Charles Barkley says he has a “bookie on the side” because he gambles so much.
“FanDuel only lets me bet so much so I gotta have a bookie on the side,” Barkley said on an NHL AltCast Livestream.
Paul Bissonnette, a former NHL player who is now a studio analyst for NHL on TNT, then cracked to Barkley: “You’re trying to get kicked off this stream like Marchand got kicked out of last game.”
Panthers left winger Brad Marchand was ejected in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals after an incident with Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere.
A year ago, on an episode of the “Club Shay Shay” podcast, Barkley discussed his gambling problem, saying he lost $25 million.
“I had to change my mentality because you can never break the casino, [but] they can break your a–,” he said.
He told Shannon Sharpe he is not about to shy away from his “love” for gambling, adding that he used to go to Las Vegas and play $25,000 a hand, intent on winning $1 million in a single night.
“There’s probably been seven times that I won a million dollars,” he said. “But there’s probably been 25 times I’ve lost a million.”
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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter and Basketball Insider for NJ Advance Media. You may follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria and check out his Website at ZAGSBLOG.com.
