Sports Betting: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson Considering $10M Winner-Take-All MatchMickelson Continues To Show His Love For Gambling |
|
Two of golf’s legends are reportedly in negotiations for a high-stakes, winner-take-all match in America’s gambling hub.
According to Golf.com, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are trying to work out a $10 million exhibition match in Las Vegas, likely at the MGM Resorts International-owned Shadow Creek Golf Course. Both parties are on the record expressing serious interest.
The report comes less than two months after the U.S. Supreme Court gave the green light for sports betting in America, a development that could help fuel interest in their exhibition match. Several states have either launched sports books, or are on the cusp of doing so, since the ruling.
A $10 million winner-take-all match would be especially great for Nevada sports books. Wagering on golf pales in comparison to football, basketball and baseball, to such an extent that Nevada gaming regulators don’t even release data on golf bets.
The Golf.com report suggests that the match is a matter of when, not if.
Mickelson said back in May when the two were paired at the Players Championship: “The excitement that’s been going on around here, it gets me thinking: Why don’t we just bypass all the ancillary stuff of a tournament and just go head-to-head and just have kind of a high-stakes, winner-take-all match…I just think it would be something that would be really fun for us to do, and I think there would be a lot of interest in it if we just went straight to the final round.”
Woods reportedly responded to Mickelson’s comments with, “I’m definitely not against [a winner-take-all match]. We’ll play for whatever makes him uncomfortable.”
According to the report, the two were actually eyeing a match for July 3, but the logistics involving a TV deal and other sponsorship couldn’t be ironed out in time. They are now trying to find a different date, per the report.
Both players reportedly are open to wearing microphones so that fans can hear the trash talk, the inner dynamnics of a rivalry that goes back to the early parts of their respective storied careers. Woods is obviously the more accomplished golfer, but a $10 million heads-up match would give Mickelson a chance for some bragging rights.
“It’s a ridiculous amount of money,” the 48-year-old Mickelson reportedly said. “No matter how much money you have, this amount will take both of us out of our comfort zone.”
Woods, 42, had a net worth of $740 million as of 2016, per Forbes. The magazine pegged Mickelson’s 2016 net worth at $375 million. So, $10 million certainly isn’t chump change despite their vast fortunes. The loser would surely recoup the losses from endorsements and other business opportunities stemming from such a match.
Mickelson’s love for gambling is well-known. He was involved with legendary—but controversial—Las Vegas sports bettor Billy Walters. Walters is currently serving time in federal prison over insider trading. Walters actually blamed Mickelson for his conviction.
Mickelson owed nearly $2 million to Walters, a golf aficionado, in the form of a gambling debt. In order to recoup the money, Walters allowed Mickelson in on the insider trading scheme. Mickelson profited nearly $1 million from a 2012 tip from Walters, according to the federal government, but he was never criminally charged. He was ordered to forfeit the money. After the 2016 indictment against Walters, a lawyer for Mickelson described his client as an “innocent bystander.”
Mickelson did not testify at the trials for either Walters or Tom Davis, the former head of Dean Foods who fed tips to Walters. According to an ESPN report, Mickelson was prepared to plead the 5th Amendment in order to avoid the possibility of self-incrimination. Walters’ team alleged that the feds did not push hard enough to get Mickelson on the stand.
“Here is a guy [Mickelson] that all he had to do was come forward and tell the truth,” Walters told ESPN. “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.”
Copyright © 2001-2024
CardPlayer.com. All rights reserved.
