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Gambling Athletes, Pt. 3 of 3
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24-Aug-2006, 15:38
In this third installment of a series entitled Gambling Athletes, we take a look at some of the most famous pro sportsmen known to be avid gamblers. Unfortunately for them, their notorious habits are often out of control as they struggle to keep a handle on things.
John Daly
John Daly recently revealed the magnitude of his gambling problem in his autobiography titled “John Daly: My Life In and Out of the Rough”. Perhaps most known as the hard-hitting heavy-drinking golfer who shot to fame by winning the 1991 PGA Championships as the ninth alternate, Daly claims to have lost between $50-60 million in the last 12 years! In a segment of the book he describes winning $750,000 in a tour event in California and then, instead of going home to his family, high-tailing to Vegas where he lost an incredible $1.65 million whilst playing $5000 slots. Sadly, he acknowledges his sickness and believes that if he does not get it under control it will inevitably ruin him.
Art Schlichter
Art Schlichter, former NFL quarterback, is better known for the compulsive gambling habits which have kept him in prison for much of the past 15 years. He started his brief NFL stint with the Baltimore Colts after a very successful college career at Ohio State. Picked fourth-overall in the 1982 draft, he never lived up to his full potential and it became widely known that crippling gambling debts were largely responsible for this. In 1983 he was suspended from the NFL for gambling. He never started another game again, and eventually was released after the 1995 season. He has gone on record to say that he has spent time in 30 different prisons around the country and committed more than 20 felonies, all related to gambling. He is currently serving a five-year sentence in an Indiana penitentiary.
Stanley Bowles
Bowles gained his reputation as one of England’s most fearless and fiery soccer players. In a time when players’ salaries were nothing like they are today, Stan recently admitted to having gambled thousands of pounds on just about everything. He now speaks of his past as a sickness and says that if he had been making the millions of pounds that players earn today, he still would’ve blown it all. His 1996 autobiography revealed the extent of his gambling, drinking, and womanizing, and ironically led to several new job offers including a stint as a columnist for gambling in the British men’s magazine Loaded. Bowles now makes his career as a soccer analyst for Sky Sports in England, where he remains a highly-popular figure.
Jaromir Jagr
One of the most talented hockey players ever to don a pair of skates, Jagr has also been plagued throughout his career by rumors of a compulsive gambling habit. Although he has repeatedly denied that he has any gambling problem whatsoever, he is well-known in his home country of the Czech Republic as a man who loves a visit to the casino. He has also admitted to settling a $950,000 debt to an online gaming site. To be fair, with his behemoth salary and endorsement contracts, this is merely a drop in the bucket for him.
