More than most any main stream sport, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has aligned itself with gambling. The betting odds are prominently displayed on the official graphics, and it wouldn’t be a night of UFC fights without Jon Anik sneaking in mentions of prop bets, parlays, or huge gambles.
Fighters are even allowed to bet on themselves … with occasionally disastrous results.
There are a number of reasons for this dynamic. For one, UFC has long called Las Vegas, Nevada its home, and “Sin City” is the premier gambling destination in the United States. It also probably helps that UFC started off as such a fringe product struggling for recognition and acceptance that gambling was never much of a concern for its critics.
Then, there’s UFC President Dana White.
White is a self-described degenerate gambler, plenty willing to skip a night of fights for an evening at Caesar’s Palace. He’s thrown around at least seven-figures previously betting on fights too, but card games are well-known as White’s preferred way to gamble. During an appearance on The Action Junkeez Podcast, White revealed an item on his bucket list: $1 million hands of black jack!
Dana White’s goal is to bet a $1M blackjack hand.pic.twitter.com/mC7k7wwPUr
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) September 24, 2022
“I’m going to war with Caesar’s Palace,” White said (via SportsKeeda). “I’m going to war! I’d bet a million dollars a hand if they’d let me. [Really?] 100%. That’s my goal before I die. I’m [going to play] a million-dollar hand before I f—king die.”
Longterm fight fans may remember when White pulled all future UFC events from The Palms Resort in Las Vegas after the casino limited his credit line. Safe to say, White is accustomed to throwing around big money, so a few $1 million hands doesn’t sound terribly out of character.
Oh, and if you aren’t a fan of White throwing his money around at the tables or to the Nelk Boys, remember to “mind your own f—king business.”