Phil Mickelson’s gambling addiction (problem?) It is far more extreme than anyone could have imagined. If Billy Walters’ new book “Gambler : Secrets from A Life at Risk” is true, then this could be the case.
Walters is well-known for his successes as a gambler, entrepreneur and author. He dedicated a chapter of his book to Mickelson. Golf Digest published a Thursday excerpt.
According to the book Walters and Mickelson formed a friendship after they were paired together at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 2006. Mickelson knew of Walters’ gambling successes and approached him about forming a business partnership in 2008.
Walters was shocked to learn how big a gambler Mickelson really was. The excerpt revealed that Mickelson bet over $1 billion during the past three decades. BILLION is spelled with a B.
Walters claimed that the only person he is aware of with such a high volume of bets is him.
This is a ridiculous amount of money. I can think of several ways Mickelson might have used that money better.
His losses were closer to $100 Million
Walters says that Mickelson has lost around $40 million in gambling. Walters says that based on his relationship with Mickelson and what he has learned from others, Mickelson’s gambling losses are closer to $100,000,000.
Mickelson betted on the Ryder Cup
The book:
Phil called me in late September 2012. He was at Medinah Country Club, just outside Chicago. This is where the 39th Ryder Cup match between the United States of America and Europe took place. He was confident that the American team led by Tiger Woods and Bubba Watson as well as Phil himself would reclaim Cup from the Euros. He was so sure that he bet me $400,000 on the U.S. winning.
What I heard was so unbelievable that I couldn’t believe it.
I asked him. You might remember Pete Rose, the former Cincinnati Reds’ manager who was banned from baseball after he bet on his team. “You are seen as the modern-day Arnold Palmer,” i added. You’d risk it all for this? “I don’t want to be involved in this.”
“Alright. Alright,” he replied.
I don’t know if Phil made the wager elsewhere. He must have come to his senses after the “Miracle at Medinah” when the Europeans came back from a 10-6 deficit on the final singles day. It was the biggest comeback in Ryder Cup History. The Europeans won eight matches, tied one and beat the Americans with a score of 14 1/2 to 131/2.
Phil Mickelson of the USA looks over the third hole during a Ryder Cup practice round held at Medinah Country Club, Medinah, Illinois. (Photo: Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press).
In 2011, 3,154 bets were placed.
This number is not a mistake. Walters claims that Mickelson made over 3,000 wagers in a single year. This number is equivalent to nine bets on average per day for 2011.
According to an excerpt, Mickelson bet 7,065 times between 2011 and 2014.
He lost $143,500 on a single day (June 22, 2011) after placing 43 bets.
Bets are regularly exceeding five and six-digit dollar values
The book continues:
Two very reliable sources told me a lot about Phil’s sports betting after my betting partnership ended with him in spring 2014.
Phil was told that it wasn’t a big deal to wager $20,000 per game on NBA parlays with five teams. You can also bet $100,000 or $200,000 per game on sports like football, basketball and baseball.
Walters stated that Mickelson wagered $110,000 for a win of $100,000 1,115 times and $220,00 for a win of $200,000 858 times. All of these bets totaled $311 million.
The film Gambler: Secrets of a Life in Risk will be released on August 22.
