Charles Barkley Says He Will Stop Gambling, Starting ... NOW

Charles Barkley sat down with Ernie Johnson on the TNT set on Monday night before Game 7 of the Spurs-Hornets series, and declared before one and all that he is done with gambling. But for those wondering if the pledge will take, just watch the interview: It seemingly takes Charles only about a minute to begin wavering, going from "I'm not going to gamble anymore," to "I'm going to stop gambling for right now," to "Who knows how long it's going to last? Hopefully for the next year or two."

OK, it wasn't exactly an intervention. But, unlike the Las Vegas Casino Workers Union, I wish Sir Charles every success in his effort to quit. This all came about, of course, because The Wynn Las Vegas resort alleged in a civil complaint that Barkley failed to repay four $100,000 casino markers this past October. Barkley says the debt has since been paid.

I have no, no money problems whatsoever. Nobody’s coming after me for money,” he said. “I screwed up and didn’t pay them in a significant amount of time. Could they have handled it differently? Yes. But it was my fault.”

How times have changed. That's not how they handle gambling debts in any Scorsese movie I've ever seen.

Charles Barkley Sits Down With Ernie Johnson To Discuss His Gambling Problems [Awful Announcing] Barkley Says He Will Stop Gambling, For Now [NBC Sports]