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Former NBA basketball player Antoine Walker looks over paperwork Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011 after he was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay more than $750,000 in gambling debts.
By Conor Shine (contact) 
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.
Sun archives
- Former NBA player Antoine Walker to get probation on bad check charges (11-1-2011)
- Antoine Walker to stand trial on casino debt case in November (6-30-2010)
- Former NBA star Antoine Walker’s casino debt case moves to district court (6-14-2010)
- Ex-NBA star Antoine Walker to pay $12,835 monthly in gambling debt case (11-30-2010)
- Hearing set for ex-NBA star Antoine Walker in $822,500 gambling debt case (11-12-2009)
- Court date reset for ex-NBA star’s Vegas debt case (9-16-2009)
- Ex-NBA star appears in Vegas court in debt case (7-20-2009)
- Casinos say former NBA star owes $822,500 in gambling debts (7-14-09)
Giving a marker to a professional athlete is just plain stupid. It's like dumping a can of fish food flakes into a bowl, and letting a goldfish decide to stop eating when they've had enough.
The kinds of athletes who have money long term don't engage in this kind of excess.
After seeing cases like this many times over, I have to seriously wonder what the incentive is for issuing these markers? Are there financial incentives for the staff who issue them like loan officers in a bank? Do the employees just want to get closer to celebrities? Or since there is no physical goods or cash lost, does the casino reap profits from the VIP services provided that is paid for up front, and then the cash received during settlements later on is pure gravy for them? Seriously, I'd like to know. Because otherwise this just makes casinos look bad because it appears they keep investing markers in the wrong people who can't pay them. And if a casino is really this bad at managing their money, why would anyone want to invest money in gaming stocks?
Just burning bridges Las Vegas... Only a matter of time.
if he had the $700k he would have already paid the casinos. Good luck with that
Can someone please explain how 5 YEARS of probationary oversight is going to benefit anyone involved in this case?
C'mon, man!!!
When will Nevadans decide to stop paying for the casino's collections of their markers?
Man, if you are in the Gaming or Mining industries in Nevader, you are sitting PHAT, baby...
If you are NOT...
Mind your P's & Q's, because the laws of this desert land are designed to protect & serve only those that lobbied for, decided on them and wrote them down...
Gaming & Mining.
What a loser, another role model..
this guy made over 108 million dollars from 1996 to 2009 and files for bankruptcy in May 2010! It is hard to live on 850k a year I admit, but really?? !!
When are people going to learn that the casinos are built on the gamblers' losses. It you win too much, they will put you out. Remember, casinos are private property and they have the right to refuse service, particularly if you are winning.
gmag39,
Us Nevadans are not paying for the collection. On top of paying the casinos he also gets to pay the DA's office 10% to cover costs. That department is self funding.
It is good these debts are collected because then the tax is paid to the state to pay for the costs of running this state.
Don't hate until you look at the facts. It works out better that way.
it's easier to get a judgement than it is to collect on it.
$750,000 over five years.
At $250,000 a year, it might be better for him to do the time.
who cares! NBA players waste their money.
what difference does it make what he was wearing? do you actually think that he would show up dripping in bling? forget the markers, just give me a few free drinks once in a while.