As we’re without sports due to the coronavirus pandemic, all attention has been diverted to “The Last Dance,” the documentary series produced by ESPN about the legendary Michael Jordan.
And part of his legend, the extent of the Jumpman’s gambling “hobby,” was the focus of the sixth episode, shocking some people to see the big money that was being thrown around by him.
Tech billionaire and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, can attest to that, and he did on Friday’s episode of “Pardon My Take.”
Here’s what he had to say about one of the first times he got to hang out with Jordan, along with other stars of the NBA, NHL and pro tennis:
It was a golf tournament in Reno, and I had never been to Reno. So, Charles Barkley says, “We’re going down to play Blackjack, so come on down.” And it was the craziest moment. So, there’s Charles Barkley, Michael Jordan, Pete Sampras, Mario Lemieux, and me at this blackjack table. And I pull out 100 bucks, because, you know, I didn’t bring money. Jordan looks at me and goes, “What the (expletive)? You can’t play $100 at this table,” because he’s playing like $10,000 and Barkley’s playing $5,000. And (Jordan) goes to the casino guy … give Mr. Cuban a $1 million line of credit.Â
The casino guy goes, “Mr. Cuban, would you like a $1 million line of credit?” I’m like, “sure!” You know, I played 1,000 bucks a hand, which was like the most I had ever played at that point, and it was a blast. And then we ended up with Charles Barkley, we went to, with all the guys, actually, this party they had, and Charles literally bought 50 bottles of tequila and was handing them out, oh my god. One of the best party nights ever.
Cuban said he walked out of the casino up that night, though only by two grand “or whatever like that.”
Relative to his counterparts that wasn’t very much, but the story is priceless.
