The Gambler’s House

Written by Jim the Realtor

April 15, 2011

From the wsj.com:

As a professional gambler, Billy Walters built his fortune winning at a game few have mastered: the high-stakes, high-risk world of multimillion-dollar sports betting. In a good year, he can rake in as much as $15 million from gambling, and he claims he’s never had a losing year.

But when it comes to residential real estate, Mr. Walters, 64, claimed his track record has been far less lucrative. “We’ve lost money on every home we’ve bought and sold here,” he said. “It’s not what I do for a living. If it was, I’d be in trouble.”

He said that he’s likely to continue his losing streak, recently listing his Carlsbad home—one of seven he owns with his wife, Susan—for $29 million, a bit less than he spent assembling it. Situated on a quiet surfing beach, it’s one of eight homes the couple has owned in the area over the years. The couple said they’re selling partly because Susan, who oversees interior design for all their homes, is ready for a new project.

The Walterses’ five-bedroom, nine-bathroom home is currently the priciest home on the market in this sleepy, oceanfront town about a half hour north of San Diego. Brian Guiltinan, a local broker, said that while high-end sales have improved dramatically in the past few months, only six homes have ever sold in San Diego County for more than $20 million. But Mr. Walters’s home “is really unique in the area, which makes it tough to put a price tag on.” (Listing agent Doug Harwood said the home is priced to sell.)

Built mostly of Senora gold limestone, the 10,000-square-foot home sits on an acre and a half, its gated entry separating it from the beach traffic outside. With its large windows overlooking the ocean, curved palm trees lining the back patio, lush landscaping and lava rock fire pits, it has an ocean-themed, slightly Hawaiian vibe.

The interior is contemporary with lots of custom finishes, from antique Douglas fir beam vaulted ceilings to hand-blown glass sculptures. Couches, chairs and pillows in creams, beiges and sea foam colors fill the two-story living room.

There are many of the trappings found in modern trophy homes: a movie theater, an 1,800-square-foot guesthouse and a television that rises from the foot of a bed. But some details are unique, like the poker room with a large marble bar. And like all of the couple’s homes, it has two master suites. The Walterses, who have been married almost 35 years, said they started the arrangement when Mr. Walters was playing professional poker and coming and going at odd hours. “It’s one reason our marriage works so well,” he said.

The office is where the couple spend the majority of their time. Mr. Walters and his wife have adjacent desks facing an 85-inch television mounted above a built-in Brazilian-walnut-driftwood wall panel. It’s also home to what Mr. Walters calls his mascot—a sculpture of a football referee. “It reminds me that the most important thing in our life is to have fun and keep things light,” he said.

Mr. Walters was born in the tiny town of Munfordville, Ky., and raised in a home with no indoor plumbing. His father and uncle were poker players, which he said helped fuel his passion for gambling, which is he calls “a way of life.” In the early 1980s Mr. Walters moved to Las Vegas to play poker full-time; he said he eventually tired of the game and moved on to sports betting.

Mr. Walters, now one of the world’s highest-earning sports bettors, often places wagers with Las Vegas casinos through anonymous partnerships. To make decisions, he uses research from various analysts he contracts, from mathematicians to experts in sports minutiae. “Betting on a ball game is identical to betting on Wall Street,” said Mr. Walters.

His career rise hasn’t come without some controversy. Mr. Walters has been indicted four times over the years on money laundering and illegal bookmaking charges. Each time, he has either been acquitted or had the charges dismissed without a trial.

He currently owns eight car dealerships and a Las Vegas-based recreational property company that owns and operates golf courses, shopping centers and commercial properties. (Gambling now accounts for about 20% of his total earnings, he said.)

In 2002, Mr. Walters and his wife purchased two adjacent beachfront lots with a private entrance to Terramar Beach for about $5.8 million. The home’s location, an eight-minute drive from a private airport, was a big selling point, as Mr. Walters can hop on his Gulfstream 200 jet and make it here in 75 minutes, door-to-door, from his Las Vegas office.

Mr. Walters said the couple then spent three years and more than $25 million tearing down an existing house and rebuilding. Mrs. Walters, who worked with a local design firm and an architect, said her goal was for the house to “blend in with the landscape around it.” His wife, joked Mr. Walters, has “exceeded every budget we’ve set for her.”

Last week, the couple completed a new home in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. They also own homes in Las Vegas, the Bahamas and two in Palm Desert, Calif. The seventh is under construction in Rancho Santa Fe, a short drive inland from Carlsbad.

Mr. Walters said making money off his houses isn’t his goal—he just likes living in them and his wife likes designing them. “It works for us,” he said. “And, honestly, every six or seven years I’m ready to move into a new house anyway.”

http://www.sdlookup.com/MLS-100049355-5305_Carlsbad_Blvd_Carlsbad_CA_92008

13 Comments

  1. shadash

    “Running a casino is like robbing a bank with no cops around. For guys like me, Las Vegas washes away your sins. It’s like a morality car wash.” Heat (1995)

    A good gambler is a good gambler simple as that. But with the numbers this guy is talking I’d put odds that he’s connected in one way or another.

  2. Kardashianians

    It makes you wonder how many of those living in the multi-million dollar mansions along the San Diego coastline have a background similar to Mr. Walters. An engineer’s salary ain’t gonna to cut it. That’s it. Vegas here I come.

    Bankers Gamblers same no difference.

  3. GameAgent

    That’s a Mercedes McLaren in the garage. The base price for one of those is about $500k.

  4. College Joe

    GameAgent, the car is actually a Mercedes SLS & you can buy one for $183,000.

    The house is a stunner, especially the landscaping and the entry. I say it sells for $15,000,000

    I want to see their RSF house.

  5. Mozart

    OK- different topic; New Construction.

    Last night the Planning Commission in Encinitas reviewed the following for Shea Homes;

    72 lot new subdivision on Saxony Road.

    69 lot new subdivision on Coral Cove Way.

    9 lot new subdivision on Andrew Avenue.

    Looks like the big boys are back in San Diego County. How will this impact the local market and why are they jumping in now?

  6. College Joe

    69 homes?! That’s awful.

    Our house is right off Ashbury and I’m glad they’re putting up a huge wall blocking off access traffic from that development.

    That’s really a shame when developers do that. Make the lots a little bigger….please.

  7. Daniel(theotherone)

    How did this guy get it past the Coastal Commission?

  8. LM

    60 mins did a piece on this guy a couple months back. He was/is very low profile but he was so pissed at the scam that wallstreet is he wanted to go on 60 mins and tell his story and point out what a scam wallstreet is (i.e. he was suckered)

    As expected from mainstream media they only let him talk about the scam of wallstreet (literally) in the last 15 seconds of teh interview.

    But watch the youtube clip of the interview…it is crazy how he places his bets etc.

    And it is sports betting…not really gambling.

  9. Anonymous

    shadash | April 15th, 2011 at 9:44 am

    1.“Running a casino is like robbing a bank with no cops around. For guys like me, Las Vegas washes away your sins. It’s like a morality car wash.” Heat (1995)

    Wrong.

    Movie: Casino.

  10. Gav

    I always like the guy or whoever was in the house. There was a powerful spotlight that was turned on if the surf was good and the sun had gone down. Giving the working stiffs an hour or two of water time.

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