Professional Gambler Billy Walters Spills on Phil Mickelson's Gambling

Excerpts from “Gambler: Secrets from a Life at Risk,” by Billy Walters, a book that chronicles the life of a man many refer to as the most successful American gambler ever, were released Thursday. In it, a decades-long relationship between Walters and legendary golfer Phil Mickelson was revealed, as well as just how deep Mickelson was entwined in sports betting.

The book, which is scheduled to be released Aug. 23, identified the troubling habits of Mickelson and the depths of his connection to the gambling scene the last few decades.

One Billion Dollars

According to Walters, Mickelson was every bit the avid gambler Walters was, matching him step-for-step on the gambling realm. The book reveals an estimated $1 billion in bets by Mickelson over three decades, with losses totaling somewhere in the $100-million range. 

Earlier estimates of Phil's gambling losses were much lower.

"Based on our relationship and what I’ve since learned from others, Phil’s gambling losses approached not $40 million as has been previously reported, but much closer to $100 million," Walters said in the book. "In all, he wagered a total of more than $1 billion during the past three decades."

The scheme

Walters wrote that he and Mickelson teamed up to make numerous, massive bets with offshore sportsbooks, with Walters providing the wagering expertise and Mickelson bankrolling the betting capitol with his own offshore account.

"Phil said he had two offshore accounts that would take big action from him," he wrote. "In all the decades I’ve worked with partners and beards, Phil had accounts as large as anyone I’d seen. You don’t get those types of accounts without betting millions of dollars." 

The relationship between Walters was formed out of the two's mutual interest in sports betting, but was also strengthened by Phil's ability to take advantage of those larger limits gained by his financial prowess. 

Mickelson, according to the book, was able to take advantage of his $400,000 offshore accounts limit. Walters cited his own at $50,000 limits on professional sports and $20,000 limit on college athletics.

It's not just how much, but what Phil bet on 

The most explosive revelation was just what Mickelson bet on. 

According to the book, Mickelson attempted to place a huge bet on himself and his 2012 Ryder Cup team. Walters' claim is that Phil asked him to place a $400,000 wager on his behalf on his team to win that event. Team USA ended up losing that contest to the Europeans by one point.

“You’re seen as a modern-day Arnold Palmer,” Walters apparently told Mickelson about the proposed Ryder Cup bet. “You’d risk all that for this? I want no part of it."

Other Mickelson gambling activity documented includes:

• On 858 occasions, he bet $220,000 to win $200,000. (The sum of those 1,973 gross wagers came to more than $311 million.

• In 2011 alone, he made 3,154 bets - an average of nearly nine per day.

• On one day in 2011 (June 22), he made 43 bets on Major League Baseball games, resulting in $143,500 in losses.

• He made 7,065 wagers on football, basketball, and baseball.

"The only other person I know who surpassed that kind of volume is me," Walters said.

Not the first account of Mickelson's gambling issues

Last year, an explosive book by Alan Shipnuck revealed the depths of Mickelson's penchant for gambling. In that book, Shipnuck identifies losses in the tens of millions of dollars for the golf legend. Walters not only confirms those revelations but builds on the depths for which Mickelson slipped.

Mickelson copped to his gambling issues in a 2022 Sports Illustrated interview.

“My gambling got to a point of being reckless and embarrassing,” Mickelson said in that sit-down. “I had to address it. And I’ve been addressing it for a number of years and for hundreds of hours of therapy. I feel good where I’m at there. My family and I are and have been financially secure for some time.”

Expect more revelations from Walters’ book in the leadup to its release on Aug. 23.