nick. The rest of them are buried alive, with walkie-talkies to interact with the outside world.
It’s only after this process that Nick’s told what the game is: Season 2’s version of the ‘Million Dollar Split or Steal’ twist.
Essentially, there’s a million dollars up for grabs. Players must take it in turns selecting their chosen share – and since there’s 10 left, an equal amount would be $100,000 each. But they can take more or less – it’s essentially a ‘first come, first serve’ situation.
Since Nick is chosen as captain, he gets to go first, before deciding the order of the players who go next. Rather than taking an even share, he decides to take $250,000, saying, “At some point, you’ve got to be a bit greedy for yourself.”
His decision sparked plenty of debate among viewers at home. Some said if he was going to be selfish, he should’ve just taken the full $1 million, because by taking more than a fair share, it already destroyed the trust he had gained with his fellow players.
Therefore, it would’ve been unlikely they’d support him in future games, so he may as well have either a) taken the million or b) just the $100,000.
What’s more, the next challenge saw the 10 finalists voting for who they’d want to see move onto the next round, but only six spots were available. And they were able to use their cut of the million dollars to bribe each other for votes.
This is why Nick has regrets over the $250,000. If he could go back, he would’ve taken the lot and then used it to get into the finale.
This was addressed in the AMA, with one fan asking, “Nick looking back, would you still take 250k or take more or less?” Nick replied, “Looking back I think taking the million and passing it out in the next game for votes is the best thing to do in that situation.”
Why Nick voted for Player 195 Brett
Nick also addressed the fact that he had the deciding vote for the sixth finalist. He promised Player 152, Monika, that he would vote for her, but he ultimately chose Player 195, Brett. His reason? Because of the gold coin.
You see, JC gave Monika the ‘double or nothing’ gold coin, meaning she had the potential to double the prize fund to $10 million. MrBeast had tried bribing her throughout the show to get it back, but she kept shutting him down.
However, she eventually accepted during the Bury Me Alive challenge, taking a $500,000 bribe. She decided to keep this secret from the other finalists in order to maintain her leverage, but the players seemingly figured this out.
It’s for this reason that Nick decided to vote for Brett instead, as he already knew Monika wouldn’t go home empty-handed.
As one Redditor asked him, “Was Monika selling the coin your motivation to vote for Brett instead?” To which he simply replied, “Yes.”
Monika also answered fans’ questions, including one who asked her, “Did you use the coin (even though you didn’t have it) as a big persuasion point to get voted to get to the final six?
“The show didn’t really show you using this as a bribing point to get voted through it, only showed August calling you out for not having it.”
But Monika explained, “Auguste and Nick had already convinced everyone I had sold the coin. I couldn’t show it, so there was no point because everyone was already thinking it was gone anyways.”
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