Wanna Bet?
Interesting characters have made interesting bets over the years. Were they risking it all, or was there method in their madness?
Tales of those who have wagered high and won intrigue all who know the thrill of raking in the money after testing their skill and luck at a game. And whether we're envious or relieved that it wasn't us, the stories never fail to impress.
What Goes Around Comes Around
In the early 1980s, Toronto banker Brian Molony lost millions in an incredible gambling spree that lasted 18 months. The kicker was that if he'd known when to stop, Molony would have been a wealthy man today. In 1982 the 24 year old placed $5,000 on each outcome of 40 different college football games and lost all his money. Then he staged a dramatic recovery and put $50,000 down on the Super Bowl and won. Over the next year and a half, however, Molony lost over $10 million - all the money he had stolen from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.
The Poker People vs. Larry Flynt
It cost Larry Flynt $2 million when he challenged Amarillo Slim to find out who was the better man at poker. Flynt, founder of the magazine Hustler, also reportedly lost $5 million to Stu Ungar in a series of poker matches. However, when he's having a good day apparently Larry is one helluva player.
An Exact Science
In 1873 Joseph Jaggers spent days at a Monte Carlo casino writing down every number that came up on the roulette wheels, hoping to spot a trend. After a while he walked away with $450,000. Not bad for a days work back then.
Jaggers, a British engineer, had noticed that cotton mills began to wear down after periods of use and realised that roulette wheels would probably do the same. He figured that once that happened, each wheel would have developed its own balance in favor of certain numbers. By painstakingly scrutinizing each wheel at a casino, he worked out which numbers came up most frequently on one of them.
He made $300,000 before the casino noticed that something was amiss and had the wheel moved. Jaggers lost a small fortune before he realised this. Finding it again he quickly added to his winnings before the casino modified the wheel and reset the balance.
It would have been strange watching someone betting on the same numbers, spin after spin, but Jaggers took the gamble and went down in history as one of the men who broke the bank at Monte Carlo.
Blackjack For A Cause
For a publicity stunt in 2001, Howard Stern wanted to lay down $1 million on a single hand of blackjack. There were no takers among the casinos and Stern's much hyped about bet was shrunk to an anti-climactic $100,000. Despite losing $800 during one session at the blackjack tables, Stern's luck held when it counted, and he won the bet. Stern didn't pocket the money. The winnings went to a charitable cause.
A Really Good Year
Australian media mogul Kerry Packer reportedly won over $25 million playing blackjack at the MGM Grand in 1995. Packer was apparently playing between six and eight hands simultaneously, betting $200,000 and upwards a hand when he made the small fortune - and he did it all in 40 minutes.
According to one eye witness, Packer was actually down to start off with but then surged ahead to over $30 million before losing $5 million and calling it quits. On leaving the floor he tipped each of the 40 people on shift $2,500.
Super Sevens
William Lee Bergstrom has pride of place in the annals of famous wagers. Legend has it that in 1980 Bergstrom asked if he could place a $1 million bet at the craps table. Bergstrom went to raise the money and later arrived with a suitcase containing $777,000, apologizing because it was all he could raise.
He bet it all at once on the Don't Pass line. He was so optimistic he could win that he brought along another suitcase for his winnings.
Supposedly the shooter that Bergstrom bet on 'sevened out' in three throws and he left with $1.5 million.
The Midas Touch
He's been called the luckiest man alive for turning a borrowed bankroll of $10,000 into a $17 million winning streak. Archie Karas, first arrived in Vegas in 1992 with just $50 in his pocket. He managed to borrow a $10,000 stake and headed straight to the poker tables. What followed was what people now fondly refer to as 'The Run.' Karas quickly doubled his money, paid back his benefactor, then won over $1 million in just a few short hours.
From there Karas headed to Binion's Horseshoe and, over six months, played winning hand after winning hand of poker. When he ran out of people to beat at poker, he gathered his chip and went for the craps tables, winning millions of dollars more. By the time his winning streak had ended he had a pot of over $17 million.
The Beautiful Game
Well known hotelier Bob Stupak has made his fair share of notable bets. In 1989 he made the largest wager in Nevada history betting on the Super Bowl between the Cincinnati Bengals and the San Francisco 49ers. He won $1 million on the game. A decade earlier Stupak had made another extravagant bet with card player Stu Ungar. Stupak bet Ungar $100,000 that he wouldn't be able to count down the last three decks in a six deck shoe. Ungar called out every one of the 156 cards correctly. Stupak later said of Ungar, "He was the best. You can't expand on that."
