Tag: craziest bets ever made

Roulette can be a very difficult game to win. With no knowledge whatsoever as to where the ball will land next, it would be safe to assume that this casino game relies on pure luck. These famous roulette players, however, get enormously lucky and went on to prove the saying that when it rains, it pours.

The following names below are known throughout history for winning big at the roulette table. Their hot winning streaks were too much to handle that some rules of the game have to be changed or else casinos have to close shop.

Joseph Jagger

Jagger is one of the first people to have taken advantage of the roulette wheel’s imperfections. A mechanic by trade, the roulette enthusiast, along with 6 accomplices, took to the famous Monte Carlo casino and looked for tables that have roulette wheel bias. For the uninitiated, wheel biases occur due to some wheel defects. Specific numbers would often show up more than they should if a wheel has defects. Jagger used this information to win as much as £60,000 in just three days. The amount has an equivalent of £3 million today.

Charles Devile Wells

Yet another wheel bias player, Wells followed the steps of Jagger and in 1891, reportedly swept clean every table in the same casino within just 11 hours of playing. Even more impressive is the fact that he did the run twice that year, winning big amount of prizes each time.

Roulette historians would sometimes argue that Wells’ success can’t solely be attributed to his knack of finding wheel biases. Aside from luck, the man’s enormous wins was also brought by his use of the Martingale system, a betting system where player doubles his bet after every loss.

Carol Jarecki

Little is heard about the Jareckis hitting it big at roulette casino. Carol was famous as a professional chess player, but even her calculating mind wasn’t strong enough to stave off the call for excitement that only a roulette game can bring. Together with her husband, the couple hit off Monte Carlo and San Remo where they also reportedly exploited the imperfections found on roulette wheels.

As of the amount of their winnings, it wasn’t indicated. It would be safe to assume though that the figures were quite significant since they made it to the list.

Benno Winkel

If roulette is the “King of the Casino,” then Winkel is the “Roulette King.” He is said to have won 1.5 million Deutsch Marks and the German-born player reportedly made that huge bankroll in a span of months during his stay at Hamburg. There’s no verifiable information as to how Winkel did it, but sources are saying that he just got lucky, mad lucky at that.

Chris Boyd

UK’s own roulette popstar, Boyd was known for his indomitable goal to win big at roulette. For three years, the 40-year-old computer programmer worked his butt off to save a considerable chunk of money which amounts to £220,000. He intended to play his entire savings on roulette and that’s what he did in 1991 when he found Binion’s Horseshoe Club, the only casino which allowed him to bet that high. With just one spin, Boyd doubled his money. His winning number – red 7.

Ashley Revell

Like a song that is played twice, the Boyd roulette magic happened yet again with this London lad. Not much is known about this young man but in 2004, he flew to Vegas with his entire family and properties which he liquidated and amounted to £135,000.

His life was suddenly put into the limelight when a television program followed his incredible all-out gambling adventure. The place was Plaza Hotel. He made an outside bet, a Black, which has a 1:1 payout. It was all set when Revell suddenly changed his mind and went for a Red. The ball drop into red 7 (the same as Wells). He walked away with £270,000 and tipped the croupier with £600.

Who are the other roulette players you want us to add in this list? Sound it off in the comments below.

These people right here are those who take betting to the next level, so outrageous that it deserves to be called the craziest bets ever made in a casino game.

5. The two suitcases of William Lee Bergstrom

In the mid 1980s, Williams Lee Bergstrom walked into the Horseshoe Casino carrying two suitcases. One was filled to the brim with $777,000 while the other was empty. He headed over to a craps table and bet all he got on the Don’t Pass Line – he won. Just as what he expected, the empty suitcase came in handy to hold his huge winnings.

4. The winning hot streak of Archie Karas

Archie Karas is just but one of those people who made a staggering fortune playing in Las Vegas – and he did it with only $50 on his pocket to start with! Impossible as it may seem, Karas’ winning hot streak is still considered to be the greatest in the history of gambling.

A professional poker player, Karas recently suffered loss in a previous Los Angeles poker game. With only half a Benjamin left, he went to Sin City and ran into a friend who loaned him $10,000. Before the night was through, Karas paid the whole amount plus interest, and still left with a hefty wad of cash to keep on playing. That was just the start of his lucky streak. For three years of playing high-rolling poker and some other table games on the side, his $50 blown up to $40 million.

3. A grandma’s beginner’s luck

There’s more to craps than just simply being called a dice game. For novice players, craps can be very intimidating. Being played in fast-paced manner, one could easily get lost in the many (oftentimes, complicated) betting options. Unless you’re someone who knows the ins and outs of the game, playing craps can be an easy way to lose money. However, this grandma right here just flung the rules to those who care and just went over to the table, throw dice for hours and win every single one of it.

Patricia Demauro deserves to be inducted in the craps hall of legends (if there’s one) for having won 154 consecutive dice throws at an Atlantic City hotel casino. Although it was never revealed how much she had won, one could only imagine the money she made that night.

2. The legend of number 17

We previously mentioned this lucky roulette wheel number in this article. And while we weren’t able to delve deeper into the number’s significance, this time, we will. The popularity of James Bond betting straight on #17 started off with Sean Connery. The actor is a confessed gambler. In one of his sunny Italian holiday getaways, he played at a casino roulette game where he wagered for the aforementioned number. In the first two spins, ball missed the pocket. He stood by it and in the third turn, 17 finally came in. He left his bet there and it won yet another two spins. The third time, he was already at odds of 5,000 to 1 that his number will come up, but he pushed through. He won.

He left the table with £10,000. Years forward, Connery played as the famous spy in “Diamonds Are Forever.” In one of the scenes, the MI9 agent was playing roulette. The number the character bet on? 17.

1. Revell bets his house

If Connery’s tale impressed you, you better get ready for yet another mindblowing case of casino roulette big win. The name is Ashley Revell and in 2004, he left London with virtually all of his properties amounting to £135,000 to play at a roulette game in Vegas.

A television program even followed his high-risk journey to the gambling capital. Videos of him playing that one life-changing roulette spin can be found online. But for those who missed it, Revell put all he had on black. In a sudden change of heart, the man pushed his chips to red – probably the single best decision he has ever made in his life. The ball pocketed on 7, and it was red. He went home with double the money he brought in.