Phil Mickelson, a pretty good golfer so I’ve been told, is apparently as into sports betting as any of us, allegedly wagering about a billion dollars in sports bets over the last three decades. There’s also the (again, alleged) story of Phil Mickelson trying to bet on the Ryder Cup.
Well, sort of like us. Maybe you have it, but I’m short the billion by about, ugh, all the dollars.
Phil Mickelson-Ryder Cup Bet?
As for this Ryder Cup deal, according to the book excerpts, in September 2012, Mickelson called Walters from Medinah Country Club during the 39th Ryder Cup and asked Walters to place a $400,000 wager for him on the U.S. team to win. Walters claimed to respond with: “Have you lost your (bleeping) mind? Don’t you remember what happened to Pete Rose? You’re seen as the modern-day Arnold Palmer. You’d risk all that for this? I want no part of it.”
Well, at least he bet on himself, I guess? Also, not exactly shocking the writer of this book is painting himself in the best light possible while simultaneously making sure to include absolutely insane claims in the hopes of driving attention and book sales.
According to Billy Walters, in his new book Gambler: Secrets from a Life at Risk, the only man who can surpass Mickelson in making all the bets with all the incredulous amounts of money is him. “The only person I know who surpassed that type of volume is me,” Billy Walters wrote.
If you’re wondering how Walters has so much context and insight into the betting mind of one of the best golfers of his generation, Billy Walters and Phil Mickelson had a joint venture for a bit.
In an excerpt published by Fire Pit Collective included some Michael-Jordan-level betting details. This includes, and is not limited to, Mickelson betting $110,000 to win $100,000… a total of 1,115 times. That’s a lot of high-volume, high-risk/low-reward betting! There’s also wagers of $220,000 to win $200,000 on 858 bets. The sum of those wagers alone, Walters wrote, came to $311 million.
I have less than five dollars in my wallet. Phil Mickelson, cut me a check, pal. Seems like you have cash you’re willing to set on fire. I’ll dump it on some quality NFL preseason games tonight. Let’s ride this wave together.
