“I like gambling and I can’t quit” Charles Barkley was fined $5,000 for in-game gambling with Mark Jackson
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Charles Barkley
Charles Barkley might be an epitome of entertainment since his early days in the league, but just like certain other players, he too had a gambling addiction which got him into deep trouble with Mark Jackson during a game. Knowing that Barkley was a former MVP in the 90s when Michael Jordan was at his raging best, and also won a gold medal with the dream team, one can visualize the aura of the former Suns star, back in the day.
Having played in the NBA and now being the host of NBA on TNT, Charles Barkley has been able to establish his net worth over $60 Million. Stories have run wild about how Barkley’s made $700,000 in a single weekend in Las Vegas and also how he once lost $2.5 million in a six-hour period. While the 1993 Suns’ MVP was known to test his luck, not all the time was it in a casino. In 1990, Barkley made some bets on the court with Mark Jackson in a game against the Knicks which ended up costing him heavily.
Was Charles Barkley a hardcore gambler?
“Barkley said he had bet $1,000 with Jackson that he would make the two free throws he was awarded with 22.4 seconds left. Barkley won that bet,” a Times article reported. “Barkley then bet Jackson that Jackson could not tie the game with a 3-pointer. Barkley lost that bet.”
He fined both Jackson and Barkley $5,000 and called them to the league office for a full report of what had happened. Surely, it’s not something Barkley is proud of, but as said before, he won’t stop gambling.
“It’s a stupid, bad habit. I have a problem,” Barkley explained once. “But the problem is when you can’t afford it. I can afford to gamble. I like to gamble and I’m not going to quit.”
Believe it or not, given that the NBA players have been one of the highest earning athletes in each sporting era, they surely have taken the risk whilst gambling.
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Yakshpat Bhargava
(3989 Articles Published)