For almost four decades, Walters, now 68, is thought to have bet more money more successfully than anyone in history, earning hundreds of millions of dollars. Simon & Schuster is a global leader in general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for readers of all ages, and in all printed, digital and audio formats. Rubalcada, who drank heavily during two ESPN interviews, remains in jail awaiting a spot at a drug treatment facility. Lester Cotton is 6-4 and 328 pounds, which is good because he will be carrying the hopes and dreams of thousands with him next fall when he plays for Nick Saban. Billy was eventually caught and fined $1,000. Walters Auto Group is a Pikeville new and used car dealer with Buick, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota, Ford, Chevrolet, GMC, Kia, LINCOLN sales, service. Walters bet on basketball, the NFL, and college football. "He's like Tiger Woods in his prime. [6], Walters and his gambling partner delivered $2 million to the cage at the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel. Automotive News, "Car Dealer, Gambler Billy Walters Free After Trump Commutes Sentence" (January 25, 2021) Las Vegas Review-Journal, "COMMENTARY: Freed, but still fighting for justice" (January 23, 2021) Associated Press, "Insider trading sentence of Vegas gambler commuted by Trump" (January 21, 2021) "If you were to take away the office pools, fantasy pools, people betting on sports, I guarantee the [TV] viewership would be cut in less than half. In the early 1980s, he left two failed marriages and a car salesman gig behind in Kentucky and, after a misdemeanor gambling conviction, headed west with a tiny bank account and a heavy drinking habit. The winner did not take possession; Walters agreed to pay off the debt over the next 18 months. The Walters Group, founded in 1988 with just two employees, specialized in acquiring and. Have an opinion about this story? An example of Billy Walters character: When his mother contracted emphysema in later years, Walters paid her bills and ensured she was comfortable at the end of her life, despite the abuse he endured from her as a child. Walters built a golf course in a rundown part of Las Vegas as part of a city revitalization effort. The work starts well in advance of a game. "And he has a work ethic that is just ridiculous. His business life outside of sports gambling -- playing the stock market and managing his car dealerships and commercial real estate ventures -- also has been neutered. After arriving in Vegas, Walters connected with the people who would help him turn his gambling habit into a career. Wagering is now legal in sportsbooks and on betting apps in thirty-six states. As Walters told an audience recently in Las Vegas about that experience, I was shocked and never expected to be there.. Born in 1946, Billy Walters had a tough childhood, losing his father at the age of 18 months and being abandoned by his alcoholic mother shortly after that. The $125,000 on the initial lines will be lost, but if things go according to plan, the $250,000 on the other side will win enough to make up for it many times over. Over a period of several months, he begs off numerous interview requests from ESPN, saying his lawyers want him to keep quiet because of the latest investigation against him. [19], Walters is a noted philanthropist and has donated to Opportunity Village, a Las Vegas nonprofit for people with intellectual disabilities. In the fall, his legal woes escalated when he was jailed for violating the terms of his probation, which included random drug testing and prohibitions on alcohol use and gambling. ", One memorable night, Mastronardo says, he was at dinner with Walters and his wife when Walters began asking about a basketball game. Generally reticent of the media, Walters agreed to an interview in 2011 with the television news program,60 Minutes, in the hope it would help the overall image of Las Vegas and to educate the public on legalized sports betting. During his time in prison, Walters mentored men who were looking for their own second chance. Walters is a prominent sports bettor and already owns dealerships in California and others states. As The Walters Group was developing and operating luxury facilities, Walters never lost sight of his beginnings and looked for business opportunities that would benefit the community. Why don't we generate some jobs? Walters' closest call happened 30 years ago, when the FBI conducted raids against the Computer Group in 16 states. [16], Walters was initially imprisoned at Federal Prison Camp, Pensacola, but was released to home confinement in Carlsbad, California, on May 1, 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic. Amy Childs and her boyfriend Billy Delbosq continued to film for their new reality show in Essex on Tuesday as she shopped for a new car at a dealership. He used those winnings to buy car dealerships and golf courses. Walters landed jobs at the Davis Doughnut Bakery, where he worked from 4:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. before school, and a Joe Graves Shell gasoline station, where he worked after school from 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Those experiences in his early life shaped the man that William Walters would become. Haig Partners: Dealership consolidation trends, Haig Partners: Dealership valuation trends, Haig Partners: Dealership succession planning, Ally: Navigating the future of automotive retailing, Google: How a century-old brand is transforming the auto industry. [2], In 1987, Walters stopped all gambling other than sports betting and returned to his roots in business. Walters is a prominent