QUESTION OF THE DAY: "The $640,000 golf shot"

Note: In a previous question, someone asked about the "wiseguys" of sports betting. I responded that there are movers and shakers out there in the world of sports gambling who are very good at what they do. One of the real "wise guys" is Mickey Appleman, who lives in suburban New Jersey.

Here's a great Mickey Appleman golf story:

When people talk about gambling, sports betting and casino games pale in comparison to some of the outlandish wagers that have been made out on the golf course. The stories of the great gambling gurus of yesteryear are filled with six-figure wagers on a single putt, and bets between "friends" that stagger the imagination. Some of these legendary tales of yesteryear are true, and some are not. But here's a story that's 100 percent true.

Back in the mid-80s, Mickey Appleman lived in Las Vegas. He was a native New Yorker, and kind of a rebel. He had long hair, and wore a bandana. Kind of a Santana look, only he was a Jewish kid and loved to gamble. I guess you could say Appleman stood out from the rest of the Las Vegas crowd, who were more accustomed to cowboy hats and southern accents back in those days. Nevertheless, Appleman fit right in.

Appleman was single at the time, and quite a poker player. He played as high as anyone during what some call the Golden Age of Poker and developed a reputation as one of the world's best players. It's hard to explain the kind of camaraderie between the elite poker players. But think of it this way. They can be playing against each other and wagering tens of thousands of dollars and trying to skin each other alive one second, and the next they will be having dinner and slapping the backs of each other as the best of friends. It's an odd dichotomy, but very real and very sincere.

When not propped up at a table at the Dunes, Silverbird, Golden Nugget and the other places where the high-stakes games were played in those days, Appleman and the big-time poker players used to go out to the Las Vegas Country Club and gamble on golf. They'd play a round of golf -- sometimes for ten-thousand, sometimes for twenty, sometimes for much more. It all depended on how they were doing at the time financially. Keep in mind that these are regular folks here -- not people with millions in stocks or investments or dot.com millionaires. So, $20,000 was real money. Back in those days with inflation and all, it would be like $40,000 today.

Anyway, Appleman had a lot of money at the time from his sports gambling and poker wins and he wanted to bet really big on a match he arranged at La Costa. He made bets with like 32 people at $20,000 each. That's right, TWENTY THOUSAND EACH! Do the math on that one -- we're talking $640,000 here. I'll let Appleman tell the story from here:

 

"I bet 32 people $20,000 each I could shoot 99 or better at La Costa. I rushed to the course, anxious to get started, but after a major controversy on the first hole, I proceeded to shoot a terrible score on the front nine. By the 18^th hole, I needed a par-5 to tie. After rifling through my entire bag for just the right club, I miraculously holed out a 49-yard shot for a birdie-4."

Talk about a helluva' shot and a heckuva' payday!

I'll be back tomorrow with a new gambling question. Keep the questions coming….I'll get to each one of them as time permits.