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Barkley admits he has gambling problem

Hall of Famer says he lost $2.5 million during 6-hour stretch last year

BarkleyChitose Suzuki / AP
Charles Barkley said Monday that he won “about $700,000” gambling in Las Vegas over the weekend.
updated 3:37 p.m. ET Feb. 6, 2007

PHOENIX - Charles Barkley said Monday that he won “about $700,000” gambling in Las Vegas over the weekend.

“That was all profit (from) blackjack and I bet on the Super Bowl. I had the Colts,” Barkley said in an interview with Phoenix television station KTVK. “I played a lot of blackjack.”

Barkley did not say how much be bet on Sunday’s game in which Indianapolis beat the Chicago Bears 29-17 in Miami.

In an ESPN interview in May 2006, Barkley estimated that he’d lost about $10 million gambling over the years.

He said Monday that he lost $2.5 million “in a six-hour period” one night last year.

“It’s a stupid, bad habit. I have a problem,” Barkley said. “But the problem is when you can’t afford it. I can afford to gamble. I didn’t kill myself when I lost two and half million dollars... I like to gamble and I’m not going to quit.”

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Barkley, who lives in the Phoenix area, was elected to the Hall of Fame last year.

He averaged 22.1 points and nearly 12 rebounds in a 16-year career that included stops in Philadelphia, Phoenix and Houston. He was the league’s MVP in 1993 with the Suns, and he won gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics as part of the original U.S. Dream Team.

© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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