NBA Superstar Charles Barkley Talks About His Gambling Losses

Former NBA superstar Charles Barkley didn't hide his love for gambling when he joined Campus Insiders' Seth Davisfor an interview.

Charles has had some big wins and some even bigger losses during his time spent at casinos, but now claims he has learned to control his gambling habits. In the interview, the former basketball superstar said he was never concerned about his gambling even though his past goal was to win $1 million on every trip to Vegas. As one could imagine, this pursuit often led to enormous losses.

Charles claims that he has now learned when to stop and sets his limit at $200,000. That number is apparently his magic point, allowing him to still have fun and enjoy the trip despite losing. When he was asked about a possible gambling addiction, he said he never thought of himself as a gambling addict.

According to Sir Charles, he has gone to Las Vegas numerous times and won a million dollars probably ten times. However, he also lost a million three times more than he won. Fortunately, Charles has learned how to moderate his behavior after years of seven-figure swings. It is quite conceivable that Barkley has lost around $20 million or more overall, which led to a two-year break from gambling.

Barkley, who now works as a basketball analyst for TNT, has returned to the casino tables once again. He says that it is not the same as before and that when he goes to Vegas these days, he tries to win 'just' a couple of hundred thousand (a significant reduction from his previous goal of $1 million).

Barkley once told TNT basketball analyst Ernie Johnson that he is aware that gambling is a bad habit, but as long as he can, he will continue to gamble without thinking about it as a problem. Barkley is well-known for his gambling stories and in the past has talked about some insane losses suffered, including a six-hour blackjack session that cost him almost $2.5 million.

Well-known for being a member of the original “Dream Team" and winning gold medals as part of the U.S. Basketball Team at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, Barkley has fortunately learned how to control his gambling habits. Or so he says, at least.