So you say you have the world's worst gambling problem. Would you, um, like to put a little wager on that? In John Daly's soon-to-be-released autobiography, our man reveals that he has lost "between $50 million and $60 million during 12 years of heavy gambling." One story involves Daly earning $750,000 when he lost in a playoff to Tiger Woods in the 2005 World Golf Championship in San Francisco. Instead of going home, Daly drove to Las Vegas and lost, he says, $1.65 million in five hours, playing mostly $5,000 slot machines. Yikes. We get nervous playing more than one bingo card at a time.
Sammy Davis Jr. used to tell the story of his first gig at Harrah's Reno, in which he earned $80,000 for a week of shows. He was paid in advance and promptly lost the entire amount gambling in the casino, forcing him to work the remainder of the week for free. We tend to forget that this thing can be a bitch of an addiction. But somehow hearing that John Daly has it, sadly, we're not surprised at all.
Daly Says He Lost Millions Gambling [The Daily Press]
John Daly, True Man Of Genius [Deadspin]