You Have to Hear This Michael Jordan Casino Story

Michael Jordan’s love for wagering is well-documented, but we now have another insane story to add to the history books.

Long-time NBA role player Brendan Haywood joined 670 The Score’s Spiegel & Holmes Show on Wednesday to discuss the upcoming NCAA Tournament. As a former teammate with Jordan during his Washington Wizards era, Laurence Holmes couldn’t help but ask for his favorite story about the GOAT. Haywood immediately had two memories come to mind – the first of which was extremely on-brand.

“First of all, I realized what kind of money Michael Jordan had in the preseason of my rookie year. We’re playing a preseason game, and I think we’re in Connecticut [at] Mohegan Sun Casino … As I’m walking through the casino I see Mike, and Patrick Ewing was one of our assistant coaches. So Pats down 40 grand. He’s over there sweating, he’s nervous, and he’s just not having a good time. And I see Michael over there just laughing, joking, and smoking his cigar. And I said, ‘man M, you must be killing it. How many you up?’ He said ‘Up? I’m down by $800,000.’

I was like ‘oh my god,’ and he was just laughing and joking. He didn’t even care. He ended up staying playing all night long and hitting the casino for like $200,000. [He] came on the team bus with it in his hands.“

Props to Haywood for not fainting the moment he heard Jordan utter “$800,000.” Jordan may not have achieved billionaire status by then, but we all knew he was well on his way. Whether it be his monster NBA contract, his loads of endorsement deals, or his iconic shoe brand, money became an object for His Airness long ago.

Likewise, this is yet another example of how stubbornly competitive Jordan was about everything. I’m sure that even as a rookie Haywood knew Jordan wasn’t leaving that table until he had a fat stack to carry with him. What a ridiculous – yet perfectly believable – story!

You can listen to Haywood’s second story about Michael Jordan – this one’s basketball related – on 670 The Score’s Instagram. You can also find his full interview on Spiegel & Holmes Show online here.