Spencer Christian - You Bet Your Life: How I Survived Jim Crow Racism, Hurricane Chasing, and Gambling

Advance Praise for You Bet Your Life

The irony of Spencers heart-wrenching yet courageous story is that he had so little to gain, so much to lose. His is a well-written documentary of a life that started from meager beginnings, grew to one of recognition among the elites, and came tumbling down because of the unconscious, insatiable quest for something that was already there, because it must come from within.

L. Douglas Wilder , former governor of Virginia

In Spencer Christians story, you get to know a man as he learns to know himself. And he is someone worth getting to know.

Gil Gross , network radio news commentator
and former news correspondent for the ABC Radio Networks

The soothing voice of Spencer Christian, familiar and cheerfully bidding Good morning, America from our television sets at daybreak, now clearly speaks to us from the pages of his compelling book. With heart and humor he parts the curtain of his life as a beloved TV personality, providing a rare and raw look behind the scenes to witness the addiction that ripped at his family and career.

SQuire Rushnell , former Vice President, Daytime Television, ABC

If you want to know what a moral wakeup call feels like, read this book. Spencer gives us a very transparent self-disclosure about the racial, celebrity, and addiction issues he experienced, and how family, faith, values, and character enabled survival in the darkest times. I know this man to be a man of his word. When he says that he has been there and done that and is now ready to ring some purpose bells, I believe him and support him and hope that many will find courage from his testimony.

Irving R. Stubbs , author and retired Presbyterian minister

Also by Spencer Christian

Spencer Christians Geography Book

Spencer Christians Weather Book

Electing Our Government: Everything You Need
to Know to Make Your Vote Really Count

Can It Really Rain Frogs?
The Worlds Strangest Weather Events

Is There a Dinosaur in Your Backyard?
The Worlds Most Fascinating Fossils,
Rocks, and Minerals

Shake, Rattle, and Roll:
The Worlds Most Amazing Volcanoes,
Earthquakes, and Other Forces

What Makes the Grand Canyon Grand?
The Worlds Most Awe-Inspiring Natural Wonders

A POST HILL PRESS BOOK

You Bet Your Life:

How I Survived Jim Crow Racism, Hurricane Chasing, and Gambling

2018 by Spencer Christian

All Rights Reserved

ISBN: 978-1-68261-639-0

ISBN (eBook): 978-1-68261-640-6

Cover art by Dan Pitts

Cover photo by Tanya Constantine

Interior Design and Composition, Greg Johnson, Textbook Perfect

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author and publisher.

Post Hill Press

New York Nashville

posthillpress.com

Published in the United States of America

Contents

Acknowledgments

S o many people and institutions have played significant roles in shaping my life and career that I could fill the pages of an entire book with their names. In the interest of time and space, I will acknowledge some, without whom this book would not have been possible.

Spencer, Sr., and Lucy Christian for being the worlds greatest parents and the very definition of love.

Lutrell Christian, my little brother and childhood playmate.

Jason Christian and Jessica Christian, my amazing children and the greatest sources of joy in my lifebefore my grandchildren.

Rev. George W. Watkins, Elam Baptist Church, and the amazing teachers at Ruthville School for guidance and direction during my formative years in Charles City County, Virginia.

Hampton University for a rich educational experience.

Doug Hill, news director and mentor at WWBT-TV, who gave me my first job.

Ron Kershaw, news director at WBAL-TV, a brilliant and visionary television executive.

ABC Television, Inc., and ABC News for more than 40 years of continuous employment, and for being supportive during my personal challenges.

Good Morning America executives SQuire Rushnell, George Merlis, Phil Beuth, and Jack Reilly for providing me with such a rich and fulfilling career experience.

KGO-TV for being my current and supportive home in the ABC family.

Ralph Mann, Steve Pinkus, and Cynthia Riley for their friendship and dedicated service as my agents at various times in my career.

Jay Shaw, my longtime friend and business manager.

All of the producers, field producers, writers, editors, camerapersons, technicians, directors, stage managers, maintenance staff, makeup artists, and security guards who have assisted me, encouraged me, and made me look good.

Charlie Gibson and Joan Lunden for friendship, partnership, and an incredible personal and professional journey.

Antonia Felix, my editor and friend, without whose guidance, encouragement, inspiration, and brilliant insight I could not have written this book.

Chapter One

W ho needs drugs when youve got a pair of hot dice in your hands? Not me! On that cool October night in Atlantic City, I was on fire. I had just scorched the craps tables at Caesars and the Showboat for about $10,000 each, and now I was in the middle of a monster roll at the most exclusive joint in town, Trump Plaza. The casino was a dazzling tower of gold, brass, and crystal chandeliers, but at this moment all eyes were on me. I was the shooter, and all the players at this high-stakes table were cheering me on. Everyone in the room felt that they knew me, not just because I was in their homes every morning as the Good Morning America weatherman, but also because I was a familiar face at the casinos. The crowd of onlookers had grown so raucous that the security guards were keeping them a good distance from the table. When my roll finally ended, I received a huge round of applause from the crowd. I tipped the dealers $500 and gave $100 to each of the security guards who escorted me to the cashiers window, where I cashed in another $20,000.

Words cannot describe the excitement I felt at that moment. My hands were planted firmly in my pockets as I walked briskly out of the casino, protecting the $40,000 I had won in just two hours at the craps tables. My heart was pounding as I approached the private elevator, which would take me up to my comped luxury suite, where my wife, Diane, and kids , Jessica and Jason, w ere asleep. Could life be any better? Before my big score in the casinos, I had treated my family to a fabulous dinner at Trump Plazas top gourmet restaurant. The following night, my 12-year-old son, Jason, and I would have ringside VIP seats for Mike Tysons heavyweight title defense against Tyrell Biggs. And in just a few hoursas it was now around 2:00 a.m.I would do my Good Morning America broadcast live in the very ring where the big fight would take place. My interview guests, in order of appearance, would be Donald Trump, whose hotel was hosting the fight; Don King, the flamboyant boxing promoter; Robin Givens, at that time Tysons fiance; and Kevin Rooney, Tysons trainer.

I was absolutely on top of the worldinvincibleor so I thought.

The life I had at that moment was so far removed from the adversity I had faced as a poor, black kid in the rural, segregated South that those early years seemed almost like a distant dreamlike something from another lifetime. I was now on national TV for two hours every weekday morning, soon to be earning a seven-figure salary, and blessed with a lifestyle that exemplified the American Dream. And, oh yes, I was a high roller. This meant that casino-hotels from Las Vegas to Atlantic City to the Caribbean Islands offered me the finest luxury suites, gourmet meals with thousand-dollar bottles of wine, first-class air travel, and on-the-spot limousine serviceall in exchange for a few hours a day of action at their gaming tables, which I was more than willing to provide. I had convinced myself that I was simply enjoying an expensive form of recreation. But I was soon to realize that I was flirting with a dangerous and destructive narcoticone that would eventually wreck my family, my finances, and my future on national television. My experience in Atlantic City on that October weekend in 1987 was an early warning.