Phil Mickelson betting stories are most popular, to put it mildly. Although he gambled in casinos and cards, his biggest vices were his betting on sports. For those who have been living under a rock they have claimed that Phil Mickelson wagered close to 1 billion dollars in his entire career. He said that he may have spent a considerable amount but he was quick to add that there was one thing that he never risk his money on – betting on the sport that gave him all that.
This response followed accusation of him staking $400,000 on Team USA on the Ryder Cup 2012. Back then Mickelson was on the team and they lost in Europe; ‘I never bet on the Ryder Cup.As it is well known that a friendly wager on the course is always to my liking, it does not mean that I would be prepared to jeopardise the integrity of the game.”rts betting. For those who aren’t aware, reports have suggested that Phil Mickelson bet around $1 billion throughout his career. While he may have already spent a lot, he admitted that he drew the line when it came to betting on the sport that gave him so much.
This response came to allegations of him betting $400,000 on Team USA to win the Ryder Cup 2012. Mickelson was a part of the team back then, and they lost to Europe; “I never bet on the Ryder Cup. While it is well known that I always enjoy a friendly wager on the course, I would never undermine the integrity of the game.” However, these just a fragment of stories of the LIV Golf maestro’s gambling stories familiar to the golfing fraternity.
This time around, the person in question is John Daly. He also has enjoyed gambling, so much so that he once threw $55,000 off a bridge that he had won that night in a casino because his then-wife Sherrie was “annoying” him. Daly once joined the In Depth with Graham Bensinger podcast, where he provided details of his gambling spree.
The golfer revealed that he had spent a whopping “55 million. 😳” from 1991 to 2007 in wagering. Bensinger asked Daly, “How was that even possible?” for him to spend this much? The pro golfer replied, “Stupidity,” as he went on to explain how he realized how much he had lost. Daly added, “We went through all my tax records to find out because I really didnt know.”
Graham asked Long John what he thought when he first learned he had spent $55 million. Daly replied, “He couldn’t believe it, and I was shocked. I thought it might have been 20, 25. But I had no idea it was 55 to 57,” as he realized, “this is crazy.”
That’s when the host asked how much of it John Daly regretted. The eccentric golfer clarified, “I should say I regret it. But I did it; I moved on from it. I had a lot of fun doing it. That’s probably from 91 to 2007. So it’s 16 years. Just a little over 4 or 5 million a year.”
In 2005, at the WGC-American Express Championship, Daly lost to Tiger Woods in a playoff and was devastated. He did win $750,000, and to ease the pain, he went to Las Vegas, with the check he had just won. He lost $600,000 in less than 30 minutes. He then got the credit from the casino and ended up losing $1.65 million in five hours of gambling over several games. After the shocking revelation and hearing John Daly’s explanation, Graham also wanted to learn more about why the 58-year-old liked gambling.
Why did John Daly like gambling?
Bensinger questioned Daly about what interested him about the act of gambling. The 2x major winner did not waste any time responding to his question saying “I enjoyed the action.” I suspected he loved the feeling that came with going in ‘there.’ Daly also mentioned a little about the transition in gambling when discussing other games, “When I was playing lots of blackjack, you could give 7 hands at any amount you liked,” though he said this has now ‘been halved globally to 3. He continued to brought his memories back by saying, “I’d go in, 7 hands at $5,000, $10,000, $15,000 each hand back then.”
Graham then asked them if in fact Daly was partial to the slot machines more. Long John said: “I started playing slots with the realization, that if you took a lot less money in or did get a marker for it at the slots, you could last a little bit longer,” Following this explanation, the author told of how the $,5000 a coin machine was later introduced ad featured $10000 with three cherries. He explained that he only “played it 5 or 6 times.” One said, “It’s not there anymore,” before admitting that he still sometimes gambled but at lower stakes; “Now if I gamble, I go in and play the $25 slots,” Daly said. “If I works up another twenty I’ll be in the two hundreds.”
To the average fan, it must seem preposterous but given how John Daly chose to live, it is well within the realm of possibility. Would Daly have also gambled as much if he was able to this up to this day like LIV Golf player Phil Mickelson? Give your opinion in the comment box below.