William “Billy” Walters: A Successful Bettor Story

Thirty years of an exciting journey from a poor local guy in Kentucky to one of the greatest sports bettors in the history.

It seems impossible to “beat” the bookmakers. If someone has the advantage when gambling or betting is concerned that they are the ones. However several people in the history of sports betting showed themselves to be so successful in betting that bookmakers were afraid to even take their bets. One of the greatest in this company of “high rollers” is definitely William “Billy” Walters.

• Billy Walters: the greatest bettor in history
• Successful betting is not just talent
• Walters against the current US Gambling laws

A bunch of urban myths were developed about him in the past. He is considered to be the greatest and most controversial sports gambler ever. However, the now 68-year-old bettor, that earned hundreds of millions of dollars from betting on sports in US never stood publicly, neither to confirm them nor to negate. He was persistent in avoiding any kind of publicity, not willing to reveal any of his secrets. The State’s gaming regulatory bodies were constantly investigating his betting activities, while the bookmakers were tireless in their efforts to discover his method of betting. In the end none of them succeeded to outrun him.

From poor car salesman to the greatest bettor ever

In the few interviews that Walters gave in his betting career he always avoided talking about betting. However he was more willing to talk when his background was questioned. Born in southern Kentucky by a teenage mother Walters was mainly raised by his grandmother until the age of 12. His betting career starts not much later. He lost his first saving of UDS 75 betting on the Brooklyn Dodgers against the New York Yankees in the 55’ World Series. He left two unsuccessful marriages and a car salesman job behind in the 80’s and went west to Vegas with a small amount of money enough for surviving several months.

There started the connections that will have a huge influence on his forthcoming betting career. According to information about him available on online gambling sites in US, he soon after his arrival met with Ivan Mindlin and Michael Kent, founders of the Computer Group which introduced computer algorithms for betting on sports. Both of them being passionate gamblers, they helped Walters to transform his betting habits into a career. Mindlin was fascinated by his skills and gave him a job to exploit the weakest betting lines with bookmakers. And the successful betting carrier of Walters started from that very moment.

Soon after he became part of the Las Vegas elite being engaged in the development of golf courses and industrial parks. The picture he wanted to make for himself was not that of a “gambler in Las Vegas” but of a high class entrepreneur. However betting was what made his carrier. His betting talent is simply astonishing, but his success doesn’t just amount to that. According to Jack Sheehan, author of biographical book about Walters, nobody has ever approached sports betting with as much analysis, as much technical capability, computer analysis.

Walters against US betting laws

Walters managed to beat the odds in sports gambling for almost thirty years. Thanks to his betting talent he gained several high-end golf courses, a private jet and fascinating houses in Palm Desert and Cabo San Lucas, reports gaming news. Nowadays he also owns a website which sells sports-betting picks. If we take into consideration his reputation as the greatest sports bettor of all time, then it is not hard to understand why many punters regard his site say as the one that gives information of “highest quality.”

However the luxurious life he could afford didn’t make him a conformist when US gambling laws were concerned. He always raised his voice against the betting legislation in the US, which according to him, allowed poorly organized offshore companies to control and regulate a massive market with amazing potential. In the few interviews he had given he inevitably stressed need for change of the legislation that would allow a greater development of the sport betting market in US.

In 2014 there was again a big investigation against him concerning the insider-trading case in which he was supposedly involved together with the golf-pro Phil Mickelson. As it is usual for Walters he did not show public to state his opinion and refused the numerous interviews, from TV stations and newspapers saying that his lawyers require him to keep silent. The case is still not solved and Walters denied wrongdoing in all of the cases against him.