Barkley Ponies Up; Swears Off Gambling

It appears that gambling everyman Charles Barkley has finally paid off that pesky $400K gambling debt to the Wynn casino in Las Vegas and, what's more, he has apparently sworn off gambling:

“Just because I can afford to lose money don’t mean I should do it,” Barkley, a TNT analyst, said during an interview on the cable network before Game 7 of the Spurs-Hornets series.

Of course, it wasn't for sure that Barkley had even paid the debt:

Soon after Barkley made his remarks, press officers for the Clark County district attorney in Nevada and the casino could not verify that he had paid the debt or, possibly, a 10 percent penalty.

I'm pretty sure that Barkley's paid the debt, but I've got to say that it wouldn't shock me all that much if he hadn't and was just saying that he had. After all, this is the same Barkley who claimed last week that he had forgotten about the $400K debt.

I don't know about this one. If Barkley has the money and enjoys spending it by gambling it away, what's the harm? It's like a guy who saves his money and buys monkey figurines off of eBay or the woman who risks her life to save cats--if you've got the time and money and are paying your bills, there's no harm in what you do with your cash. It's your money, right? It sounds to me as if Barkley doesn't have the money to be gambling like he does and is just trying to save face.

Plus, who honestly believes that Barkley is going to quit gambling? Anyone?

NY Times: Barkley Swears Off Gambling