Phil Mickelson once spent nearly $2M to pay off a gambling debt … – New York Post

Pro golfer Phil Mickelson dropped a good five percent of his salary on gambling debts in 2012, it emerged in Manhattan federal court on Thursday.

In Sept. 2012, Mickelson forked over close to $2 million for gambling debts to professional gambler Billy Walters, according to documents presented at Walters insider trading trial on Thursday.

That year, the PGA winner earned $48 million, the same court document said.

The sneak peak into Mickelsons gambling habit was presented to a Manhattan federal jury charged with deciding whether Walters illegally traded on stock tips he got from a director pal at butter company Dean Foods. Walters has plead not guilty.

The feds claim that Walters passed some of those allegedly illegal tips to Mickelson known to fans as Lefty in July 2012, at a time when Mickelson owed him money for gambling.

Mickelson earned close to one $1 million on the trades, documents showed. A few months later, the golfer handed Walters $1.95 million, documents showed.

Mr. Mickelson owed similar debt to Mr. Walters in the past, prosecutor Brooke Cucinella told the jury.

Mickelson agreed to return $1.1 million in a deal he cut with financial regulators. He was not charged with wrongdoing and has said he will not be called to testify at Walters trial.

Read more:

Phil Mickelson once spent nearly $2M to pay off a gambling debt ... - New York Post