Wayne Rooney?s Gambling Problems

Former Manchester United striker, Wayne Rooney had a gambling spree earlier this year and he managed to lose more than half a million pounds on roulette and blackjack in under two hours of gambling. This is clearly not the first case of a football player or athlete that develops a gambling problem, however, the amount lost by Rooney in such a short time definitely makes the situation stand out.

50000 pounds in two hours

According to eye-witnesses, Rooney came to the 235 Casino in Manchester shortly after midnight and, in under two hours of intense gambling, he managed to lose over a half million pounds on blackjack and roulette. The former star of Manchester United was spotted drinking beer as he kept on playing, hoping to win everything back and make a profit. As he switches between the roulette and blackjack table, things went from bad to worse for Rooney and he ended up leaving the casino with a loss of 500000 pounds. The same eye-witnesses claim that he was being reckless and in his own world during his gambling spree and no matter of the advice he was getting from people around him and even the dealer at some point, he kept on playing. Further investigations by UK press revealed that Rooney has a private account with that casino and this just might not be an isolated event.

Frustration for not being able to play?

This incident happened the same night Manchester battled FC Rostov in a match counting for Europa League on the 16 of March. Due to an injury, Wayne was not able to play, and he was forced to watch the game from a box at the Old Trafford. But even though his team won the match, the frustration accumulated over the 90 minutes of play, made him want to do something as reckless as this. At one point, witnesses claim, he was so into the action that he was just throwing down chips that were valued at several thousands of pounds even though he was clearly dealt with a losing hand.

Betting on red

Ironically enough, the ones that were there and saw Rooney blow this small fortune, said that he was continuously betting on red at the roulette. This might sound ironic since he was still playing for the reds at the time, however, when there?s so much money involved, irony doesn?t really find its place. But even tough Wayne seemed to be in his own world there and not minding the thousands of pounds he was just throwing away, he apparently was cursing under his breath and looked rather hopeless towards the end of his gambling spree.

A history with gambling issues

Even though it might not come as a surprise, this is not the first time Wayne Rooney has had an issue with gambling. He even put that down in his autobiography that he lost 50000 pounds right at the beginning of his career with Everton.