$1.2million Tiger Woods Golf Bet Winner Revealed as Domestic Abuser

For the best part of a week, since Tiger Woods lifted aloft the Masters trophy, the gambling word has been applauding the punter who took the bookies for $1.2million with an $85k bet on golf’s biggest name.

Now, however, reports are coming out that instant millionaire James Adducci is not quite the lucky, loving family guy we first thought…

When Tiger landed his 15th Major title last Sunday, it was the biggest loss by a bookies on a golf bet ever, the William Hill sportsbook in the SLS Las Vegas Hotel & Casino handing over $1.19 million for Adducci’s single bet.

The self-described day trader from Wisconsin explained how he’d filled a backpack with cash from cashing in Amazon shares and trawled Las Vegas looking for a book who’d accept his bet – all with the blessings of his wife.

"I can’t stop you from doing this, because if he wins, I’ll never forgive myself", he quoted her as saying in an interview with GolfDigest, adding: “She’s a keeper.”

The USAToday investigation tweeted above, however, paints a very different picture of Adducci – with no evidence that a wife even exists, but plenty in the way of criminal behaviour.

The 39-year old La Crosse County man has four misdemeanor domestic abuse charges on his record, and a further three were either dismissed or reduced to ‘lower-level misdemeanours’.

In one of the incidents, which does not name the target of Adducci’s assaults, a police officer’s report reads:

"(The victim) stated James was going to strike her and had his hand back in a threatening posture… She was able to open her car door before James was able to hit her and dive out of the car."

In all, Adducci has served more than 30 days in jail since 2006 for various misdemeanours, including bail jumping and disorderly conduct pleas.

While the sportsbetting world applauded Adducci’s massive win, USAToday were digging deeper – his ‘wife’ now becoming his ‘girlfriend’ in interviews:

“I’ve had the same girlfriend for a lot of years. We have car loans and separate student loans.”

Quite what to make of the latest info is unclear.

Cheering on Woods, who has a stellar golf record but less-than-stellar personal record – DUI, multiple cheating on his then wife, etc – and then hating on Adducci when his life-changing lucky moment comes along seems wrong.

In his defence, Adducci told USAToday reporters:

“Some of the interviews have been kind of misunderstood. Some of the stuff — the personal stuff — I should have thought about more. I’m a normal guy.”

But then he came out with this:

"Everyone and their brother can go online and look up anything they want, and I don’t give a # # # #. Obviously, I had $85,000 to place toward a bet. I have the ability to make $1.2 million. When was the last time you did that?" He added: “If you want to get personal, who the hell are you to call me and think you have anything to ask me about anything?"

Well, over to you dear reader. Villain or gambling hero? Or perhaps, as the poker world often seems to accept, he can be both?