Antoine Walker , a one-time forward for the 2006 NBA Champion Miami Heat, was sentenced Tuesday to sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay $770,050 in restitution to three Las Vegas casinos after pleading guilty to failing to repay gambling debts.
According to the Miami Times, Walker, 35 was originally arrested back in 2009 on the gambling debt charges when he wrote three Las Vegas casinos ten checks – totaling $100,000 – in exchange for chips, but all of those checks were bad.
Prosecutor Samuel Bateman says Walker’s felony charge can be scrubbed from his record if he fully repays his remaining debts at the casinos (Red Rock Casino Resort, Planet Hollywood and Caesars Palace) he defrauded.
Bateman added that the former NBA star would face a year in prison, should he choose to violate the probation.
Walker, who filed for bankruptcy in 2010, starred on Kentucky’s 1996 NCAA national title team and was a three-time All-Star with the Boston Celtics before playing for the Miami Heat (2005-2007) and Minnesota Timberwolves (2007-2008).
After his exit from the NBA, Walker was acquired by Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League in 2010.
CBSSports points out that average salary in the D-League is $35,000, meaning that Antoine Walker’s Vegas debt bill would take 22 years worth of salary in the American minor league to cover (disregarding taxes).
via Washington Post
