Charles is Back!
After vowing to never gamble again, Charles Barkley is going to be back to the tables again, the poker tables that is.
In May 2008, Charles told ESPN, “I like to go into Vegas, it’s a fun place, but you know what, I’ve got to stop gambling. That’s the bottom line,” Barkley said during TNT’s pregame show before Game 7 between San Antonio and New Orleans. “I am not going to gamble anymore. For right now, the next year or two, I’m not going to gamble.”
This came about after he was detained by police for owing $400,000 to the Wynn Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Funny thing is, I was actually in Las Vegas when he took out the markers and we watched him playing Blackjack on a private table for about 30 minutes (for what we assume was around $20k per hand).
He had been doing well, according to friends and had stayed away from casinos, but this week Charles announced that he will be playing in a charity event for Ante Up for Africa (a charity designed to raise money for the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan.
Charles will be anteing up $5k to play the event, but promises to donate his winnings to charity. I think he is doing this for a great cause, but the BET blog summed it up the best, “this is like an alcholic who has vowed to give up drinking but decides to host a wine tasting event for charity”.
arnie wexler said
am June 22 2008 @ 8:32 am
———He sure does not understand gambling addictions!!!! arnie wexler
I RUN A HELPLINE FOR GAMBLERS 888 LAST BET
AND I AM A RECOVERING COMPULSIVE GAMBLER LAST BET 4/10/68