In between playing road games against the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers in his last season, Michael Jordan stopped by the Trump Casino to gamble.
That's at least according to a check that will go up for auction on Monday. The check made out to Trump Casino Indiana in Gary, Ind., and signed by Jordan is for $15,000 and matches up with the dates in the Chicago Bulls 1997-98 schedule.
It is being auctioned off by Goldin Auctions, whose auction filled with Jordan memorabilia closes this Saturday. The check was obtained by the consignor through an executive who worked at the casino.
This is the first check related to Jordan's gambling that has reached the public. ESPN's "The Last Dance" documentary showed the $57,000 check Jordan cut to a man named James "Slim" Bouler for gambling losses from one weekend in October 1991. That check became possession of the government after Bouler, who hustled Jordan at golf and lent him some money to play poker in Hilton Head, S.C., was convicted of money laundering in 1992. Bouler never saw the money.
[The Man, the Myth, the Gambler: A Collection of Michael Jordan Betting Stories]
It was in last Sunday's episode of "The Last Dance" that the show addressed Jordan's so-called gambling problem.
Jordan said that he liked gambling and the NBA was paying attention to the connection, but the late NBA commissioner David Stern said "it never reached epic crisis levels in my view."
"I have a competition problem," Jordan responded.
Auctioneer Ken Goldin said that the fact that the check is made out to TRUMP INDIANA, INC. provides added value, as does the fact that Jordan's casino visit happened when he was still active.
Given how much Jordan memorabilia has sky-rocketed during the documentary, the check is expected to garner a five-figure price tag, and whoever buys it very well could shell out more than the $15,000 Jordan paid Trump's casino.
