50 Cent recently waged a bet with fellow rapper Birdman that the Giants would win the Super Bowl, to the tune of $1 million. He later rescinded his offer, but a few days earlier the “In Da Club” singer won $500,000 on a football bet, which he not so humbly flaunted on his Twitter account. Yet 50’s not the only celebrity to place large bets on sporting events. From Charlie Sheen to George Clooney, we take a look at the celebrities who enjoy wagering on sports.
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Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s two million Twitter followers know that the champion boxer has a bit of a gambling addiction. Right after New Year's, Mayweather tweeted a photo of the receipt documenting the bet he had made on Purdue to win the Little Caesars Bowl. The six-figure bet was just one of many wagers he made over the past few months. He placed another six figures on the San Francisco 49ers to win on Christmas Eve. He also bet on Auburn in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, on Houston in the TicketCity Bowl, and on Texas in the Holiday Bowl.
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Veteran rapper Birdman lost $2 million wagering the Miami Heat would win the NBA Championships over the Dallas Mavericks. But that loss didn’t mean all bets are off. After winning $1 million in a bet on last year’s Super Bowl, Birdman tweeted last week that he would put down a staggering $5 million on this year's big game. The online-betting giant BetOnline.com called out the Cash Money CEO, and said it would bet against the rapper and the New England Patriots in the hope of a big win. As of Friday, the hip-hop star had yet to lay down a bet.
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On the set of Leatherheads, Office actor John Krasinski bet George Clooney that he could beat the Oscar winner in a one-on-one game of basketball. Clooney took home $1,000, beating Krasinski 11-8, and was reported saying, “I was wiping my forehead with $100 bills going. ‘Whoo, is it hot in here?’” Clooney is known to make bets off the court as well, at one point investing millions in a Las Vegas casino complex that later fell through.
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When you have the kind of money that former basketball superstar and entrepreneur Michael Jordan has, it’s easy to see how he could throw around a large sum of money for the thrill of a sports bet. Jordan has most notably wagered on golf tournaments. As one of the most distinguished athletes of the century, we know MJ likes to win, so why would that drive be limited to the basketball court?
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Before his public meltdowns and Twitter rants, Charlie Sheen was making millions for every episode of Two and a Half Men he filmed. But even when his acting career went haywire, his gambling tendencies seem to have stayed grounded. During his spell of erratic behavior last year, Sheen launched a gambling website to capitalize on sports such as basketball, baseball, and horse riding. As the “Not bi-polar” actor likes to say—Winning!
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Basketball player-turned-sports analyst Charles Barkley says he knows he has a problem—a problem that’s cost him $10 million. “I do have a gambling problem, but I don’t consider it a problem because I can afford to gamble,” he told ESPN in 2006. He later told The Daily News that he was going to kick the habit for good, saying, “Just because I can afford to lose money don’t mean I should do it." Barkley recently hosted Saturday Night Live and poked fun at his once-addicting gambling habit.
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