A new book was published exactly one year after professional golfer Phil Mickelson disclosed his “reckless” gambling addiction. The book claims that Mickelson has risked more than one billion dollars on sports events over the last three decades, including an attempt to put a bet for four hundred thousand dollars on his own team during the 2012 Ryder Cup.
It is reported that Mickelson, 53, has placed hundreds of bets ranging from $100,000 to $200,000 on various sporting events throughout the course of his career, including football, basketball, and baseball games. The allegations are made in an extract from a book that is about to be published by well-known professional gambler Billy Walters. According to Walters’ calculations, Phil Mickelson lost around one hundred million dollars due to all of his wagers.
“The only other person I know who surpassed that kind of volume is me,” writes Walters in his new book, Gambler: Secrets from a Life of Risk, according to NBC News.
Later on this month, the book will be published by Walters, who runs a firm in Las Vegas and is credited by ESPN as being maybe the most successful American gambler of all time.
According to reports, Walters and Mickelson, who had previously been close friends, had a disagreement during a federal inquiry into stock transactions that they both had done. According to The Washington Post, Walters was found guilty of insider trading in April of 2017, and he placed the responsibility for his conviction on Mickelson for failing to testify in his defense.
PEOPLE’s request for comment on Walter’s book was not responded to by a spokeswoman for Mickelson; nevertheless, the golfer told Golf Digest on Thursday that he “never bet on the Ryder Cup.”
Mickelson was quoted as saying to the publication, “While it is common knowledge that I always enjoy a friendly wager on the course, I would never do anything to undermine the integrity of the game.”
The allegations that Mickelson bet on a golf tournament that he participated in drew criticism and jokes from others around the golf community this week, including four-time major championship winner Rory McIlroy. McIlroy has frequently chirped back-and-forth with Mickelson in the press ever since the veteran golfer joined LIV Golf, a Saudi Arabian rival league to the PGA Tour, last year.
McIlroy made these remarks during a press conference on Thursday. “At least he can bet on the Ryder Cup this year because he won’t be a part of it,” McIlroy added.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated from the previous year, Mickelson disclosed for the first time that he had a gambling problem.
Mickelson said that his gambling had reached a stage where it had become both humiliating and risky. “I felt compelled to confront it. I’ve also been working on this issue for a good number of years. And for dozens upon dozens of hours of treatment. I am content with where I am right now. My family and I do not have any financial worries right now, and we haven’t had any for some time.
He went on to say, “I can’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t involved in gambling.” However, I would argue that the recklessness started somewhere about ten years ago. It is quite humiliating. It bothers me that other people are aware of it. The reality is that I’ve been coping with it for a considerable amount of time. Amy has been really encouraging and supportive of both this endeavor as well as myself and the process. After a number of years, we have arrived to a point where I am at ease with the current situation. It does not pose a risk to either my personal safety or my financial stability. Simply put, I made a series of mistakes along the way.”
