Professional Sports Bettor Billy Walters Auctions Off Sprawling Estate
One of the world’s most famous sports bettors, Billy Walters, is auctioning off his 21,000 square-foot home in Rancho Santa Fe, California next month without a reserve price.
The home, located at 5425 Los Mirlitos, features seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, three half bathrooms, a tennis court, putting green and, of course, a swimming pool. It had previously been listed at just shy of $20 million.
Walters said he and his wife Susan had plans to make this home, called El Milagro, their main property before making a decision to live closer to the coast.
"I've staked my livelihood on making risky bets. The safest bet I ever made, though, was on El Milagro," said Walters. "When you have a timelessly gorgeous Spanish-Mediterranean estate set just minutes away from one of the best golf courses, one of the best schools, and one of the best race tracks in the entire world, you just can't lose. I never thought I'd say this, but with El Milagro, 'the house always wins.'"
Walters recently found himself at the center of an insider trading investigation involving golf pro Phil Mickelson and corporate investor Carl Icahn.
Federal investigators are looking into whether Mickelson and Walters may have traded illegally on private information provided by Icahn about his investments in public corporations. Walters has denied any wrongdoing.
The property auction will be live at the property 6 p.m. Aug. 15, with previews daily from 1 to 4 p.m. and by appointment. For more information call (212) 257-5067.
- Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com
