Indeed, a great number of professional pro-athletes are known not only due to their great sports careers but gambling addictions too. They are young, famous and rich – all this lets them gamble in casinos across the world, losing there millions of dollars.
Despite the fact that gambling makes their lives even more exciting, there are many cases when this particular addiction has ruined the careers of the best, most talented and flourishing football, baseball, basketball, soccer, players, and golfers.
Furthermore, not only sportsmen are known for their gambling in traditional casinos but in virtual casino websites too. Free slots no deposit win real money are tempting for millions of people worldwide and pro-athletes are not an exception e.g. Wayne Rooney.
The worst thing about such an addiction is that athletes don’t completely realise that their competitive career will not last forever. Sooner or later there will come a moment when it will finish and they will be left with nothing. With that in mind, here are 5 athletes that are known for their costly gambling.
5 Pro Athletes With Crazy Gambling Addictions
Pete Rose
This baseball player was accused of making bets against his own team (betting minimum $10.000 every day). After all the accusations (which were denied by Rose), his manager banned him from playing and started treatment from the addiction. Nevertheless, he is still ineligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Denny McClain
Denny McClain is one of the coauthors of the instructional booklet called “How to play better Baseball”. He was an American baseball player who started drowning in a gambling addiction during the prime of his career. He wasn’t interested in casinos but in betting on horse-racing. Because of this, one day he decided that it is time to invest in a bookmaking activity with members of the Syrian mob. Of course, this idea didn’t succeed with McClain getting an injury. In the end, the sportsman became successful neither in betting nor in a professional career.
Alex Rodriguez
Dominican-American and former baseball player Alex Rodriguez was greatly involved in poker. But the League Baseball’s major concern was not even about the poker addiction but the presence of cocaine along with huge debts and betting on baseball.
Paul Hornung
Paul Hornung, also known as the “Golden Boy” and former football player, used to bet on NFL games, which is strictly forbidden by the manual policy.
Due to the fact that Hornung was opened about gambling problems and had even admitted his mistakes, the National Football League let him keep playing.
Rick Tocchet
A former hockey player Rick Tocchet was accused of financing the nationwide sports gambling ring. After accusations, he left NHL and was pleaded guilty in the year 2007 in terms of promoting gambling. He was sentenced to 2 years of probation after which he returned to NHL and became a coach.
Gambling addiction among athletes is very strong and very few of them can cope with it and keep building professional careers. If you feel you have a gambling addiction, be sure to reach out to a professional who can help.
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