Sportsbetting Legend Billy Walters Has 5-Year Prison Sentence Appeal Rejected

Legendary Las Vegas sportsbetter William Billy Walters has had his appeal against a five-year prison sentence thrown out by a federal judge in Manhattan this week…

As we reported in 2017, Walters received a 5-year jail term, a $10million fine and ordered to forfeit another $25million after being convicted of a massive insider trading fraud that saw golfer Phil Mickelson implicated.

Mickelson’s name was brought up 122 times during Walters’ trial, the 5-times major winner alleged to have profited by $1million from tips Walters passed him in connection with stock of Deans Foods.

This week the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Walters’ appeal that his case had been prejudiced by prosecutorial misconduct, after ‘an FBI agent leaked grand jury details about the investigation to reporters’, according to Reuters.

Walters’ claims, however, were dismissed by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals as “sheer speculation”.

Before his conviction two years ago, Walters had become a legendary figure in the Vegas sportsbetting world, regularly posting yearly profits of $15million+, with a 39-year winning streak up until his first loss in 2013.

He is reputed to have won $3.5million on the Superbowl and $1million during a round of golf among many other massive bets.

Mickelson, who once owed Walters $2million, repaid the $1million he made from his share-dealing in Deans Food stock, although he denies the money was a result of insider information.

After his trial, Walters hit out at Mickelson, stating:

“Here is a guy that all he had to do was come forward and tell the truth. That was all he had to do. The guy wouldn’t do that because he was concerned about his image. He was concerned about his endorsements.”