Guide

The greatest star players in gambling history

Millions of people worldwide are active in virtual and land-based gambling halls. With few exceptions, almost all of these players pursue the same goal: to win the big money in gambling. The sad truth, however, is that only a few of them manage to do so. They are quite unique individuals who had the necessary luck to become rich with casino games. Here are some of the luckiest ones:

  • Jonathan Duhamel
  • Doyle Brunson
  • Billy Walters

Below, we will present each of them again in detail. And who knows, maybe these stories will inspire you to try to repeat one of the big winners’ paths. If so, you can always start with virtual casino games, such as https://www.slotozen.bet/en-AU/games/tablegames. The availability of different promotions may significantly increase your chances of winning big there.

Jonathan Duhamel

This name should be very familiar to Canadian gambling fans. He won the Main Event of the World Series of Poker in 2010. This success becomes really impressive when you learn that he was 23 years old at the time. This makes him one of the youngest poker champions in history and also the first Canadian winner. In the following years, he was able to secure a few more WSOP bracelets and also had a lot of success in online poker. However, his success story reached the mainstream under tragic circumstances.

Jonathan’s horror experience

In 2011, two men broke into his house and tied Jonathan up. They beat and tortured him to find out where he hid his valuables. In the end, the culprits made off with a pile of cash, his WSOP bracelets and a wristwatch. Years later, Johnathan would recover the bracelets, but in irreparable condition. This did not stop the young poker star from continuing to prove himself in major poker tournaments, where he enjoyed success over and over again. His total fortune is estimated at around $35 million, making him one of the richest gamblers of all time.

Doyle Brunson

Doyle was also well known in the poker scene but much earlier than the previous name on the list. He was one in the group of players who founded a world-famous poker tournament – the World Series of Poker – and won two Main Events in a row in its early years. Since then, he won additional ten bracelets, along with a hefty amount of prize money. He also frequently visited luxury gaming halls and their most expensive poker tables. At these, each big blind could easily cost 8,000 dollars, which, according to the rate of inflation, is equivalent to almost 80,000 dollars today. Miraculously, he almost always came out with a positive balance.

How Brunson got really rich

But Doyle Brunson made a large part of his fortune with his books, especially “Super System”, which was one of the first strategy books for the game of poker. Brunson had a poker career of almost 50 years and, after, decided to retire. In his long life, the poker hero was able to amass about 77 million dollars and was one of the most influential gamblers in history.

Billy Walters

Billy Walters is referred to in the history books as one of the most successful gamblers in Las Vegas. Even in his youth, he had a reputation as a hard and diligent worker, using borrowed money as seed money for jobs that he did on his own to make a living. He started out mowing lawns and distributing newspapers until years later, he showed talent as a car dealer. He usually worked 80-hour weeks and earned a lot of money that way. Along the way, he developed an interest in gambling and played various casino games almost incessantly ever since.

Unfortunately, he was dogged by bad luck

He was described by some of his gambling companions as a bird that fluttered from one type of game to another. He never really concentrated on mastering a game and, unfortunately, suffered huge losses as a result. Among them was his own house, which he had bet on a coin toss. At various blackjack and roulette tables in Las Vegas, he had to leave sums amounting to millions. His fortunes turned drastically, however, when in his late 30s, he booked out the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel gambling hall for himself and a few friends.

The big money

At the roulette table, the casino patrons noticed that the wheel was faulty, and they shamelessly exploited their unfair advantage. They set a new winning record and left the hotel almost 40 hours later with 3.8 million dollars in profit. Billy Walters’ real passion, however, was sports betting. He was one of the first to use computer algorithms to calculate betting results. He especially liked betting on basketball and American football games. Despite the fact that he often had to absorb losses, he always ended up in the green after a short time. Billy claims to be able to win over 50 million dollars in a good year just from sports betting. His fortune is currently estimated at over 200 million dollars.

What can we learn from the gambling stars?

The three gamblers were true legends in their individual eras, and their names were known to all those who were even slightly involved in gambling. Moreover, each of them was extraordinarily talented and successful. So it is certainly worth taking a closer look at what their attitude to gambling was like. Starting with Jonathan Duhamel, who, despite his many successes, should not be seen as a role model in all aspects. Thanks to his great talent, he decided to drop out of university and literally go all-in in the gambling world. However, this would not end well for most people.

What is a good attitude towards gambling?

Doyle Brunson is a good example of how one should stand by casino games. The star was a great tournament player but would never have considered sacrificing his well-being for the game of poker. He used only his savings, which he had set aside specifically for poker in the first place. His lifestyle was thus never in danger, despite the fact that he always had to pay stakes and tournament fees. Gamblers should take an example.

Playing according to a money plan first

Good money management is surprisingly rare in the gaming world, with the result that many gamblers claim their nest eggs, rent or even lunch money for deposits and only realise this when it is too late. This effect is amplified in the case of gambling addicts. However, if you set a fixed amount of money to play with for a given week or month, you can calculate from the beginning how much you might lose if a gambling session ends in the red. As long as you only take expendable money to play with, you can be prepared for any big loss.

Patience is the key

As a famous author Melanie Schurr says, “[Every gambler] naturally hopes to hit the big win right away, but it doesn’t necessarily have to come in the near future. For some players, years pass before a significant jackpot flows into the player’s account. Often enough, however, it remains a dream forever.” The best thing to do is to remain patient and bet carefully. You might be surprised by a big win at some point. There is never a guarantee, but winnings should not be the main focus of gambling anyway.

Fun is more important than winnings

Gaming fun and enjoyment are much more important. If it were so easy to make money on the Internet, everyone would be doing it, and the monetary system would have crashed decades ago. Some lucky individuals, including the three gambling stars mentioned above, managed to rack up huge fortunes. Others, however, end up with red numbers in their bank accounts. The majority lie somewhere in the middle, balancing winnings and losses somehow. It’s better to play with small stakes or take a top casino bonus like the no deposit free spins to shift the focus away from money and towards fun. Remember that the outcome of the game still depends largely on luck. Therefore, one should not play with the aim of making money.

Who is the richest gambler in the world?

We have mentioned a few of the richest and most successful gamblers, but the wealthiest by far is Bill Benter. He has catapulted himself to the top with horse betting and blackjack, and his net worth is over a billion dollars. Much of the money, however, has come not from the casino games themselves but from business, trading and his revolutionary horse betting analysis programme.