Jay Williams: NBA Players Bet $20,000 On Rock, Paper, ScissorsGambling Is So Widespread Among Active Players, Says Williams |
|
Just how prevalent is gambling among players in the National Basketball Association during their down time? It happens so much that it’s not uncommon for players to eventually decide to bet as much as $20,000 on a single rock-paper-scissors throw, according to former NBA player Jay Williams.
In a Monday interview on The Brilliant Idiots podcast, Williams, who only spent one year in the NBA thanks to injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash, said: “Think about gambling to the next degree, like rock, paper, scissors, $20,000 … And don’t get yourself down in the dice game…all the sudden you’re down $100,000 and you’re like ‘Bet it back, rock, paper, scissors.’”
Unlike the NFL, the NBA has a more relaxed stance on gambling and casinos, as several players have made appearances at the World Series of Poker in recent years. Just this past summer, NBA player Earl Barron finished 613rd in the “Millionaire Maker” for a payday of $3,044. Other NBA players who have been seen at the WSOP include Paul Pierce, Shawn Marion and Jordan Farmar. Barron is the only one in the group with a WSOP cash.
Late last year, NBA commissioner Adam Silver broke from the pack and said that he wants Congress to look at legalizing and regulating sports betting across America. Silver was commenting on efforts by the state of New Jersey to bring sports books to Atlantic City. Silver doesn’t want a state-by-state patchwork for sports betting, but he’s open to an alternative.
“[New Jersey] Governor Christie, and I’m happy to join him, should turn his attention to Washington, DC, to Congress, and say, ‘Here are all the reasons it should be regulated, but let’s come up with a framework that makes sense on a national basis, presumably that would allow states to opt in,’" Silver told ESPN in December.
The NBA is among the group trying to block New Jersey from kicking off sports betting. A federal judge last month sided with the sports leagues in the latest ruling in the case.
Copyright © 2001-2024
CardPlayer.com. All rights reserved.
