Michael Jordan Gambling Stories
Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan’s love for gambling was on full display during the 'The Last Dance' docuseries, but the latest story revealed by former NBA player Antoine Walker may be the. Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan’s love for gambling was on full display during the “The Last Dance” docuseries, but the latest story revealed by former NBA player Antoine Walker may be the most eye-popping one yet. Walker, who played in the NBA from 1996 to 2008, made an appearance on the “All Things Covered” podcast.
Many consider Michael Jordan the greatest basketball player of all-time. And, if you know who MJ is, you probably know that he is also a gambling man.
There have been many tales told about Jordan’s wagering, some confirmed and some unconfirmed, but all legendary. Viewers of The Last Dance documentary were also given a look at how much gambling played a part in Jordan’s life.
I bring all of this up because we’ve been blessed with another wild Jordan gambling story, this time courtesy of Antoine Walker. The former NBA star dropped this gem recently during an appearance on the All Things Covered podcast.
According to Walker, him and Jordan once played a game of Spades as a team against two other guys for 36 straight hours. The buy-in was $20,000 and the bets went as high as $50,000. Walker also recalled that at one point, the two were down $900,000. Yes, $900,000.
“MJ sent for about a half a million, cash,” said Walker.
If that wasn't wild enough, Walker said that Jordan was so absorbed with their game, that he canceled his scheduled press conference for that day to announce he was coming back to the NBA.
My jaw dropped when I heard this story.
Michael Jordan canceled a press conference to announce his return to the NBA because he was gambling for 36 hours straight w/ Antoine Walker♠️
And they were down $900,000 at 1 point😬@WalkerAntoine8
Watch 👇https://t.co/ZtobkgvsOopic.twitter.com/lYpnIzR3m3
— Bryant McFadden (@BMac_SportsTalk) March 4, 2021“He cancelled the press conference and everything,” Walker said. “We played for 36 straight hours.”
I can’t get enough of these Jordan gambling stories, so I hope more and more come out moving forward. But, this is certainly one of the wildest ones to surface yet. Let's see if MJ has a response.
Nobody:
Michael Jordan: “I took that personally” pic.twitter.com/R6clnRhajL
— Camp (@camp_bond) September 5, 2020Vikas Chokshi covers the gambling industry for BetQL and his written work can be found on the sports betting vertical of Radio.com. He has an extensive network of oddsmakers and appears frequently on podcasts, radio and television shows. His previous work can be found at The Action Network, VSiN, Gaming Today, Front Office Sports and The Big Lead.
It’s very well-known that Michael Jordan enjoys gambling. Countless stories have been told about his intense gambling habits from once splitting four eight’s into one blackjack hand to skipping a visit to the White House to go gamble on the golf course, MJ has exchanged some cash over the years. What’s remarkable, however, is that we’re still hearing new Michael Jordan gambling stories in the year 2021, like this one recently shared by Antoine Walker.
Walker recently joined ‘All Things Covered‘ with Patrick Peterson and Bryant McFadden and share a couple of different MJ gambling stories, but the one involving a 36-hour long game of spades where the two went down $900,000 at one point stood out. The two literally played spades for a full day and a half.
“When Mike calls, the buy-in goes up a little higher. It’s going to be a number that everybody has to bring to the table. I’d say $20,000 just to get in. If you don’t have $20,000 to get in, you can’t even play. Mike was competitive. I remember one time we played spades for 36 hours. We were playing against two other guys and Mike and I were partners. They had us behind $900,000.”
Michael Jordan Gambling Book
Walker explained that he was always a cash guy and had about $100,000 on him at the time while Jordan had around $200,000, but he sent his nephew out to grab another $500,000 out of his golf bag and bring it back to the restaurant they were playing at. Again, MJ likes to gamble on the golf course, it’s no real shock to discover he had half a million bucks just hanging out in his golf bag.
While Walker and MJ were down $900k at one point, they dug their way back to just a $20k deficit before the other players eventually ended up winning $180,000. Walker said MJ got tired and was “falling asleep at the table.”
Gambling Problem Stories
You may be asking when exactly did this wild game of spades go down? It actually happened right around the time Jordan was going to announce his return to the Bulls after his stint in the minor leagues. Walker even claimed that Chicago had to push back the press conference of the announcement because MJ was so wrapped up in this game of spades.