Michael Jordan and gambling go hand-in-hand. The 6x NBA champion won all those championships and established himself as the greatest player in NBA history with that same competitive drive that he had during his day-to-day activities. And when MJ became competitive, money most definitely was put on the table.
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Whether it was golf or tossing coins against a wall, Jordan felt elated knowing he had someone else’s money in his pocket after having beaten them. Well, this wasn’t the case for him when it came to golf as he put his money up against a notorious golfing gambler named, Slim Bouler, and lost.
Bouler hustled $57,000 out of Michael and would soon be arrested. Jordan was brought to testify and it was indeed confirmed that he had to pay that same amount for how much he had lost to Bouler while golfing.
Eddie Dow’s briefcase after having been murdered saw a $108,000 check from Michael Jordan
Similar to Slim Bouler, Eddie Dow also gambling on the green with Michael Jordan. Dow, a bondsman, was tasked with holding Slim’s money and keeping it secure. Dow was present on a 5-day golfing trip with Michael Jordan and Bouler in the summer of 1991 (after the Bulls won their 1st title).
Here, he would win a total of $108,000 from Jordan, around the same time that his associate would win $57,000. MJ, being a multi-millionaire, gave checks to them both for their respective amounts.
Taking it to the future on February 19th, 1992, Dow was shot and killed by George Cale Buckner along with 3 others. In his briefcase, two checks were found, both of which were signed by Michael Jordan himself and totaled to $108,000.
The reasoning behind the murder was mainly to do with the fact that it was known Dow was carrying around that kind of money with him in his briefcase.
Michael Jordan’s first retirement was spun into a secret gambling suspension
Michael Jordan retired from the NBA in the summer of 1993 after winning his 3rd straight Finals MVP due to the fact that his father had passed away. Him playing baseball was him doing so because his father always wanted him to be a professional baseball player.
However, when he decided to retire, many media folk believed it was a secret suspension from Commissioner, David Stern, for his gambling habits.
Why would Stern, the man obsessed with making as much money as he could, banish the man who had made him the most amount of money alongside Magic and Larry since his tenure as Commissioner? Stern even rejected this outlandish theory in the ‘Last Dance’ docuseries.
Also read: “You’re Nuts!”: Michael Jordan, Who Bullied Steve Kerr, Once Suggested Therapy to a Friend
