Losing $400,000 is a lot to lose by any measure and Charles Barkley was uncomfortable repaying the debt because he waited long enough to have a civil suit filed against him.
By Steve Patterson
Does he have the money? Yes. It seems when push came to shove he was able to write the big check and clear up the mess in a manner of days. Did he want to lose the money and have to give the Wynn Las Vegas another $400,000 from another stupid rich celebrity, sports figure, or former athlete? No.
Barkley now working for Turner Network Television as an NBA analyst must make a lot and have a lot from his playing days in the NBA cause not everyone can write that big of a check. It seems that for the time being, he has had a change of heart and wants to stop gambling. I think he might just be $400,000 too late. Lucky for Charles he didn’t lose his job over this embarrassing gambling loss. Should we blame Chuck’s good friend Michael Jordan for his gambling problem? Probably not, but having a successful friend that also has the same bad habit isn’t a good thing.
What else could Charles Barkley do with $400,000? At Heifer International, Charles could have purchased 800 heifers for third world families. Or 20,000 geese which translates into 1,500,000 eggs a year for starving children. But there’re also local charities that do all kinds of programs for disadvantaged youth and troubled intercity children. Not to mention all the churches across our country that run day cares, soup kitchens, Christmas gift programs, and summer camps. If Charles is just going to waste his money on a game where the odds are against him every time, he would do 100% better to just give the money away to people that can use the money for good. |