WHITE NOISE
UFC chief Dana White says he is a ‘degenerate gambler’ and admits losing staggering $1million boxing bet
DANA WHITE said he is a 'degenerate gambler' and admitted to losing a staggering $1million boxing bet once.
The UFC boss is a notorious blackjack player but opened up on his love for betting on sports.
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Things did not go so well for him in 2007, though, when he lost $1m after Jermain Taylor was knocked out by Kelly Pavlik.
White told : “Oh my god. What was the kid’s name? Jermain Taylor.
"And who did he fight? I know this for the ass-whooping I took. He fought the tall, lanky, white kid from Ohio, Kelly Pavlik.
"I bet $1million on Taylor and he got destroyed.
"It was the first time I ever bet $1 million dollars because I was so confident Taylor was going to win that fight."
White grew up in Boston but in the early 90s he left for Las Vegas after a run-in with crime boss Whitey Bulger.
Living in Sin City, where he later became UFC president, was how his love for betting started.
White said: “I’d say it’s about time. I like it. It’s obviously a thing people love to do.
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"It makes whatever you’re watching a lot more fun, a lot more interesting, so I’ve always been for it. But I’m from Vegas.
“I play table games too much. I’m a degenerate if you’re not getting it. I’m a degenerate, yes. I love to gamble."
Astonishingly, White has been banned from the Palms Casino Resort TWICE due to the success of his blackjack playing.
The first occasion in 2012, saw White retaliate by refusing to put on UFC events at the casino, where The Ultimate Fighter bouts had been staged.
But under new owners, the promoter was invited back in 2014.
It did not lost long, however, as between March 1 and May 21, White claimed to have won $2MILLION.
He found himself again barred from betting there, but this time he was awarded a BELT for being the 'undisputed blackjack champion'.
His childhood friends Frank and Lorenzo Feritta bought the UFC in 2001, and White was immediately named the promotion's president.
The Feritta brothers sold the UFC for $4.4BILLION to entertainment company WME-IMG in 2016.
White, who stayed on as president, is said to have pocketed $360m after the sale due to his shares in the company, according to .
The promoter, who has an estimated net worth of $500m, denied in a 2014 interview that he had a gambling problem.
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He said: “Has it affected my personal life? Has it affected my professional life? Have I lost all my money?
"There’s nothing negative about what I’ve been doing lately.”
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