Sports Gambler Billy Walters Convicted Of Insider TradingLegendary Bettor Could Spend About A Decade In Prison |
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“I just lost the biggest bet of my life.”
Those were the words of Billy Walters, one of the world’s most well-known sports bettors, after a jury in New York City on Friday convicted him of insider trading. The 70-year-old faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison.
Sentencing is scheduled for July, but the conviction will be appealed. Walters was permitted to return to Southern California to be with his family while he waits.
Walters’ powerful friends include billionaire investor Carl Icahn and golfer Phil Mickelson, the latter who was linked to the case. Walters passed on an illegal stock tip to Mickelson that gave the golfer a profit of about $1 million. Mickelson used the money to repay a gambling debt to Walters. Mickelson wasn’t charged, though he was ordered to pay back the ill-gotten gains.
The jury deliberated for two days after prosecutors laid out their case that Walters received $40 million in ill-gotten gains from trading stock of Dean Foods.
The former chairman of Dean Foods testified that he fed Walters non-public information over a six-year period. The two were golfing and gambling buddies.
Tom Davis was in poor financial shape thanks to his gambling and spending habits and needed money, according to prosecutors. Walters helped him out in exchange for the tips. Davis pleaded guilty to conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud, obstruction of justice and perjury last year.
Davis’ gambling was so bad that he once dusted off $150,000 in a single blackjack hand.
Walters was called “the most dangerous sports bettor in Nevada” in a 2011 report from CBS.
He’s also a successful businessman with golf courses and auto dealerships in Las Vegas. His businesses generated about $500 million in revenue in 2013, the court was told, according to a report from the Bloomberg.
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