Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 4, 1993 TAG: 9306040020
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SAN DIEGO LENGTH: Medium
"Our matches frequently came down to $100,000 putts with occasional swings of upwards of a quarter-million dollars," Richard Esquinas wrote in "Michael & Me: Our Gambling Addiction . . . My Cry For Help!"
Esquinas, who has an interest in the San Diego Sports Arena, said in a telephone interview Wednesday night that Jordan worked his debt down to $902,000 in 1992 and they negotiated it down to $300,000 in May. Jordan has paid $200,000, Esquinas said.
The two met in 1989 and formed a friendship that was "stretched to its limits by excessive golf and gambling," according to the book's dust jacket.
The publication of the book came one day after Jordan helped lead the Bulls to a 97-94 victory over the New York Knicks, leaving the two-time champions one game from the NBA Finals.
Jordan's gambling already has prompted an NBA investigation. In another episode, he paid off $165,000 in golf and poker debts, including a $57,000 check to convicted cocaine dealer. The NBA found no reason to discipline him.
On May 24, before Game 2 of the Knicks-Bulls series, Jordan went to a casino in Atlantic City, N.J. He reportedly lost $5,000, although he denies losing that much. He has stopped talking to reporters since the trip.
Esquinas' book, co-written with Dave Distel, the former sports editor of the San Diego County edition of The Los Angeles Times, details high-stakes golf games in San Diego and North Carolina. Esquinas wrote that Jordan "sometimes had trouble breaking 80."
"Personally, I felt I was a controlled gambler until Michael and I went berserk in one period of approximately 10 days in September of 1991, when I went from potentially more than $200,000 in debt to $1.25 million ahead," Esquinas wrote. "If a swing of almost $1.5 million on `games' of golf is not out of control, I can't imagine what is."
Esquinas described himself and the Bulls star as compulsive gamblers. He said he receives therapy and attends Gamblers Anonymous meetings.
"Gambling, as an addiction, is so much more easily deniable than alcoholism or drug abuse," he wrote. "I lie there on the tracks struggling with my own tendency to deny.
"Michael Jordan is right there with me on those tracks, whether he likes it or not."
by CNB