Former NBA player Antoine Walker ordered to pay $750,000 in gambling debts

By Conor Shine

Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011 | 10:33 a.m.

Former NBA basketball player Antoine Walker was sentenced Tuesday to five years of probation and ordered to pay more than $750,000 in gambling debts to three Las Vegas casinos.

Walker, 35, pleaded guilty in June to felony bad check charges after he failed to pay back gambling debts from 2009 at Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood and Red Rock Resort.

Walker, wearing jeans and a gray sweatshirt, was in Clark County District Court on Tuesday morning but did not speak at his sentencing. He declined to comment after the hearing.

His sentencing was initially scheduled for Nov. 1 but was twice delayed because Walker lives in Chicago and was in training camp attempting to make a return to professional basketball.

As part of a deal struck with prosecutors, Walker will have to pay back $770,050 in restitution to the casinos and is prohibited from gambling. He was also given a one-year suspended sentence, which would go into effect if he fails to meet the terms of his probation.

Walker played for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2008, his last year in the NBA. He won a championship in 2006 with the Miami Heat and was a three-time all-star for the Boston Celtics.

After he left the Timberwolves, he played in two pre-season games with the Memphis Grizzlies then was waived. He played briefly in Puerto Rico in 2010 before deciding to attempt an NBA comeback.