• 2 years ago
Sports Illustrated's Bill Enright sat down with professional sports bettor Billy Walters to talk about his severed friendship with Phil Mickelson, the current state of the sports betting industry and playing golf with Michael Jordan.
Transcript
00:00 As a result, I went to prison and I don't believe I would have ever gone to prison if
00:04 they wouldn't testify and just tell the truth.
00:06 Billy Walters is the author of Gambler Secrets from a Life at Risk and also a member of the
00:12 first ever Hall of Fame class for sports gambling.
00:15 Billy, it's great to talk with you.
00:17 The book is incredible.
00:19 Your life, incredible.
00:21 Your success betting on sports, incredible.
00:24 So I got to ask, has Hollywood been itching or reaching out to you because this book needs
00:29 to be turned into a movie?
00:32 Well thank you for your kind words and it's a pleasure to be here.
00:35 Yeah, we've talked to a few people whether it's going to happen or not, I don't know,
00:39 but my main focus is to get the book out and don't worry about anything else that comes
00:46 later on.
00:47 Your relationship with Phil Mickelson, it's been very public.
00:51 You dedicate an entire chapter to him called Lefty and Me and you don't really have a problem
00:56 with how much he's bet.
00:57 You say it's around a billion dollars based on his annual revenue and his net worth.
01:02 You don't have a problem with the amount, but you do have, it seems like a problem with
01:06 his moral compass.
01:07 He took $200 million to join Live Golf, didn't testify on your behalf when you really think
01:14 it could have went a long way.
01:16 He tried approaching you about betting on a tournament that he was involved in.
01:21 And you say in the book that the public is starting to see a side of him that people
01:25 on the tour, the PGA Tour, or others on the inside have always known.
01:30 So I have to ask, what is that side of him?
01:33 Well, I mean, first and foremost, Phil's a very small part of my book.
01:37 These two chapters are 28 and the only reason Phil's in the book, it's not because of our
01:43 gambling relationship we had.
01:45 We were partners together, betting on sports together for five years.
01:48 We were friends for eight years.
01:50 And frankly, I thought we were friends.
01:52 And I kind of pride myself on being a good judge of character.
01:56 And I think it's probably what hurt me more than anything.
01:59 When it came time to come forward and do nothing but simply tell the truth in regards to a
02:06 court case that I had in New York where insider trading, Phil didn't do that.
02:11 He allowed me to go up there without testifying as he had told the FBI on two previous occasions.
02:18 And as a result, I went to prison.
02:20 And I don't believe I would have ever gone to prison if Phil hadn't testified and just
02:23 told the truth.
02:25 And unfortunately, when I was in prison, we had a family tragedy.
02:29 My wife, my daughter committed suicide.
02:31 So the stuff that I have in Phil in there in regards to Phil, I owe it to the reader
02:38 to be able to explain how we met, what our relationship was.
02:42 And the gambling part that's in there is only in there for one reason, and that's to explain
02:46 what our relationship was.
02:48 And the other part is, is obviously for the reader to see, you know, the amounts that
02:55 were involved.
02:56 I think from a credibility standpoint, that's the reason I like Charles Barkley.
02:59 I may not agree with everything Charles says, but when Charles says something, I believe
03:03 him.
03:04 The records that I put in the book were our five-year partnership.
03:07 We have documented records on every bet we've made, who we made it with, when we made it,
03:11 whether we won or whether we lost.
03:12 We keep those for tax purposes.
03:14 As far as him trying to bet on the Ryder Cup, there's no question he tried to bet on the
03:18 Ryder Cup.
03:19 He called me, and when he called me, I was shocked.
03:21 I said, "You lost your mind."
03:22 I told him, I said, "Don't you know what happened to Pete Rhoades?"
03:25 I said, "You know, you're looked at as a modern-day Arnold Palmer.
03:28 You would risk your entire career to do this."
03:31 I said, "I don't want any part of it."
03:33 He never made the bet.
