Athletes are known for their professionalism and determination to win. This particular drive usually leaves people seeing them as entities of hard work that do not compromise in any way or anything. However, this is not always the case. Of course, the top athletes work hard a lot, but they also have fun. Many athletes have agreed and admitted that they have fun and take time off in different methods that every normal average joe is familiar with. This includes engaging in hobbies like gambling.
Many times, Athletes have been discovered to engage in playing casino gambling in different forms. This includes playing with little real money at the best 5 dollar deposit casinos sits and visiting amazing money land-based casino resorts. Many top athletes have been known to engage in gambling in sports betting, casino slots, Horse racing, and many more.
Is Gambling a Normal Part of Athlete Lives?
It is important to know that not all athletes enjoy gambling, just like not every average person does. However, many top athletes love the activity and engage in it through different means. A popular gambling activity that athletes are known for is casino games. Many athletes enjoy playing casinos, with some even claiming to have casino life hacks or the best casino tips. Also, apart from their love for casinos, others enjoy gambling in sports.
In general, Athletes who engage in gambling usually do so moderately or religiously. They are likely to play more than the average because they have the luxury of affording it, which draws attention to them. Apart from that, they are normal people seeking to have fun while making money.
A number of top stars enjoy gambling a lot, such that they have a reputation in the limelight. The next section will consider them.
Top Athletes that love to gamble.
Floyd Mayweather Jr
Mayweather is one of the best boxers in the history of professional martial arts, and he also loves gambling. Unbeatable in his profession, Floyd Mayweather Jr is also a well-known gambler. He regularly shows off his bet slips on Twitter with wagers worth hundreds or thousands of dollars. His love for gambling made the house managers nickname him money. His betting addiction made R.J. Bell believe that he could bet about $5 million on his fight with Conor McGregor, his last as a fighter in UFC. ESPN later reported that Mayweather wanted to bet $400,000 on himself winning the fight, but M Resort casino in Las Vegas rejected the bet as they feared it could be illegal.
Charles Barkley
Charles Barkley is addicted to gambling, and everyone knows this as his loud mouth sold him out. He talked about his gambling problem during an interview with ESPN, where he admitted to having lost about 10 million dollars to gambling. He loves to bet on NFL and play Blackjack in casinos. In 2007 Barkley spoke about why it was difficult for him to quit gambling was because he could afford to gamble. Although the ex-player tried to stay away from gambling for a couple of years, he still couldn’t stop. He returned to gambling in 2016 when he said he had changed his mindset and was not trying to use gambling to win a lot of money anymore.
Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan was known to be the greatest basketball star. He was also known to love gambling. The player was a familiar face at games with high stakes and casinos in Las Vegas and could bet hundreds or thousands of dollars. In 1993 during his playing days, Michael was found gambling at Atlantic City a night before a playoff game where his team was to play against the Knicks. In 2017 Charles Barkley revealed that Jordan sometimes bet $100,000 when they played as a pair. Even after retirement, he still bets on golf games and visits casinos to play games.
Wayne Rooney.
The former Manchester United star attracted the media with his gambling issue used as a gossip topic. This was because a story was revealed of him losing about £700,000 by betting on dog races and racetrack in a bookmarkers office. However, the player and his representative tried to cover up the issue by denying the allegations. They also made the media believe that t the Goldchip office might not be legally licensed. This was how his fans and the press realized that Wayne wasn’t as perfect as they taught.
Phil Mickelson
The ex-American golfer had everything going well for him. He made lots of money from his career and won so many tournaments. This fooled everyone as they believed all was well with Phil until his betting issues were made public. There were rumors that the golfers bet on various sporting events like the World Series of baseball and Super Bowl, which amounted to hundreds or thousands of dollars. There were also rumors that the athlete switched from his old sponsor Titleist to a new sponsor Callaway because the new sponsor agreed to clear off his gambling debts with bookmarkers. In the news in Billy Walter’s trial, he was recently a famous gambler. Evidence from the trial revealed that the former golfer owned Billy close to 2 million dollars in betting on sports events.
Conclusion
Amblin is a sport that everybody enjoys due to the thrill and risk. It can be a way to have fun and promises the possibility of winning money. Players need to follow the unwritten rule of not betting more than they can afford to lose.
This article has considered the different sports athletes and their reputations with gambling. Gambling as a part of athletes’ lifestyles was also considered to give readers a full understanding of how athletes consider gambling. Finally, this article highlighted that athletes who engage in the activity consider it fun and a good way to make money, just like every average gambling lover.
