"I'd lose $500 or $1,000 every time": When Kyle Larson made an honest admission about breaking his gambling habit for a better lifestyle

NASCAR driver Kyle Larson sat with The Athletic for an interview where the publication asked the 32-year-old 12 questions. In the interview uploaded in September 2021, the Hendrick Motorsports driver admitted about his gambling habit, how he would go on a streak of losing money, and how he overcame the habit.

The interviewer asked Kyle Larson whether he's made any new habits, or changes to his lifestyle that he's proud of. Larson mentioned how he gave up gambling and enjoyed the other attractions around Vegas. He said (via The Athletic):

“It’s not lately, but this was about three years ago. In Vegas, I used to go there and sit at a table for a few hours and gamble and I would lose like $500 or $1,000 every time and do that for hours. So now I don’t gamble and I love it. I enjoy Vegas a lot now — going to shows or just walking down the Strip and stuff like that. So I would say not gambling at all has been a lot of fun.”

Explaining how he'd focus on other things in the limited time available, Kyle Larson added:

“It’s now you’ve got a few more hours to do other stuff. Just exploring and enjoying different parts of the city. And it’s not just Vegas, but like even going to Kansas. We have a casino there and I’d sit there till midnight or something and lose money. But now I can go to Lakeside Speedway or go across the street to the movie theater and stuff like that, when before I would be sitting at a table.”

Kyle Larson during the NASCAR Cup Series Championship - Source: Imagn

Kyle Larson co-owns the High Limit Racing series with brother-in-law Brad Sweet. It is a 410-winged sprint car racing series. Earlier in December, it was announced that High Limit Racing will introduce sports betting from the 2025 season. The series signed a partnership with AltSports to increase fan engagement and Brad Sweet subsequently discussed why betting was introduced.

Kyle Larson's brother-in-law explains the reason behind the introduction of betting to High Limit Racing

Brad Sweet with Kyle Larson during practice for the NASCAR Nationwide Series Subway Firecracker 250- Source: Getty

Kyle Larson and Katelyn Sweet got engaged in December of 2017. They got married a year later on September 26, 2018. Katelyn Sweet is the sister of former NASCAR driver Brad Sweet. Larson's brother-in-law appeared in FloRacing’s video on X and discussed the introduction of betting to High Limit Racing. He said:

“We're going to launch a partnership with ALT Sports. So we're going to have sports betting on High Limit races in 2025, and we think that will be a great added aspect for fan engagement and more reason for fans to tune in to what High Limit is doing.” [3:11 onwards]

“You see what's happening across the world with fan engagement. It's super competitive in every outdoor entertainment space and there's a lot of sports betting going on, that's another reason to have the fans tune in,” he added.

Kyle Larson drives the #5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in the Cup Series. He made the move to HMS in 2021 and won his first championship in his debut season with the team.