03:35 Prior to that, we never had one discussion about any golf betting or anything else or
03:39 anyone else betting on golf.
03:41 After that, we never had another discussion.
03:43 And he never made the bet.
03:45 And that was exactly what happened in regards to that.
03:50 What do you think about these NFL players getting suspended for placing bets, whether
03:55 it's on their team, on football, college basketball?
03:59 The NFL very much in bed with a lot of the sportsbook operators now, but yet they're
04:04 coming down really hard on some of their players.
04:06 Well, with all due respect, I think the league's got a responsibility.
04:10 These guys, the majority of them, these kids are coming straight out of college.
04:14 And I think the teams, I think the league, I think they need to really sit down and educate
04:19 these young men and explain to them the ramifications of what they're doing.
04:22 And I don't think they need to have one meeting with them.
04:24 I think this is something that needs to happen on a regular basis.
04:26 You've got to understand, the majority of these people are kids.
04:30 And everybody wants to bet on themselves.
04:31 We're all competitive.
04:32 I mean, whatever sports you're involved with, they simply don't understand the ramifications
04:37 or risk in their career.
04:38 They also, I don't think, understand what their obligation is to their teammates and
04:43 the sports league that they play for.
04:46 But I think the majority of that is education.
04:49 And I think that people need to spend some time with them on an ongoing basis to continue
04:56 to remind them of that.
04:57 From what I know about this, the amount of money they bet was nothing anyway.
05:02 These people make plenty of money.
05:03 And I don't think they had any idea that they were going to risk their career doing this.
05:06 None of them would do it.
05:07 The thing that concerns me more than anything is the NCAA.
05:11 You really got kids there.
05:12 The good news about sports betting is it's very easy to see if, in fact, someone is doing
05:18 something to manipulate the line or to bet significant amounts of money.
05:23 It's not like Wall Street.
05:24 First of all, whoever you bet with, they got 100% of your information.
05:28 Second of all, if someone goes in and tries to bet a large amount of money, the line's
05:33 going to move.
05:34 The market's much, much smaller.
05:36 But if it happens, something out of the ordinary, some person who is not normally a big bettor,
05:41 they come in and a significant amount of money gets bet, the line moves.
05:46 People are looking at this.
05:47 They're looking for the source of who made the bet.
05:48 That's out of the ordinary.
05:50 And the second time the guy comes in and the same thing happens, they may get down for
05:54 two or three bets.
05:55 They're going to get nailed.
05:56 It's happened every time in sports.
05:59 Most gamblers, basically, they've been the ones that have uncovered these scandals in
06:08 sports.
06:09 That's why sports are so clean.
06:10 Now, clearly, now you've got legalized gambling.
06:14 You've got kids involved that need counseling.
06:19 But I can assure you one thing.
06:21 Because of the nature of the sports market and the size of it, no one's going to bet
06:25 a significant amount of money on sports and get by with it for any period of time if they're
06:31 doing something they shouldn't be doing.
06:33 You had 36 straight years of beating the sports books.
06:37 It's legendary.
06:38 People don't even have a week of beating the sports book.
06:41 36 years of doing it is incredible.
06:43 Along the way, you've had some bad beats, some bad weeks, some bad months, but always
06:47 have come out on top at the end.
06:50 What is the mentality of trying to get through those slumps and just sticking to your process?
06:55 Well, first of all, I've been very fortunate.
06:58 I've worked with some of the smartest people that you can imagine over those years.
07:04 I've spent millions of dollars on it every year in research and development to stay ahead
07:09 of the game.
07:10 But if you understand anything about whatever you invest in, you may have a mathematical
07:17 advantage, but you go for a period of time and you can lose.
07:23 If you don't have a money management system, you play too high from your bankroll, you
07:27 can get broke and still have the best of something.
07:30 So you've got to really have discipline.
07:32 You've got to stick to what you know.
07:34 Betting on sports and winning consistently is much more difficult than investing in the
07:38 stock market.
