Famous Gambler In The World
- Anargyros Nicholas Karabourniotis (Greek: Ανάργυρος Καραβουρνιώτης, born November 1, 1950), commonly known as Archie Karas, is a Greek-American gambler, high roller, poker player, and pool shark famous for the largest and longest documented winning streak in casino gambling history, simply known as The Run, when he drove to Las Vegas with $50 in December 1992 and then.
- When you do a Google search for famous gamblers in history, you generally get the same list, mentioning Montague, Dostoevsky, the above mentioned Casanova, and a few others. If you want to get to the less popularly known gamblers, you have to do a bit of digging.
Best Gamblers In The World
How does a gambler become famous, anyway?
After all, aren’t gamblers mostly just a bunch of degenerates wasting their money on games of chance when they should be working hard building corporations or something?
James Butler Hickok, better known as Wild Bill, was something of a hero of the American Old West. He was a lawman, a gunfighter, and a gambler. He is one of a number of famous gamblers from that era, arguably the most famous of all. Poker was his game of choice.
I don’t really believe that, and neither should you.
The truth is, people who become famous for gambling all have different stories. I’ll cover the stories of 7 of the most famous gamblers in history below – along with some anecdotes about how they got to be so famous.
1- John Montagu
You might be more familiar with John Montagu if I refer to him by his title:
The Earl of Sandwich.
He’s not famous for his gambling, per se, but for how he invented a popular food item so that he could stay in action.
Montagu was famous for spending inordinate amounts of time at the gambling tables, and one night he didn’t want to take a break from his session. So he asked that someone bring him some meat between some bread slices.
The other gamblers noticed and started asking for “the same as sandwich.”
And that eventually got shortened to “sandwich,” which is what we still call it.
Other sources claim that the sandwich was probably invented because of his devotion to working at his desk, but that’s not nearly as interesting for our purposes.
And what kind of sandwich did he invent?
The meat was salted beef.
2- Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon was a notoriously good poker player. It would be too easy to point out that his ability to lie might have aided him in becoming such a good card player.
Of course, Nixon is more famous for being a President who had to resign in disgrace. His poker career, in comparison, seems trivial.
Nixon learned to play poker when he was in the military and stationed to Green Island. He won thousands of dollars and used the money to run for Congress as a Californian in 1946.
His fellow sailors in the Navy swore that he was the best poker player they’d ever seen. At least one of them said he never saw Nixon lose.
The surprising thing about Nixon’s success as a gambler has a lot to do with his background. He was raised as a devout Quaker, and they’re not known for their skills at gambling.
3- Phil Hellmuth
Phil Hellmuth is a pro poker player with 15 WSOP bracelets to his credit. He won the main event in 1989, and he won the main even in the European WSOP in 2012. He’s also a member of the Poker Hall of Fame.
He’s not just famous for his success at the table, though – he’s also a wildy emotional player prone to temper tantrums.
Hellmuth has won over $23 million in poker tournaments, putting him in the top 20 for all-time money winners. He’s cashed in more WSOP events than any other poker player. He’s also been to the final table at the main event more often than anyone else.
His fame has more to do with his personality than anything else. Among other things, he likes to get to the table much later than the other players.
4- Billy Walters
Most Famous Gambler In The World
Billy Walters is one of the most famous and successful sports bettors in history. He started gambling at the tender age of 9 when he used money he earned delivering papers to bet on the World Series in 1955. (He lost.)
By the time Walters was 22, he’d lost over $50,000. He even lost a house pitching nickels. He worked it out so that he could keep possession of the house, though, and he paid it offer over 18 months.
Eventually, he was such a successful bettor that he was putting millions of dollars into action every week. He hired mathematicians and pro handicappers to help him get an edge over the bookmakers.
Walters was, at one time, also one of the most active bettors in sports betting, placing thousands of wagers annually. He was betting so much money that the books would move the lines just in response to his action.
He didn’t stick exclusively to sports betting, although he eventually gave up his other gambling activities. In the 1980s he lost millions playing blackjack. He also won millions playing roulette on a game with a biased wheel.
Walter was also a poker player who won the 1986 Super Bowl of Poker.
But he’s best-known for his 30-year winning streak betting on sports. He bet on basketball and football. He was doing so much action that he had to disguise his action by using proxies (“runners”) to place his bets for him.
In a good year, Walters might win over $50 million.
5- Doyle Brunson
If there’s a poker player on this list more famous than Phil Hellmuth, it’s Doyle Brunson, who’s now retired but has a great reputation. He’s won the main event of the World Series of Poker twice. He’s also in the Poker Hall of Fame, and he’s written multiple poker books.
Among his other claims to fame, Brunson is the first person to win $1 million playing poker tournaments. He has 10 WSOP bracelets.
Bluff Magazine once said that Doyle Brunson was the most influential figure in poker.
Brunson announced his retirement from poker in 2018.
6- Archie Karas
Archie Karas is a Greek-American gambler who’s also well-known as a pool shark.
He drove to Las Vegas in 1992 and embarked upon “The Run” – the longest winning streak in the history of casino gambling. He had $50 and borrowed $10,000.
By 1995, he’d turned that into $40 million.
Of course, he lost it all again, and that only took a year to do.
Archie Karas shouldn’t be confused with Nick the Greek, another famous gambler.
7- Nick the Greek
Nick the Greek was born to money, but he’s more famous for his legendary gambling career. He moved to the United States from Greece when he was 18 years old. It wasn’t long before he was betting on horses in Chicago.
He won over $500,000 betting the ponies early in his career, but he almost immediately lost it all playing cards and shooting dice.
The world of poker owes him a great debt, too, because his heads-up poker match with Johnny Moss was the inspiration for the World Series of Poker.
They played for 5 months, and Nick lost over $2 million before telling Moss, “I have to let you go.”
In his dotage, Nick was almost broke, and the only action he could afford was the $5 draw poker games in Gardena, California. He was one of the first members of the Poker Hall of Fame.
He was said to have won and lost over $500 million over the course of his life.
And he died on Christmas Day, 1966.
Conclusion
That’s my list of the 7 most famous gamblers of all time, but you could probably come up with your own list of most famous gamblers that might be just as valid as mine. What makes these gamblers famous is up for debate.
Feel free to leave a comment in the comments section with your argument for including someone else.
Also, I don’t recommend trying to become a famous gambler. With few exceptions, the gamblers on this list came to ignominious ends. Who wants to leave a legacy like Nixon’s? Or spend their old age in prison for insider trading?
On the other hand, if you can win the World Series of Poker, more power to you.
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Throughout time there have been many gamblers who have become famous. For one reason or another, they have captured the attention of the masses and written their places in history. Some have been big winners, while some have been big losers. Some have gained fame through their cheating exploits, while others are known hustlers. Several professional gamblers, especially poker players, have made into the public eye.
The stories surrounding such individuals are often fascinating. Indeed, many of them have had books written about them or even films made about them. Some of these books and movies glamorize the life of a gambler, while others show the depths of despair that gambling can lead to. Some do both.
Either way, they’re typically very entertaining for anyone with an interest in gambling. You can find information on some of the best gambling books and movies on this site, on the following pages.
Who Is The Best Gambler In The World
In this part of our site, we look at the most famous gamblers ever to have walked the planet. Below you will find details of some of the greatest gambling legends of all time. We’ve not provided an exhaustive list by any means, we have just picked out a few of our favorites and the ones that we find the most interesting.
Famous Gamblers Names
We’ve then provided information on more famous gamblers in a range of different categories.