When you think of athletes, you probably think of them as rich, powerful, and indestructible. However, many athletes have fallen prey to the gambling bug to such an extreme that few people would ever believe and have had to pay the consequences. Without further ado, we present to you the top 10 gamblers in sports history.
- Antoine Walker: Walker had the world at his disposal, as well as millions of dollars, but he went crazy with it. Through extravagant spending on clothing, supporting no-good freeloaders from his circle of “family” and “friends,” and a pesky little gambling addiction, Walker lost it all and was arrested due to his money woes in 2010.
- Floyd Mayweather Jr. : Boxing champ and notorious sports better Mayweather Jr. hasn’t reached the “degenerate” status just yet, but we had to include him on our list. The crazy bets he’s making (and tweeting publicly about!) are a surefire recipe for disaster.
- Paul Hornung: Talk about a blast from the past, 1961 NFL player Paul Hornung was arrested for placing bets in 1963 on football games.
- Kenny McKinley: McKinley, a young and talented Broncos player, is probably one of the saddest stories we have to relate. He killed himself in the fall of 2011. After his suicide, his extensive Las Vegas gambling debts were discovered.
- Charles Oakley: Midway through our list of the top 10 gamblers, we have to introduce Oakley, who got into a fight with Tyrone Hill, a fight which turned out to be over gambling debts, and that was only the tip of the iceberg.
- Jaromir Jagr: Jagr is an interesting case. He ran up a huge tab of over half a million dollars with online gambling, but somehow immediately found the funds to repay his debts once exposed to the media. Definitely the slickest in our top 10 gambler list.
- Charles Barkley: Barkley is one of the few players who have admitted to a full blown gambling addiction. Though he’s managed to avoid arrest and claims he’s “sober” from gambling, we have our doubts.
- Charlie Samuels: As a clubhouse manager for the Mets, Samuels used his position to the maximum benefit. Not only has he gambled himself, but he is also under investigation for sharing tips, organizing gambling rings, and more.
- Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton: These two NBAers must be paired together, because both are responsible for getting into some serious arguments (involving actual guns) over big time debts from locker room gambling.
- John Daly: Pro golfer Daly struggles with more than just a gambling addiction, which has cost him millions of dollars, but also battles issues with alcohol, weight, and who knows what else.