07:39 Of course, investing in the stock market requires that discipline also.
07:47 Betting on sports is, you've got to have a lot of discipline.
07:50 You've got to believe in what you're doing and sticking with it.
07:52 But you've also got to continually get better at what you're doing because the people you're
07:56 competing with, they're all getting smarter.
07:59 And it's a competitive environment.
08:01 But over the years, I've spent millions and millions and millions of dollars to stay ahead
08:06 of the game.
08:08 There's a great story in your book that you bet on the direction of which way a bird would
08:14 fly off a wire.
08:16 The odd thing to bet on.
08:17 What's the strangest thing you ever took money on or you ever took action on?
08:23 That probably was it.
08:24 I didn't take any action on it.
08:25 I owned a bookmaker.
08:26 I owned him more than I could pay him.
08:28 He came in to collect and I was working at a car lot at the time and I've been watching
08:32 this bird for a long time.
08:35 And I knew the bird went that way every time.
08:37 So of course, anything can happen.
08:40 But I owned a bookmaker for $4,000.
08:41 I only had two.
08:42 I was too light.
08:44 So I ended up getting him to bet me on the bird.
08:48 And anyway, the way it went the way I thought it was going to go.
08:52 And I got my package back.
08:54 But that was probably one of the dumbest things I've ever been on.
08:56 But I've been on some pretty stupid things.
09:00 Madras Mack, I'm sure you're familiar with his name.
09:03 He makes some big, sizable bets.
09:05 Kind of offsets it with his business promotion.
09:07 He makes big bets, doesn't always win.
09:10 You have any advice for him?
09:12 I really don't.
09:13 I think he's more of a businessman.
09:14 I think he's doing these for promotions.
09:15 I think he's got a lot of publicity.
09:16 And if that's what he's doing, then go for it.
09:20 I think it's good.
09:21 And I think it's great that he's doing what he's doing as long as that's what he's doing.
09:26 I'm sure that's what he's doing.
09:27 It's his business.
09:28 And so I'm a big Madras Mack fan.
09:33 Michael Jordan, also another notorious gambler.
09:36 You ever meet MJ in the golf course or in the casino?
09:40 I play the cards around the golf.
09:42 It was in the book with MJ.
09:44 I'm a huge, huge fan of his.
09:46 And we played a real friendly round of golf for a hundred bucks.
09:49 And we had a great time.
09:51 I had a great time with him.
09:52 He's one of the most unassuming guys I've ever met.
09:56 We shared a story that Eastern North Carolina, up in Kentucky, we shared a story of working
10:01 in the back of the box together.
10:03 But that was a one and only.
10:06 But I'm a huge, huge fan of his.
10:08 All right, my last question for you.
10:10 You've been somewhat shy, maybe even distrusting of the media.
10:14 You admit to trying to stay out of the spotlight.
10:17 But you also write about seizing every opportunity to leave a legacy that might inspire others.
10:23 So Billy Walters, what do you want your legacy to be?
10:27 Well, I want my legacy to be, look, you know, my word was my bond.
10:33 I did what I said I would do.
10:36 I helped others.
10:37 The sports betting consultant, P.D.I.
10:39 putting there, I think that's going to, I don't think, I know it's going to help anyone
10:43 who bets sports.
10:45 And hopefully it's something they'll be able to enjoy for a long, long period of time and
10:49 enhance their enjoyment of sports.
10:52 But more importantly, like I said, it's important to me that people respect me as far as being
11:01 a man of his word and helping others.
11:04 Billy Walters is the author of "Secrets from a Life at Risk."
11:08 Whether you bet on sports, love to be competitive, you're an entrepreneur, rags to riches, if
11:14 you love all that stuff, this book is for you.
11:17 Absolutely incredible.
11:18 Billy Walters, pleasure to talk to you.
11:20 It was my pleasure.
11:21 Thank you for having me.
11:22 I appreciate it.
11:22 I appreciate it.
11:22 [MUSIC PLAYING]
11:26 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Recommended