Barkley Talks About His Gambling Debts

Alabama Hoover "I'm not broke and I'm going to take care of it." Barkley says of the $400000 he owes to a Las Vegas casino

by Associated Press

Published: Thu, May 15, 2008 - 1:40 pm CST Last Updated: Thu, May 15, 2008 - 1:58 pm CST

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Charles Barkley acknowledged he owes a $400,000
gambling debt to a Las Vegas Strip casino and promised Thursday to
repay it after a prosecutor said the retired NBA star faced
criminal charges.
"My mistake," Barkley said in an interview at a pro-am golf
tournament in Hoover, Ala. "I'm not broke, and I'm going to take
care of it."
Barkley, 45, of Phoenix, was responding to comments by Clark
County District Attorney David Roger, who said prosecutors would
file a criminal complaint if he did not pay the debt cited by the
Wynn Las Vegas resort.
"He'll have an opportunity like anybody else to make
restitution to the hotel," Roger said.
The casino alleged in a civil complaint filed Wednesday in a
Nevada state court and first reported by the Las Vegas Sun that
Barkley failed to repay four $100,000 casino markers, or loans,
received last Oct. 18 and 19.
"To date, and despite repeated demands, Barkley has refused to
repay the $400,000," the complaint said.
In a radio interview with sports station WJOX in Birmingham,
Ala., Barkley repeatedly blamed himself for letting the debt lapse.
He told radio interviewers and a reporter at the golf tournament
that the debt stemmed from a wager on the NFL's 2008 Super Bowl
championship game. He did not explain why Wynn alleged the loans
were made in October.
"I've been gambling 20 years. I've never had this happen
before," Barkley told WJOX. "It's my fault I let the time lapse.
I screwed up."
Barkley, now a basketball analyst for Turner Network Television,
denied any personal financial problems, and said the casino didn't
call him before filing the complaint.
"All they had to do is call and say, 'Hey, you owe us this
money,"' he said.
A Wynn Las Vegas spokeswoman did not immediately respond to
Barkley's comments. A hotel official earlier declined comment on
the court case, citing ongoing litigation.
Barkley could be granted up to six months to pay if he agrees to
the standard district attorney's office restitution program, bad
check unit chief Bernie Zadrowski said. He would be responsible for
the $400,000 plus a 10 percent program fee totaling $40,000.
Roger said that if the case remains unresolved, as many as four
felony theft or four felony bad check charges could be filed. The
possible penalty for each theft conviction is one to 10 years in
state prison. A conviction on a felony bad check charge could carry
a one- to four-year term.
Barkley played 16 NBA seasons for the Philadelphia 76ers,
Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets. He was named league MVP in 1993
and was an 11-time NBA All-Star. Barkley also played on the USA
Olympic "Dream Team" in 1992 and 1996.
Barkley has made no secret of his gambling over the years. He
estimated during a May 2006 interview with television sports
network ESPN that he'd gambled away about $10 million over the
years.
"Do I have a gambling problem? Yeah, I do have a gambling
problem," Barkley said. "But I don't consider it a problem
because I can afford to gamble."
He said he never bet on basketball, and only bet in casinos. He
called it a bad habit, but said he intended to continue.
---
Associated Press Correspondent Jay Reeves in Birmingham, Ala.,
contributed to this report.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

For more on Barkley's stellar NBA career, click here.

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