Charles Barkley at Mandalay Bay early Sunday, where he put $100,000 on the Patriots to win the Super Bowl. (BallHyped Photo)
LAS VEGAS – The Super Bowl loss by the New England Patriots cost NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley $100,000, BallHyped first reported on Sunday.
Barkley, who was in Las Vegas for the UFC fight and to also place his bet on the Patriots-Giants game, told us early Sunday at Mandalay Bay that he was letting it ride on New England because of an old friend.
“I put $100,000 on the Patriots,” he said, “because of Bill Belichick.”
So much for that idea.
The underdog New York Giants beat the 3-point favorites 21-17 on Sunday, their second Super Bowl win over the Patriots in as many tries.
And so much for Barkley cutting back on his gambling habit.
In 2007, Barkley admitted he had a gambling problem and was criticized heavily a year earlier for saying he dropped more than $10 million gambling over the years.
“It’s a stupid, bad habit. I have a problem,” Barkley told ESPN at the time. “But the problem is when you can’t afford it. I can afford to gamble. I didn’t kill myself when I lost two and half million dollars … I like to gamble and I’m not going to quit.”
Apparently Barkley can still afford it. As can the rest of us if you look at the action that took place this weekend.
Barkley’s Super Bowl bet only made up a very small portion of the total $93.9 million that gamblers wagered at Nevada’s 184 sportsbooks, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
In all, it was the second-biggest handle Nevada has seen in 10 years, with the sports books winning $5,064,470, according to the NGCB. Which means almost 2% of the Nevada sports books’ winnings came courtesy Sir Charles on Sunday.
Sounds like somebody’s getting his room comped next time he’s in Sin City.
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