The house always wins. That’s what they say anyway but in some instances, the house seems to lose categorically. Obviously, it still wins overall otherwise casinos would cease to exist, but there are occasions when extremely lucky individuals walk away with crazy amounts of money.
Let’s have a look at the top five casino wins of all-time:
Archie Karas
Imagine waling into a casino with $50 in your pocket and then leaving with $40 million. Well, that’s exactly what Archie Karas did. Okay, so he didn’t win it all in one go or even a short period of time, but the fact remains that back in December 1992, Archie Karas started The Run. This winning streak would last for just over two years and at the end of it Archie had accumulated more than $40 million.
Biggest Online Winner
The beauty of the internet is that it allows you to play all your favourite casino games from the comfort of your own home and even while you’re still in your pyjamas. It’s probably how a man only known as “Peter” was dressed when he scooped the biggest ever online casino win of all time. He was playing an online casino game called “Arabian Nights” when the reels rolled in perfectly for him. He ended up winning 11.7 million Euros, which equated to more than 38 million krone in his native currency. It’s therefore no wonder that Full Tilt Poker star and fellow Scandinavian, Viktor Blom spent hours playing online poker in his younger years; he hasn’t quite mimicked his Norwegian counterpart’s luck, but he hasn’t been far off.
Elmer Sherwin
Some people are lucky and others, like Elmer Sherwin, are extremely lucky. Back in 1989, Elmer Sherwin won $4.6 million on a Megabucks slot machine in Las Vegas. Coincidentally his win came on the casino’s opening night and has triggered a lot of superstition about lucky wins on opening nights. If that wasn’t enough, Elmer kept on playing the Megabucks slot machine over the following years and incredibly scooped himself another $21.1 million in 2005. Apparently the odds of getting a jackpot on this particular type of machine are one in fifty million, so Elmer well and truly smashed them.
Mike Ashley
Football club owner and multi-billionaire retail entrepreneur, Mike Ashley, made himself even more famous by winning an incredible £1.3 million at a roulette table in a casino in London. He reportedly placed a complex bet worth over £400,000 which focussed on every possible combination that included the number 17 (his lucky number). Much to all the onlookers surprise, the ball dropped straight into the 17 slot and Ashley collected his winnings before leaving the casino.
Charlie Wells
Way back in 1891, Charlie Wells recorded a $1 million casino win after playing roulette for 11 hours straight. He became known as “the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo” and musicians have even written songs about him. Apparently, the money that Wells took with him to the casino in Monte Carlo was obtained through ill-gotten gains. However, he managed to repeat his success in Monte Carlo later the same year with a three-day gambling session.
