For most, gambling is just a little treat for when you’re feeling lucky. You might bet £10 or £20 pound here and there, but have never really considered it to be a particular money maker. However, for a small group of lucky people, gambling and enjoying perks such as slots promotions has provided a way to earn millions of pounds and they’ve become world famous because of it. Ranging from poker and slots to sports betting and dice games, gambling can take more forms than ever before. So let’s have a look at the who’s who and talk about the world’s most famous gamblers:
World’s Most Famous Gamblers: Archie Karas
A truly remarkable icon in the gambling industry is Acrhie Karas. With a backstory that reads like the script of a Hollywood blockbuster, Karas gambling career has seen the highest of highs and depths of lows. In December of 1992 Karas arrived in Vegas with just $50 in his wallet and within just two and a half years he had won over 40 million dollars. Playing pool, poker and later dice, Karas become unformidable in the gambling world and soon had a reputation. His aggressive style of play and consistent wins meant he started to struggle in finding opponents willing to go against him. Even to this day, his two year winning streak still holds the record for the most profitable and longest run to ever be documented. However, in an equally shocking course of events, Karas lost it all within the 6 months that followed. Nowadays you’ll find him in Vegas, living comfortably and still playing in casinos, although never quite at as high stakes as previously.
World’s Most Famous Gamblers: Vanessa Selbst
As the only women to ever get the impressive number one ranking in the world on the Global Poker Index, Vanessa Selbst has earned her spot as one of the world’s most famous gamblers. As a woman dominating the field, she unfortunately faced sexist backlash and was consistently underestimated because of it. Despite this, Selbst went on to become the only poker player to ever win two North American Poker titles in a row, and achieve a cool 21 live tournament results worth six figures. In recent years Selbst has decided to call it a day and has since stated working in the equally risky field of hedge fund trading. Her records still reign though, cementing her spot as one of the world’s most famous gamblers.
World’s Most Famous Gamblers: Alan Woods
Alan Woods was not your typical casino gambler but rather made a name and fortune for himself betting on horse racing. He sadly passed away a decade ago but his estimated net worth was an impressive AU$670 million. Nearly his entire fortune was made on horse races, which he described as just a “mathematical equation”. Woods looked at track, form and various other factors to develop a formula for working out the odds and his technique cemented his position as one of the most successful gamblers in sports betting history.