"Someone owed Manny Machado $900,000" - When Jackson Holliday surprised golf content creators with Blackjack story

Jackson Holliday is one of the most promising young players in the big leagues. So far this season, he has batted .259 with 12 home runs and 38 RBIs for the Baltimore Orioles.

Although baseball is the priority for Holliday, plenty of big leaguers are known to indulge in card games, such as Blackjack, during the extensive travel schedule that teams have to follow. In November of 2024, Holliday claimed that one of the San Diego Padres players owed Manny Machado $900,000, courtesy of Blackjack.

The addictive nature of the card game, combined with the kind of eye-watering amounts most big leaguers make every season, often leads to some shocking sums being bet.

Jackson Holliday offered context for just how high these figures can go when he was interviewed by "BustaJack Golf" last November. The Austin, Texas, native told popular golf content creators Mason Nutt and Cole Lantz about Machado apparently being owed $900,000 by one of his Padres teammates.

"I think it was only $4000 (the highest amound I've seen bet on a Blackjack game). In San Diego, I heard someone owed Manny Machado $900,000, because they kept an open tab all year," Jackson Holliday said [55:28]. "I heard that those games are ridiculous. They play Blackjack with one deck. Guys bet a ridiculous amount," Holliday added.

---

When Jackson Holliday said Bourré is his favorite card game

In the same conversation with Mason Nutt and Cole Lantz, Jackson Holliday revealed that Bourré is his favorite card game. He went on to briefly explain the concept of the game.

"I play Bourré a lot. Bourré can get pretty expensive. It's like spades, if you get boo-ed, so if you don't win like a buck, you have to match the pot." Holliday said [55:11].

MLB: JUL 12 Marlins at Orioles - Source: Getty

Stateside, Bourré is extremely popular in the Acadiana region of Louisiana. It is also played halfway across the world in the Greek island of Psara, where it is known as "Boureki".

Like Blackjack, Bourré is also a 'gambling game.' Thus, many find it exciting and at the same time, addictive.

Edited by Parag Jain