He said he ended his betting partnership with Mickelson in 2014. Two years later, Walters was indicted in an insider trading case that partly involved stock tips prosecutors said he illegally passed to Mickelson. Mickelson was never charged but had to repay about $US1 million he made off a stock deal.
Walters was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison. He claims he could have avoided prison if Mickelson had told a “simple truth”. Walters said he never told Mickelson he had inside information on Dean Foods stock, and he believed that Mickelson could have helped him by testifying.
Walters said Mickelson told him he had two offshore accounts, and that Mickelson had limits of $US400,000 on college games and $US400,000 on the National Football League.
He said based on his detailed record and additional records provided by sources, Mickelson’s gambling between 2010 and 2014 included:
— Betting $US110,000 to win $US100,000 on 1115 occasions, and betting $US220,000 to win $US200,000 on 858 occasions. That alone comes out to just over $US311 million.
— Mickelson in 2011 made 3154 bets for the year and on one day (June 22) he placed 43 bets on Major League Baseball games that resulted in $US143,500 in losses.
— He placed 7065 bets on football, basketball and baseball.
“Based on our relationship and what I’ve since learned from others, Phil’s gambling losses approached not $US40 million as has been previously reported, but much closer to $US100 million. In all, he wagered a total of more than $US1 billion during the past three decades,” Walters wrote.
“The only other person I know who surpassed that kind of volume is me.”
In his statement, Mickelson said he has been open about his gambling addiction. In an interview with Sports Illustrated last year, Mickelson referred to it reaching a point of being “reckless and embarrassing”.
“I have previously conveyed my remorse, took responsibility, have gotten help, have been fully committed to therapy that has positively impacted me and I feel good about where I am now,” Mickelson said.
Walters said they met for the first time at the 2006 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and formed a betting partnership two years later.
Most stunning to Walters, he writes in the excerpt, was a phone call from the Ryder Cup in 2012 at Medinah, outside Chicago. He said Mickelson was so confident he asked Walters to bet $US400,000 for him on the US winning.
“I could not believe what I was hearing,” Walters wrote. “‘Have you lost your (expletive) mind?’ I told him, ‘Don’t you remember what happened to Pete Rose?’ The former Cincinnati Reds manager was banned from baseball for betting on his own team. ‘You’re seen as a modern-day Arnold Palmer,’ I added. ‘You’d risk all that for this?’ I want no part of it.”
He said Mickelson replied, “Alright, alright.”
“I have no idea whether Phil placed the bet elsewhere. Hopefully, he came to his senses,” Walters wrote.
Europe rallied from a 10-6 deficit, staging the greatest comeback by a visiting team. Mickelson lost his singles match to England’s Justin Rose, a pivotal moment in Europe’s comeback.
AP