Vegas in-person and Vegas online casino gaming takes place in a world where luck and skill meet. Over the centuries, the allure of gambling has captivated the hearts and minds of many including both casual gamers and professionals. Most casino enthusiasts come to the casino to experience the thrill of chance but some have turned their hobby into a profitable venture.
Successful gamblers understand that, regardless of the level of their skills and regardless of the game’s odds, winning always involves some luck. Even with strategic thinking, emotional discipline and an understanding of probabilities, the results of every casino game are, at least partially, fueled by an element of randomness.
The results of every deal of the cards, every throw of the dice and every spin of the reels is random, though some players are more savvy about when and how to place their bets and activate those plays which gives them a leg up.
Who are some of history’s most winningest gamblers?
Archie Karas
Archie Karas was a Greek-American poker player and pool shark who had the longest and largest documented winning streak in casino history. The Run, as it was called, allowed him to turn a $10,000 loan into $40 million. Even though Karak ended up losing the entire bundle, his remarkable achievement means that he will be in casino history books for years to come.
Karas immigrated to the United States from Greece in the 1960s and started his gambling career at the pool table. He moved onto Los Angeles card rooms and built his reputation as a poker pro, winning and losing millions of dollars over the years.
His successes may have been fueled by his utter fearlessness of losing money, which he said that he really didn’t care about. Karas was quoted as saying, “Money means nothing to me. I don't value it. I've had all the material things I could ever want. Everything. The things I want, money can't buy: health, freedom, love, happiness. I don't care about money, so I have no fear. I don't care if I lose it.”
In December 1992 Karas headed to Vegas with $50 in his pocket. He saw a friend who he convinced to loan him $10,000. Bouncing back from the pool table to the poker table, in the space of 3 months Karas had earned $40 million. His biggest challenge became transporting his winnings – at one point, he had millions of dollars in cash in his car.
In the end, a losing streak stripped him of all but his last million, which he took back with him to Greece where he lived out his life in luxury.
Anonymous
An anonymous 25-year-old software engineer made Las Vegas history when he put $100 on the Megabucks slot machine at the Excalibur Casino in March 2003 and hit the $38.7 million jackpot. That win remains the biggest slot machine payout ever.
The winner, who requested that his identity not be revealed, was in town to watch some March Madness college basketball games with some friends. He put 3 $1 coins in a Megabucks machine -- Megabucks is part of a Megabucks system that links dollar slot machines in 157 Nevada casinos. All told, he had played $100 on the machine during his visit but those last 3 dollars lined up the winning symbols and triggered his massive payout.
Edwin Castro
In 2023 Edwin Castro matched all six numbers in a California Powerball drawing, earning him the largest payout in lottery history. His payout was a record-high $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot.
The winning ticket had remained unsold for 3 months when Castro bought it and chose his numbers. Castro wasn’t the only one to benefit from the lottery – California schools were set to receive more than $156 million that was collected from ticket sales.
Ashley Revell
Ashley Revell may not have won the largest roulette payout in history but his win is noteworthy because he used his life savings, plus the proceeds from the sale of his house, his car and other belongings as his stake. He doubled his net worth and, for that, he deserves the title as one of history’s luckiest casino gamblers.
Ashley came to the Plaza Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in April 2004 with approximately $135,300 which he had collected from the sale of almost everything that he owned, including his clothes. He placed his chip on red and doubled his money when the ball ended up on 7-Red.
Revell left the casino and went on to set up an online poker company, Poker UTD. When controversy erupted in 2012 over frozen accounts in the US, the business was forced to close but, as far as anyone knows, Revell didn’t return to the roulette table again.
Christina
In general, payouts are bigger at online casinos and the 2018 $96.3M EuroJackpot win by Christina from Berlin gives ample evidence that online jackpots are quite generous. Christina’s win was the biggest online gambling payout to date and still stands as the world record, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
Who will be the next luckiest gambler? It could be you!
