Gambler claims Phil Mickelson could have saved him from prison

The renowned gambler Billy Walters has claimed Phil Mickelson could have saved him from prison by testifying in his insider trading case.

Walters, who has alleged in his book “Gambler: Secrets From a Life at Risk” that Mickelson wagered more than $1billion on sports, has hit out at the six-time major champion for not testifying in his defence.

The Las Vegas businessman was convicted in 2017 of insider trading, conspiracy, securities fraud and wire fraud, receiving a five-year prison sentence and a $10million fine.

• Mickelson responds to Ryder Cup allegations 

• McIlroy makes savage dig about Mickelson rumours

Walters met Mickelson in 2006 and alleged in his book that they formed a betting partnership together, with the golfer frequently staking $100,000 on individual sports matches.

He also claimed that Mickelson approached him over wagering $400,000 on the 2012 Ryder Cup that he competed in. Mickelson has since denied ever betting on the Ryder Cup.

Now, the 77-year-old has accused Mickelson of abandoning him with silence at his time of legal trouble.

Walters wanted Mickelson to publicly declare that he had not been given any insider information by the gambler.

“All Phil had to do was publicly say it. He refused,” Walters wrote in his memoir.

And appearing on CNN’s This Morning programme, Walters told presenter Poppy Harlow that he blamed Mickelson for his insider trading conviction.

“There was only one witness who testified against me in the case,” Walters explained. “Prior to the trial, this gentlemen had given a voluntary interview two years prior to that.

• Mickelson: LIV golfers warrant Ryder Cup picks

• Mickelson “gambled $1billion”

“He denied emphatically he ever gave them insider information. Later, he’d learned that he embezzled money from a battered woman’s charity, he had filed a fraudulent tax return, he had given someone else insider information. Two years later, he went in and changed his story. That’s the only witness against me.

“My lawyers and I also believed, during the trial, they destroyed his credibility. We caught him in a minimum of 25 lies. He had no credibility whatsoever.

“He was the only person who testified against me. So if Phil had came forward and testified that I — that whoever gave him insider information, to answer your question, Poppy, no, I don’t think I would have been convicted.”

Walters was released from prison into home confinement in May 2020 and had his sentence commuted by former President Donald Trump in January 2021.

His autobiography “Gambler: Secrets From a Life at Risk” was released on August 22.

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.