A man like Michael Jordan is determined to win at all costs, and he once dropped half a million to accomplish this goal.
In Roland Lazenby’s book, “Michael Jordan: The Life,” the author stated that Jordan put down $500,000 while gambling at Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun casino just one night before a basketball match-up.
Jordan’s risk did pay off, and he left winning more than $600,000.
“Jordan, down $500,000 at the gambling tables, stayed till the sun came up, and he had won his money back, plus about $600,000 more, all the while unaware that [Washington Post writer Michael Leahy] was providing a running play-by-play of the event for readers back in D.C.,” Lazenby wrote.
Jordan’s gambling habits have been documented since his high school days.
When he joined the league, his habits only increased with more money to spend. There was a point in time when the NBA had to investigate his activities.
Following the win of Jordan’s third championship with the Chicago Bulls, the NBA started the investigation “to check whether he had violated any league rules,” according to Bleacher Report.
Four months into the investigation, Jordan had announced his retirement from the NBA. Within days of Jordan’s shocking announcement, the league had concluded that Jordan had committed no wrongdoing and dropped the investigation, the outlet reported.
“I never bet on games. I only bet on myself, and that was golf,” Jordan said, according to Los Angeles Times. “Do I like to play blackjack? Yeah, I like playing blackjack. There’s no laws with that. The league did call me, and they asked me questions about it, and I told them exactly what was happening.”
Jordan also said he never felt like he had a gambling problem, but he acknowledged that he was competitive.
“I could stop gambling. I have a competition problem, a competitive problem,” Jordan said, based on the Los Angeles Times report.