sports bettor and already owns dealerships in California and others states. Walters worked 80 hours a week selling cars and setting dealership records. Yes, I'd like to receive email communications on editorial features, special offers, research and events and webinars from Automotive News. WALTERS DOESN'T WANT to talk much about any of it. He has retired from gambling, but remains one of most iconic sports bettors of all time. NISSAN: 2022 Pathfinder and 2022 Frontier. He once told "60 Minutes" that on any Sunday, he could have $2 million on the line betting on professional football games. His mother, who was an alcoholic, walked out on her son and two daughters shortly after the death of Walters' father. As of 2016, the firm owned 18 new-auto dealerships throughout Kentucky, California and Ga two golfing classes in Las Vegas and other holdings. In September, Vernon Krause of Krause Auto Group purchased one of Walters' Hyundai stores in Georgia. "He was like, 'If they see you with me, you are no good to me.'". Written in collaboration with award-winning journalist Armen Keteyian, Gambler is more than a traditional autobiography. Still awaiting the results of his case, Walters has quit gambling and is solely focused on his auto dealership. "What people don't understand is that the difference between winning 53 percent and 55 percent is like swimming the Atlantic Ocean. Walters was serving the final year of his sentence on house arrest in Southern California after being released in May from federal prison in Florida because of coronavirus concerns. Walters Group has been selling dealerships, several sources said, and it's unclear whether the company still owns stores. Meanwhile, an account that's too successful runs the risk of being shut down. For more information, see ourPrivacy Policy. [5], Walters credits his grandmother, a devout Baptist, with instilling a strong work ethic. In the first eleven months of 2022, Americans wagered $83 billion legally on sportsan increase of 65 percent from 2021,according to the American Gaming Association. State agents raid Walters' Sierra Sports Consulting. The suspect was a well-known Hollywood star who wanted to bet $100,000 a game, though Mastronardo became convinced that the actor didn't know anything about football. The Vegas Stats & Information Network (VSiN) called Walters "the Michael Jordan of sports betting." Some he bets in different markets. Billy Walters, mega car dealer and one of the most successful sports bettors in the U.S., is now in federal prison. He got a paper route, waking up at 4:30 a.m. every day to deliver papers before school. That information is weighed and plugged into the computer alongside other statistical data -- from field conditions to intricate breakdowns of officiating crews. See more newsletter options at autonews.com/newsletters. Walters was indicted three times for money laundering in connection with the investigation, but the charges were dropped before trial. Walters was sentenced to 5 years in prison and fined $10 million. Walters and three other defendants are later indicted for money laundering. ESPN declines the offer. After high school, Walters supported himself and his young family by taking a sales position at McMackin Auto Sales, beginning a career in the automobile sales industry that spanned from 1965 to 1981. "At times, he would give me $1 million to hold, $2 million to hold, with no signed contract," Mastronardo says. [6] Walters also captured the 1986 Super Bowl of Poker, (also known as Amarillo Slim's Super Bowl of Poker or SBOP) in Lake Tahoe earning $175,000. In addition to her work ethic, Walters grandmother imparted her faith and devotion to the community around her to young Billy. "First of all, nobody knows where he bet it. Walters sold an average of 32 cars a month and earned $56,000 a year in 1966, equal to about $400,000 today. The newspaper also said Dowd had boasted to clients that his close relationship with the president would secure them clemency, particularly if their cases had been handled in the Southern District of New York. Caesars, however, declined his request. He is hard-working, self-sufficient, and resilient in the face of adversity. During that time, Walters also remained involved in sports betting. His father, an auto mechanic, died when Walters was 18 months old. And if youre not totally committed to this, dont take up the space for someone else who is committed to it.. The dealership will be run by Walters Dealership LP, which is partly owned by Las Vegas-based professional gambler William T. "Billy" Walters, who was sentenced in 2017 to five years in prison for . The act of clemency was supported by former Majority Leader Harry Reid, former Governor Jim Gibbons, former Representative Shelley Berkley, former Clark County Sheriff William Young, former Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik, numerous professional golfers including Butch Harmon, David Feherty, and Peter Jacobsen, and former 60 minutes correspondent Lara Logan. I said '1.' "Why don't we regulate it? Walters once lost his house during a game of pitching pennies. The reply from Walters was matter-of-fact: "Tell John good luck. He was sentenced in August to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty in March. An occasional gambler since he was nine years old, by the time he was 22, he had . It also attracted the attention of law enforcement, particularly after Walters criticizedWall Street and the regulatory agencies charged with overseeing it. If you and I had $300 million, we might play golf five days a week. But they felt like they had no hope. 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