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Dan Dakich has side gig as delivery boy to 'punish' himself for losing big in sports gambling

If you live in the Indianapolis area, it's possible that controversial ESPN radio host Dan Dakich has delivered your Grubhub or DoorDash order recently.

No, really. Dakich, 58, has taken on a side gig delivering food. In an interview with Barrett Sports Media, he revealed why: he's teaching himself a lesson about the value of a dollar after losing "a lot" of money gambling on NCAA March Madness.

Dakich's wife called him an 'idiot'

Dakich wouldn't say how much money he lost, but it was enough that he felt like he needed to make it up to his family.

“I come from iron and steel workers, teachers, and I lost sight of the value of a dollar,” Dakich said to Barrett Sports Media. “I woke up at 5:30 in the morning and I told my wife I had to make it up. Seriously, I went to the hardware store about a mile from my house and applied for a job, because I wanted to make the money back. I owe my family and I lost the value of a dollar.”

His family — or his wife, at least — thinks he may be taking it too far. But Dakich is standing firm: he's preached the value of a dollar, so he's going to relearn exactly what that means.

“They said Dan is this real?” Dakich said. “I go, yeah. Then my stepson is doing Grubhub and I found out I could make around $25 an hour. He told me to do GrubHub or DoorDash so I started doing it. I had to punish myself, you don’t just piss money away. My wife called me an idiot and said I didn’t have to do it but I wanted to because I’ve preached the value of a dollar to so many people.”

Dakich loves delivering to listeners

Dakich said that he started out dreading his deliveries, but now he enjoys it so much that he's doing it up to five times a week. It probably helps that his listeners can have amazing reactions to having their food delivered by a famous local radio host.

“One Saturday I played golf on the other side of town and said, you know what, I’m going to DoorDash my way home,” Dakich said. “I went and picked up Buffalo Wild Wings. I pull up in this neighborhood and there’s three guys in their 30s, they have kids in this young family neighborhood. They’re drinking, they’re having a blast, they’ve got no shirts on and they’re riding Big Wheels down their driveway. So I pull up with a bag of food from Buffalo Wild Wings and they’re like, ‘Hey Dan! We listen every day!’ I handed them the food and they said, ‘No s***, you’re actually doing this?’ I said, yeah, I have to teach myself the value of a dollar. One of the guys whipped out 100 dollars and said, Dan, that’s good stuff, I’m all in on that and gave it to me as a tip.”

The money he lost will be made up soon, but Dakich said that he's had so much fun that he has no plans to stop working a side gig.

“Well damn I’ll tell you … I’ve learned the value of a f***ing dollar,” laughed Dakich. “I think I’m going to do it. There’s so many jobs open. I only work for three hours a day and I told my wife I may be a waiter at Sullivan’s, which is a steak restaurant nearby. It’s been fun for me. I think I’ll continue it though.”

CHAMPAIGN, IL - FEBRUARY 05: ESPN broadcaster Dan Dakich is seen during the Illinois Fighting Illini and Michigan State Spartans game at State Farm Center on February 5, 2019 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
After losing big on sports bets, ESPN radio host Dan Dakich has taken on a side gig to make up the money. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) (Michael Hickey via Getty Images)

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