Thanks to his illustrious NBA career and his analyst role with TNT, Charles Barkley is no stranger to cashing fat cheques. The former Sixers forward could’ve had a nine-figure net worth, but one thing stood in his way of accomplishing that; his gambling habits.
Recently, Chuck opened up about his past gambling issues, and the figures he lost due to it can drop any jaw to the floor, with Shannon Sharpe’s being one such. On the NFL legend’s Club Shay Shay podcast, Barkley said, “I love to gamble, I don’t like to gamble.” To make some sense of it, the 61-year-old added, “There’s probably been seven times when I won a million dollars, But there’s probably been 25 times when I’ve lost a million.”
He unraveled further that his gambling addiction got so bad that he had to quit for a few years. Being friends with Michael Jordan, another renowned gambler, did not help his cause, though, as he was back in the gambling game after a 2-year hiatus. His target of winning at least a million dollars before leaving the gambling table made him lose more than what came his way. Finally, his friends knocked some sense into him, or Barkley could’ve had some more tales to tell of his phenomenal losing spree at the casinos.
Charles Barkley’s Friends Pulled Leash on His Gambling
In the same podcast, Chuck disclosed what happened after his break from gambling. He said that he started to miss gambling and told his friends, who replied by saying that he was an “idiot”.
His friends also explained it by saying he doesn’t have to chase one million dollars or lose the same amount. Barkley explained to the host, “They’re like ‘Dude, why can’t you win $300,000 and say man we had a great weekend? Why you got to win a million? Why can’t you lose 300 and say we still had a great weekend?'”
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The 1993 NBA MVP ultimately learned that “You can never break the casino” and to this day he lives by that mantra.
Also Read: Charles Barkley Sends Dire Message to Knicks Fans Before Game 6 Against Sixers
