How is Billy Walters still going? That’s the question I kept asking myself while reading his autobiography, “Gambler: Secrets from a Life at Risk,” which was written with journalist Armen Keteyian and is officially out today.
Even if you don’t factor in his legal troubles and beatings both mental and physical, Walters put himself through the wringer regularly just by how he chose to make his living: betting on sports. There are a lot of examples to choose from in his book, but how’s this: Walters, arguably one of the greatest sports gamblers of all-time, lost $1.185 million on the 2009 Super Bowl — by halftime.
While millions were amazed by Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison’s iconic interception return before the break, Walters had plunked down $850,000 on the Arizona Cardinals +4 for the first half (among other things) and was seeing that cash go up in smoke as the Steelers went ahead 17-7.
“As the record-setting one-hundred-yard interception return for a touchdown unfolded on the TV screen in our Las Vegas home, Susan [Billy’s wife] and I could not believe that a 243-pound linebacker was traversing the entire length of a football field with my pretty money in his arms,” Walters writes.
No. 7: James Harrison’s “Immaculate Interception” in @SuperBowl XLIII (Feb. 1, 2009) @Steelers #NFL100
— NFL (@NFL) September 21, 2019
????: NFL 100 Greatest Plays on @NFLNetwork pic.twitter.com/l7N6Rf206T
But this is Billy Walters we're talking about here. Instead of reacting like most mortals — filing for bankruptcy, dying of shock, etc. — Walters’ handicapping (and he explains his methods in the book) had him expecting a tight game, and he’d wagered $1.5 million on the outcome accordingly. The 27-23 win for Pittsburgh netted him $315,000 for the day, even with the first-half massacre.
That’s just one of several “war stories” Walters tells in “Gambler,” which could have easily been titled “The Rise and Fall and Rise of Billy Walters (Ad Infinitum)” given its chronicling of his failures and successes, business, personal, and otherwise.
While he is now a certified legend of sports betting, Walters did not travel a straight line to get there. Billy's book shows he was at times someone who could be flush by dinner, broke by breakfast, and on his way back up by lunchtime. That wagering happened at casinos, sports betting sites, the stock market, and golf courses.
“I gambled until I had all your money, or you had all of mine,” Walters writes.
As the kids like to say...
This leads me to one of several conclusions I reached while reading his book: Billy Walters is built different. The ups and downs he endures would have worn most people out, but not him, and — like fellow Kentuckian Muhammad Ali — he knows how to take a hit and keep coming.
I’ll give you an example of the kind of strain he put on himself. The “Walters, Billy,” entry in the index for “Gambler” includes “drinking of” (as in the sections of the book describing his adventures with alcohol), “indictments of,” and “vasectomy of” (page 56, in case you were wondering).
Such is the stress of gambling with Billy that he tells readers of striking a sports-betting partnership with legendary poker player Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson that lasts less than a page. Losing a million dollars in a single weekend can do that to a partnership. Billy even writes that he went broke for the first time betting on the 1955 World Series. He was nine years old.
“From that moment until now, I have been through more trials and tribulations than anyone could ever imagine,” Walters says. “It’s safe to say that, over the course of my sixty-plus years of betting, I have wagered billions of dollars (yes, billions).”
'A glimpse inside the system'
Walters is someone whose opinions move markets at books all over Las Vegas and beyond. Billy even slips in a story that lets you know he’s not done with sports betting either, as he notes he cleared $880,000 on this year’s Super Bowl.
And Walters weathers the hits he takes, in life and gambling, and keeps striving for and finding success. Born into “rural poverty” in Kentucky, Walters becomes rich and influential in the lofty company he keeps. He is so well-liked that a record-breaking number of people visit him at a Florida prison. That said, he lives through a family tragedy while incarcerated, which he’s convinced he could have helped avert if he weren’t in prison.
Walters’ mental makeup is also unfortunate for someone like professional golfer Phil Mickelson, Billy’s one-time friend, whose alleged gambling habits are aired by Walters in the book. A Phil-related excerpt has already made the rounds, but there are stories Walters tells that don’t paint Lefty in a particularly flattering light, especially since Billy was hoping Phil could help stave off the lengthy prison sentence that Walters ultimately received and served in connection with an alleged insider-trading scheme.
I don’t want to spoil too much of what Walters says about his legal issues, but I think it is mandatory reading because everyone should have an idea of how the sausage gets made in the justice system. Walters has apparently found himself in the crosshairs of law enforcement a few times in his life, including one episode in which cops allegedly had trouble distinguishing bookmaking from betting.
“Writing this book provides me an opportunity to give you a glimpse inside the system and I want you to know that I’m fully aware of the grave injustices that have been done to people, particularly minorities, in this country,” Walters writes.
Billy Walters has been beaten, cheated, left for broke, chased by law enforcement and busted by ill-fated decisions. Still, he says, there was something different about what golfer Phil Mickelson did to him. https://t.co/xJ8eUx22dn
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 20, 2023
Did I enjoy “Gambler”? Yes, yes I did. Will I read it again? Yes, yes I will. I’ll probably read it a few times every NFL season to refresh my memory about the lessons Walters imparts about wagering on pro football. There are even some handy charts for the numerically challenged like me.
But I’ll also read it again to remind myself about the fallibility of people who oversee the criminal justice system and regulate the legal sports betting industry, which is still so young in many parts of North America. We all make mistakes and we’re all human, whether punters, police, or anybody in between.
Some of us, however, are built different.
