Paging Employee #8 . . . The Casinos Want Their $$$ Back

This just in: an arrest warrant has been issued for career underachieving power forward/turnover machine/machine gun Antoine Walker in Las Vegas. Seems that "Employee #8" was loaned a ton of cash by several Vegas casinos (including my favorite, far off of the strip Red Rock Casino) and has not paid back over $822,000.

He does kinda look like Chuck Barkley, doesn't he . . .

Here is the story via the Boston Globe


Gambling woes for Walker
By Frank Dell’Apa
Globe Staff / July 15, 2009

Former Celtic Antoine Walker owes $822,500 to three Las Vegas casinos, according to a criminal complaint filed this week with the district attorney’s office. The Las Vegas Sun is reporting Walker, 32, is charged with three felony counts.

In addition, a warrant was issued for Walker’s arrest late yesterday.

Walker took out gambling markers at Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood, and Red Rock Resort worth $1 million from July 27-Jan. 19. Walker paid back $178,000 of the markers but now also owes $82,550 in fees to the district attorney’s office for executing the criminal prosecution requested by the casinos.

The complaint notes Walker obtained markers by writing 10 checks totaling $1 million from an account with insufficient funds. Six checks worth $100,000 each were signed to Caesars Palace and four worth $100,000 each were signed to Planet Hollywood and Red Rock Resort. By Nevada law, gambling debts are considered bad check cases.

Walker earned nearly $100 million in a 12-year NBA career, leaving the University of Kentucky to join the Celtics as a 20-year-old for the 1996-97 season. The next year, Walker was named an All-Star. After two more All-Star seasons (2001-02 and 2002-03), Walker was traded to the Mavericks in 2003. He was traded to the Hawks in 2004 and returned to the Celtics for a 24-game stint at the end of the 2004-05 season.

Walker then was dealt to the Heat and served as a reserve forward as Miami won the 2006 NBA title. He played the 2007-08 season with the Timberwolves but did not hook on with a team last year although he hasn’t officially retired.

Walker averaged 17.5 points in 893 career games. With the Celtics, Walker averaged 20.6 points, fourth on the team’s all-time list. Walker played in 552 games for Boston and holds team records for 3-pointers attempted in a season (645) and in a game (17) and 3-pointers in a season (222) and in a game (9, twice).

Two years ago, thieves took a car, cash, and jewelry from Walker’s suburban Chicago home while he and a relative were bound at gunpoint. In January, Walker was arrested on charges of drunken driving in Miami Beach.