Schlichter
of dollars from his victims in September 2011. In that scheme, he promised college and NFL game tickets to buyers, but never delivered the tickets despite being paid for them. He was sentenced and released on bond
Four months later, in January 2012, Schlichter’s bond was revoked due to drug use. In May 2012, Schlichter was sentenced to nearly 11 years in the Federal Correctional Institute in Florence, Colorado, and 10 years in an Ohio penitentiary. The two sentences were to be served concurrently, and with good behavior Schlichter was to be released Aug. 18, 2020.
But from inside the walls of prison, just months before his scheduled release last year, Schlichter was having women outside the prison place bets for him, O’brien said.
He was also betting with other inmates, O’brien said. Prison officials found out through e-mails and phone calls that Schlichter was gambling from inside. He was banned from email for 90 days due to his gambling, according to prison records.
As he was set to finish serving his 11 year-sentence in federal prison in August 2020 (which he completed in just more than eight years), Palmer filed a motion that Schlichter’s remaining state time — about nine months — should be waived.
Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Chris Brown said in August 2020 that Schlichter had not earned his freedom and would need to serve his remaining sentence.
By the time Schlichter was in high school, he was a regular gambler, according to his book “Busted: The Rise and Fall of Art Schlichter,” which he published while out of prison in 2009.
He would go to Scioto Downs. Mostly, he placed small bets, a few bucks. But his senior year he took $20 and bet on a long shot and won. The payout was $150.
Once he was at Ohio State in 1978, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound starting quarterback for Woody Hayes, Schlichter’s visits to Scioto grew more frequent, he says in his book. Each race that ran, he bet more. Soon he was wagering $30 a race.
He switched from horses to games when he was a junior at Ohio State. He began wagering on college basketball. He liked it because he didn’t have to go to the track, he says in the book. He could make a phone call.
By that spring, according to his book, he was thousands of dollars in debt. From there, Schlichter’s gambling addiction spiraled out of control.
In April 1982, Schlichter was picked fourth overall in the NFL draft by the Baltimore Colts.
From January to March of 1983, Schlichter reportedly lost $389,000 to Baltimore-area bookies. In May, it was reported that the FBI had launched an investigation into Schlichter’s gambling at Ohio State.
Weeks later, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle suspended Schlichter from the league indefinitely.
Ultimately, after Schlichter agreed to go to treatment and more details emerged, Rozelle suspended Schlichter for 13 months. He was reinstated in June 1984 and returned to the Colts active roster. The following season, the Colts waived him after five games and in 1986 he joined the Buffalo Bills as a free agent.