Darts legend Eric Bristow splurged over £1million of his prize money and had no regrets. Bristow was the archetypal player of the 1980s darts scene, living life at a pace few players today could even comprehend.
He drank, smoked, romanced and partied his way through the late-70s and 80s, while taking darts by storm. The maverick claimed five BDO World Championships and five World Masters before retiring from competitive darts in 2007. Sadly, Bristow died at the mere age of 60 on April 5, 2018, from a heart attack while attending a Premier League Darts evening in Liverpool. His whirlwind life followed a personal code of enjoying his money rather than saving it, having grown up around many people who saved for a rainy day, only to pass away prematurely.
Revealing what he enjoyed spending money on, Bristow once told The Telegraph: “I won more than a million pounds in prize money and blew the lot. My philosophy is you’ve got to enjoy life while you can.
“There’s not much point being the richest man in the graveyard. So long as you’ve got enough money to get by, why not spend the rest? Yes, I’ve blown a million, which was an awful lot back in the eighties, but I’ve still got a few quid. When it comes to spending I don’t splash out on fancy cars.
“I never have. I’m not a car man. What I like are holidays. I take three or four a year, with my favourite destinations being Tenerife and Las Vegas, which I’ve visited more than 50 times. Sometimes I’ll go for a month.
“Vegas is the gambling capital of America, of course, although I’m mainly a people watcher. You can sit at the bar and watch the world go by. It’s a fantastic place, but I must admit I do enjoy a bit of a flutter and will play the tables.
“My biggest loss over there was a couple of thousand dollars, but I’ve always been lucky and have won 17 grand on a machine and 12 grand playing craps. I even won 11 grand playing a bingo game while sitting at a bar with mates.”
The Crafty Cockney grew up in Stoke Newington as an only child to a plasterer and a telephonist in a working-class family. He claimed his upbringing made him streetwise before his natural talent at the oche saw him join a local darts team aged 14.
The last time he won the World Championship in 1986, the prize was around £20,000, a meagre sum compared to what the likes of Luke Littler earn today. The most he ever won was £42,000 in Japan in 1988.
Despite ‘blowing’ over a million, Bristow still made sure he had the basics covered. He said: “You can’t go wrong with bricks and mortar, not that I own lots of property. I live in a modest two-bedroom detached house in Leek, which cost around £130,000.
“It’s all paid for and hopefully worth lots more now. I’ve had my days of big houses with three quarters of an acre where it takes six hours to mow the lawn.
“When my parents split up around 25 years ago, I bought my mum a little one-bedroom flat in Walthamstow, London, for £22,000. She sold it eight years ago for £130,000 and moved up to my neck of the woods. That was certainly a good buy because from the proceeds of the sale she was able to buy a brand new house, and furnish it as well.”
He added: “I don’t bother much [with investing] now. I earn and then go out and spend. I earn more money now, thanks to personal appearances and my Sky and Harrows contracts. I still love what I do and am appearing in the forthcoming Bullseye tour, which will be a real laugh.”
