NBA legend Charles Barkley has again made people laugh with his wit telling everyone about his odd and unexpected ideas for where he wants to be laid to rest. While talking to Arizona Sports, the 61-year-old basketball star said he wants his ashes split up and put in three key spots: Alabama, Phoenix, and a casino in Las Vegas.
Charles Barkley Calls Phoenix His “Final Stop,” Shows Deep Connection
Barkley, who has lived in Phoenix since his time with the Suns, called the city his “final stop.” He showed a strong love for Phoenix, a place where he not only had some of his best basketball moments but also built lasting relationships with people in the area.
“I’m never leaving Phoenix alive,” Barkley quipped highlighting how much he cares about the place where he played at the height of his career, including when he led the Suns to the 1993 NBA Finals. This bond with Phoenix seems to have strengthened his wish to stay there even after he has gone.
Alabama where Barkley was born and spent his early years, is just as important to him. He often backed his home state and changed his will to set up a $5 million scholarship fund for Black students at Auburn University where he went to college. He has said many times that he wants to help young people from Alabama go to college. His choice to leave some of his ashes there shows once more how much he cares about where he came from.
Charles Barkley Honors Vegas Ties in Unique Funeral Request
However, Barkley’s funeral plans took a surprising turn with his desire to put some of his ashes in a Las Vegas casino. People know about Barkley’s gambling history, and he has talked about his wins and big losses over time. In 2007, Barkley said he had lost about $10 million in total from gambling, including one night when he lost $2.5 million playing blackjack. While he often jokes about his gambling habits, he has admitted in the past that it is “a bad habit,” but one he finds hard to stop.
In a biography by Timothy Bella, Barkley shared that his family depended on bootlegging and running a secret casino to pay the bills when he was growing up in Leeds, Alabama. Despite this unusual upbringing, Barkley climbed to NBA fame achieving financial success and becoming marketable far beyond the struggles of his early years.
Barkley’s ties to Las Vegas casinos gained more attention after a fight with Wynn Las Vegas over a $400,000 debt, which he paid back in the end. Now though, he sees these gambling moments as a sign of his bold nature instead of something to feel bad about, and his wish to have his ashes spread in a casino shows this part of his life even more.
