Charles Barkley pays gambling debt, but still owes processing fee

Did you see him? Did you see Charles Barkley tell the world Monday night on TNT's Inside the NBA he's not going to gamble again?

At least for a year or two.

Did you think it was an important first step, a man with a gambling problem admitting he has a problem? Think again.

Barkley sounded less contrite and more combative on the phone Tuesday.

"I have to realize people are always out to get me," he said. "I've got to limit the chances they have to get me."

He said he's going to stop gambling for two reasons: "No. 1, to eliminate people talking about my gambling, and No. 2, to not lose money."

Shouldn't he stop because he has a problem?

"I don't think I have a problem," he said.

Losing $400,000 at the Wynn Las Vegas resort last October, and not paying off on time, put Barkley's gambling back in the news. The story broke last Thursday after the casino filed a civil suit against him and the Clark County district attorney threatened to prosecute him.

The timing bothered Barkley, and not because he was here to play in a Regions Charity Classic pro-am. His mother and daughter both celebrated their birthdays that day.

"That was the only thing that bothered me," he said. "It overshadowed everything."

Barkley had another reason to be angry Tuesday.

He said his financial adviser, Glenn Guthrie, sent a certified check to cover the debt and the casino signed for it Tuesday morning.

A resort spokeswoman told The Associated Press the Wynn had not received the check. Guthrie then called the resort. He said he got a call back from the district attorney's office saying Barkley actually owed $440,150, with $40,150 as a processing fee.

The Wynn later said it had received the $400,000 payment. Barkley has agreed to pay the extra fee, but the Wynn's decision to go public with his debt in the first place and the resort's confusion over his actual payment has left a bad taste in his mouth....