A former teammate of AC Milan manager Max Allegri has revealed how the veteran soccer coach strikes it big in casinos.
Speaking on the DoppioPasso podcast, Gianluca Atzori told a story of a time he went gambling with the former Juventus manager.
Atzori and Allegri were teammates at Perugia in the 1990s when the club gained promotion from Serie B. Players would go gambling to celebrate victories.
“We went to play in Venice, and Allegri told us that if we won, we’d go to the casino, so he asked us to bring our suits along too. He said this to me and (Federico) Giunti,” recalled Atzori.
Perugia won the match, prompting the players to hit the tables.
Allegri Treats Croupiers Well
Atzori added, “We each put in 500,000 lire (around $350) and gave it to Allegri; he liked the casino and knew his way around it.”
“I’d never been inside a casino before. There was this table with the croupier spinning the ball, and Allegri placed his bet. The ball landed on that number, and I remember Max getting as excited as a two-year-old, and we won 36 times our stake.”
“He placed another bet and doubled the stake. We went from 3.6 million to 7 million; we won 10 million (around $7,000) in two bets, and he gave the croupier a 2 million ($1,400) tip.”
Playing a game of chance like roulette, players need all the help they can get. Some have devised strategies, including James Bond, who favors covering a large area of the table with his bets.
Atzori was not happy with Allegri’s generosity, but it was part of his strategy to earn the croupier’s favor.
“When I saw him, I grabbed him by the chest and said: ‘Oh, my money’s in there too – 2 million – you’re mad.’ But I hadn’t realised that if you give the croupier a good tip, he’d try, for better or worse, to send the ball to where your numbers were because he knew he’d get a good tip. In the end, we won quite a bit of money.”
Past Gambling Controversy
As Atzori said, Allegri is known to like to gamble, but this has caused trouble for the former player and manager in the past.
In 2000, he was suspended for alleged match-fixing while playing for Pistoiese. The charges were eventually overturned following an appeal.
More recently, in 2021, he was under investigation for using a Malta-based gambling company to facilitate money laundering, with alleged links to the mafia gang ‘Ndrangheta.
He allegedly spent more than $400,000 in two foreign casinos. These transactions were described by regulators as “suspicious,” prompting further investigations. He has not faced any legal ramifications in the case.
The 58-year-old is now in his second stint as AC Milan manager, having rejoined the club last year. He previously led Juventus to five consecutive league titles from 2014 to 2019.
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A former teammate of AC Milan manager Max Allegri has revealed how the veteran soccer coach strikes it big in casinos. Speaking on the DoppioPasso podcast, Gianluca Atzori told a story of a time he went gambling with the former Juventus manager. Atzori and Allegri were teammates at Perugia in the 1990s when the club gained promotion
The post Wheel of Fortune: AC Milan Manager Max Allegri Tips Big to Win Big at Casinos appeared first on CasinoBeats.