"There is no gambling at Bushwood sir…and I never slice"

Mickelson was channeling his inner Al Czervik when confronting a mob-linked bookie 20 years ago as he was getting screwed out of a $500K payout.

“Hey Tim...Tina...help this mob guy find his wallet!”... just doesn’t have the same gravitas as asking Moose and Rocco to help locate Judge Smails’ check book.

Instead of a hero’s welcome and a fluff piece in the local paper, The Detroit News instead choose to broadcast the previously unreported allegation against Phil:

• in 2007, Don DeSeranno was cross-examined in a Detroit-area mob case
• court transcripts noted “Dandy Don” handled large bets from Mickelson
• Mickelson won a large wager $500K, but was stiffed on the payout
• the bet’s nature wasn’t disclosed, Phil was never under any investigation

In the understatement of 2021, this article called Phil is an “avid gambler”. That’s kinda like suggesting John Daly’s an “avid consumer” of cigarettes and diet Coke.

A few of Phil’s other “avid gambler” stories include:

• $20K on the Ravens winning Super Bowl XXXV (28:1 odds); won $560K
• $20K on the D’backs winning 2001 World Series (38:1 odds); won $760K
• During filming on Tin Cup, won a bet with crew after hitting impossible trick shot
• Too numerous to count in-round and practice round wagers with fellow players

Not all of Phil’s gambling is parlayed into winning as evidence by his sizeable and publicly known gambling debts

• owed notorious Las Vegas bettor William “Billy” Walters $1.9M
• ensnared in insider trading case with Walters (presumably for debt repayment)

Suffice to say that with career winnings ($100M) and off-course earnings ($900M), Phil won’t need to re-mortgage his home to cover the vig on his next big bet.