James Adducci said he had never placed a sports wager in his life when he felt compelled to travel from his Wisconsin home to Las Vegas to plunk down $85,000 on Tiger Woods to win the 2019 Masters.
Adducci procured 14-to-1 odds, meaning when Woods won his fifth green jacket, William Hill sportsbook was to pay him $1.19 million on top of his original $85,000 wager.
Speaking to Golf Digest, Adducci said he had recent been in $25,000 debt and that used money from a "business account comprised of some failed stock money," to have his cash for the wager placed in the William Hill sportsbook at the SLS Las Vegas Hotel. He told other outlets he sold stock in Amazon to cover the cost of the wager.
Recalling how he watched Woods win, Adducci said he was watching the final round of the Masters unfold on a "23-inch television" at his parents' home, keeping his wife abreast of the action as his family does not have cable at home. (This despite the final round of the Masters airing on terrestrial TV on CBS.)
Adducci told Digest his wife was supportive of the hunch and added, "She's a keeper." However, Adducci, a 39-year-old self-described "day trader," did not allude to his substantial criminal past, including charges of domestic abuse.
The La Crosse, Wis., native has 17 entries in his Wisconsin circuit court record from 2005 to last May. Many of the charges are related to disorderly conduct, and a variety of court orders that required Adducci to avoid bars and alcohol, as well to not have contact with women involved in these charges.
In 2009, he faced multiple charges of domestic abuse and battery, as well damage to property. He pled guilty to three of those charges, with two others dismissed. Adducci violated his bond by drinking and testing positive for alcohol the following morning.
Over a decade of records, many of the battery and domestic abuse charges relate to the two victims, neither of which we will identify. It's unclear if Adducci is presently or was once married to either or both women, or at all.
He has been accused of bond jumping multiple times, as well charges related to a 2015 traffic stop that included operating a vehicle while intoxicated. He was then caught operating a vehicle with a revoked license, though that charge was dismissed.
In sum, Adducci has pleaded guilty to a dozen charges dating back to 2005.
Addresses listed for Adducci in Wisconsin court records connect him to a company called Body Genie, which sells a fitness and health supplement called Protein Serum. In a note announcing a product launch, he is listed as the company's president and CEO. He is the applicant for a now-abandoned patent application for Body Genie. The business remains active.
When asked what he would do with the money, he told Digest he would pay off most of his debts and was looking at new garage doors with his wife.
"I'm a responsible guy," Adducci told Digest. "My background is finance. I'm going to invest most of it. And we're going to grow it."
