The Biggest Game of Chance Success Stories Ever
Many people dream of hitting the jackpot and turning their life around. But unfortunately, for most people, that never becomes a reality. The harsh truth is that most gamblers lose when trying their luck against the house. Otherwise, casino rooms wouldn’t be so huge and glamorous. Whether you are playing in a bitcoin casino online or just spinning the reels on a land-based slot machine, you will always be at a disadvantage.
Nevertheless, every once in a while, there is a big winner, one who actually gets to live the dream of becoming a millionaire overnight. In this article, we will take a look at some of the biggest gambling success stories ever recorded.
Don Johnson
Being a big spender in a casino has its benefits. Not only do you get to enjoy special tables and luxurious suites, but you can also negotiate with the casino about how much you can bet and which rules apply to your wagers. In some cases, casinos will even offer you discounts on large bets.
Don Johnson managed to use this special treatment and amass $15 million in three separate casinos within one week. Naturally, he did his homework first and successfully used math to trick the casinos.
Don managed to ‘break’ the blackjack game by negotiating the rules with the casino, making the game 50/50. However, it was the discount he got on his big wagers that actually put him at an advantage. The end result was Don cashing in a massive $15 million before the casinos caught him and banned him from playing.
Chris Moneymaker
Qualifying for a live poker tournament online is very common today. However, 15 years ago, that was a novelty. The first player to do it was an accountant by the name of Chris Moneymaker. He used the PokerStars website to play a satellite tournament for an entry fee of $86. Not only did he qualify for the main event of the World Series of Poker, but he also won the first place! The main prize for that year’s tournament was a staggering $2.5 million.
Chris continued to play poker successfully, winning other tournaments and millions of dollars. And yes, if you’re wondering, ‘Moneymaker’ is his real name.
Archie Karas
The story of Archie Karas is as much about success as it is about failure. This Greek immigrant came to the US with not a lot of money in his pocket, but by learning how to play poker he quickly realized that he no longer needed to work on a cruise ship — that was his job at the time.
He started his poker career in Los Angeles, managing to win and lose around $2 million in only a couple of years. In 1992, he decided to go to Las Vegas, claiming that he only had $50 at the time. That’s when ‘the run’ happened. In the period between 1992 and 1994, Archie basically couldn’t lose. What’s interesting is that he didn’t only play poker during this time, but also blackjack, craps, and other casino games. In just two years he won over $40 million!
However, being a high roller he is, Archie Karas lost all of his money only a few years later. He was also caught cheating several years ago and got permanently banned from all casinos in Nevada.
Patricia Demauro
The people we mentioned so far can be considered professional gamblers. They used their skills and tricks to become rich and went on to do that for many years. However, there are also a lot of amateur players who got lucky only once but made enough money to be included on this list.
Namely, in May of 2009, an elderly woman by the name of Patricia Demauro beat incredible odds in the game of craps at the Borgata casino in Atlantic City. She managed not to throw a seven 154 consecutive times. It is unknown how much exactly Patricia won, but some suggest that with the right bets her winnings could have amounted to millions of dollars.
To show how humble she was, this old lady came back the following night to that same craps table, but only stayed there as a spectator.
Conclusion
By combining luck and skill, these individuals wrote some of the most successful gambling stories in history. If some of these stories inspired you, be careful. Make sure not to get carried away and always gamble responsibly.
