Top 10 Biggest Wins in Gambling History
When people get into gambling for the first time, they tend to have these grandiose fantasies of walking into a casino, casting a single bet, and winning a million bucks in one go. Of course, we can daydream all we want, but the fact of the matter is that winning an inordinate amount of money through casino gambling is more of an exception rather than the rule.
There’s a belief in gambling that says that the house always has the advantage. But on rare occasions, random people can walk into the casino and actually give the house a literal run for its money. In this article, we are going to go over some of the outliers of casino gambling by discussing some of the biggest wins in gambling history. Whether it be through traditional or live casino online, this list features some heavy hitters.
Kerry Packer ($40 million)
To date, billionaire Kerry Packer is estimated to have the biggest win in modern gambling history.
In fact, he won so big that no one has a definitive record of how much money he actually won. The billionaire went into the MGM Grand casino one night and wagered over $250,000 and ended up taking home as much as $40 million.
Archie Karas ($40 million)
Archi Karas was a Greek immigrant who happened to be an expert poker player.
While he didn’t exactly win $40 million in one go, he did so in a series of winning runs over the course of 30 months. It was one of the most prominent poker runs in history and it managed to net the immigrant a huge payday.
Anonymous ($39.7 million)
Some heroes prefer to be left unknown.
This is the case for the anonymous software engineer who happened to become the biggest slot machine winner in history. Our hero went into the Excalibur Hotel and Casino looking to have a good time. Little did he know that his pocket money of $100 would end up giving him a near $40 million slot win.
Cynthia Jay ($34.9 million)
Cynthia Jay’s story is one of victory but also of loss. She was a cocktail waitress at the Monte Carlo in Vegas and decided to play a few slots during her off hours.
The lady managed to win almost $35 million on her ninth spin. She used that money to fund her dream wedding just a couple of weeks later. However, the sad news is that Cynthia passed away when she was involved in a car accident just a few weeks after winning the jackpot.
Johanna Heundl ($22.6 million)
Johanna Heundl was an elderly woman from California who was minding her own business when she chanced upon a Megabucks machine at Bally’s.
She pulled out $170 from her purse and put it into the machine. It only took her one quick spin to net a $22.6 million jackpot, just proving that sometimes, all you really need is just one shot.
Antonio Esfandiari ($18.3 million)
Nicknamed the magician, Antonio Esfandiari is known to have the biggest single poker win in history when he competed at the Big One for One Drop in 2012.
The WSOP event netted Esfandiari an $18.3 million payday, which was enough to land him on the list of one of the biggest gambling wins in modern history. However, what many people don’t realize is that the win actually entitled Esfandiari to a platinum bracelet well worth nearly $5 million on top of his cash prize.
“Don Johnson” ($15.1 million)
Sometimes, it takes three different casinos in order to net a big payday. That’s exactly what happened to Don Johnson when he had to go to the Borgata, Caesar’s Palace, and the Tropicana to play blackjack.
Mr. Peter ($14.5 million)
A Norwegian player who is only known by his first name as Peter is known to have the single biggest online gambling win in history. One day, Peter decided to try his luck on a progressive jackpot slot game called Arabian Knights. It was only a while later when Peter managed to win more than 11.7 million Euros.
Imagine the shock and awe that Peter felt when looking at his digital wallet for his casino account.
Amy Nishimura ($8.9 million)
Amy Nishimura is notorious for taking a more empathetic and patient approach to winning slots. For three hours straight at the Fremont in Las Vegas, Amy played slots while talking to the machines the whole time.
While this may seem crazy to seem, it worked to her advantage and she ended up winning $8.9 million from a $100 bet.
Beverly Whitten ($3.7 million)
Imagine being a retired teacher and suddenly becoming a millionaire in the span of two hours just from playing slots. That’s exactly what happened to Beverly Whitten when she was playing on a Golden Chambers slot back in 2006.
It was said that Beverly was so overwhelmed by her winnings that she asked the casino to pay her in deferred monthly payments.
