Barkley Will Pay His $400K Gambling Debt

Charles Barkley acknowledged his $400,000 gambling debt to the Wynn Casino on Thursday, suggesting it was all a misunderstanding on his part:

"My mistake," Barkley said in an interview at a pro-am golf tournament in Hoover, Ala. "I'm not broke, and I'm going to take care of it." [...] "I've been gambling 20 years. I've never had this happen before," the 45-year-old Barkley told WJOX. "It's my fault I let the time lapse. I screwed up."

The casino alleged in their lawsuit that they tried to get in touch with Barkley numerous times regarding the debt, but that's not the impression Barkley gave reporters:

"All they had to do is call and say, 'Hey, you owe us this money,"' he said.

It's possible Barkley is simply downplaying this as a big mistake to save face, but I like to think he just turns off call waiting every time he calls Dwyane Wade. Either way, I'm guessing he'll take care of this soon enough -- the guy enjoys Vegas too much to stand for his name being blackballed on the Strip. I'm sure Barkley took better care of his money than Latrell Sprewell, but still, he can't have quite as much disposable income as today's stars: he came from a different era, and thanks to long-term contracts signed before salaries absolutely skyrocketed, he only made $5 million or more in a season once.