Entrepreneurs such as car dealers are inherently gamblers, taking risks that others don't. The National Automobile Dealers Association's annual convention henceforth will be held in Las Vegas every other year for a reason that goes beyond lots of hotel rooms: Dealers are at home in that environment.
None, perhaps, more so than Billy Walters. Walters, who with his partners owns 18 dealerships, has been a gambler and entrepreneur since before he was 10. In 2010, he won $3.5 million betting on the Super Bowl, according to a report on CBS' "60 Minutes."
Today, the man some consider the greatest sports bettor ever faces indictment by the Securities and Exchange Commission for insider trading.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Walters offered insider tips to professional golfer Phil Mickelson, who used the profits from those trades to pay off his gambling debts to Walters.
Since the 1980s, Walters has been indicted four times -- but never convicted -- on charges related to gambling.
In a lengthy interview with Automotive News, Walters declined to discuss the latest indictment and spoke only fleetingly about his gambling past. But in his slow, Southern drawl, showing the occasional flash of subtle humor, the Kentucky native spoke extensively about his history in and plans for auto retailing.
"Whatever success I've had in life I owe to the automobile business," Walters, 69, chairman of the Walters Group in Henderson, Nev., said. "It was my MBA. It was my college."
His dealerships sell about 28,800 new and used vehicles a year. To grow that number, he says he hopes to expand by buying more stores, especially in the Southeast.