$40 million in gambling debts? Chump change!
Remember when we were “shocked, shocked” at the breaking news about Phil Mickelson’s $40 million gambling debts? I duly commented in “Phil Mickelson Gambling Like Tiger Woods Cheating” on July 15, 2015.
But we had no idea. Because today’s breaking news makes that figure look like the loose change you’d find buried deep in your sofa cushions.
Phil Mickelson’s ex-gambling partner alleges the golfer made over seven thousand wagers on football, basketball and baseball from 2010 to 2012. He also said Mickelson has wagered more than $1 billion over the past three decades.
(The New York Times, August 10, 2023)
Pete Rose’s heir apparent
Pete Rose has been the poster boy for professional athletes who gamble their fame and fortune away. But this report has to make Mickelson his heir apparent by acclamation.
Except here’s the million, or should I say, billion-dollar question: How does someone have a Pete Rose-like addiction and not spark suspicions of betting on their own sport? I mean, come on! We’ve got a golfer allegedly making thousands of bets on football, basketball, and baseball. Yet we’re supposed to believe he never once placed a bet on golf (i.e., on himself)?
In any event, this news explains why he was so willing to bet his soul on Saudi LIV sportswashing money. But unless he went to gambling rehab, I’m betting Mickelson still ends up bankrupt – financially and morally.
If Phil bet a billion, what’s Michael Jordan’s scorecard?
This news about Mickelson’s gambling is truly shocking. But, for real sports fans, it begs this tantalizing question: How much has notorious gambler Michael Jordan bet on sports over the past three decades?
We all know how competitive he is. So it would follow naturally that MJ, the GOAT of basketball, is also the GOAT of gambling.
Reports have only hinted at the portfolio of wagers his Airness has amassed over the years. Perhaps one of his ex-partners is just lying in wait to spill that tea!