After the $8,000 loss on the Jones-Pazienza fight on June 25, 1995, I was in a funk for days. What had started out with game plan, now in my mind became a quest to get my lost money back. In that sense, I became a degenerate gambler, not the wise person I started out in March as.
I noticed on the sportsbooks at Caesar’s Palace when I was there for the Bowe bout, that a 1988 Olympian named Eddie Hopson was fighting Tracy Harris Patterson on Sunday July 9. Hopson was listed at about a 2-1 favorite over Patterson, and I started to make foolish plans to go back out to Vegas that weekend to try and get my money back.
After checking into Bally’s Hotel that Saturday, I immediately went to Caesar’s to put $10,000 Hopson for a straight win, which would net me $5,000. While there, I noticed there was a fight card at the Sports Pavilion at Caesar’s, so I bought myself a ticket. The main bouts featured Louis Espinosa vs. Jorge Monzon, and Jorge Paez vs. Jose Vida Ramos. I saw this as an unexpected opportunity to make some cash on big favorites quickly, so I headed to the sportsbook. I dropped $15,000 on Louie for a straight win, which would net me about $4,000. I also put another grand on Paez to win, and took my seat the at the Pavilion.
It was a thrill when Espinosa scored a first round knockout, and I had a quick $4,000 in my pocket. Paez was winning his fight easily, but hit his opponent while he was down in the fifth, and lost by disqualification. There went an easy grand out my pocket, but at least I left 3 grand ahead.
I called my brother when I got back to my hotel room, and told him I had won an unexpected $3,000, and he was happy for me. When I woke on Sunday, I wasn’t confident in my Hopson bet. In fact I was so sick in my stomach, I was going to drop $15,000 on Pete Sampras over Boris Becker at Wimbledon in tennis, which would have gotten my 10 grand back. When I left my hotel and walked into the blast furnace of an 115 degree Vegas afternoon, I had a fit of literal insanity.
When I got to Caesar’s, for a reason I can’t explain to this day, I put another 15 grand on Hopson to win. As soon as I placed my wager, I KNEW I was going to lose, and it’s almost as if I gave up and said “Here. Take my money.” It’s the stupidest financial decision of my entire life, and 30 years later, I still can’t explain why I did it.
I never even went to my hotel room to watch the bout from Reno on ABC sports, but instead wandered Bally’s as if going to my own funeral. Finally I called my brother on the phone, and as soon as he said “Ken….” in a somber tone, I knew what had happened. He said Hopson got dropped 4 times in the second round, and was counted out by Mills Lane. Immediately I almost vomited, and after talking to my sympathetic brother for another 5 minutes, wandered the casino aimlessly. I felt like an idiot out of his mind, and couldn’t rationalize how my plans started in March had wound up like this.
It was a long Sunday in Vegas, especially since my fight home wasn’t until the next day. As I write about it 30 years later, it still stings, and I’m still without words as to why I did it. When I arrived home in Jersey, I was mildly depressed, barely wanted to do my lawn service, and muddled through a long hot summer. As July turned to August, and knowing Mike Tyson was coming back, new plans eventually started to come to mind, sparking new hopes in mind.
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