Sometimes the thrill of winning money at a casino is just irresistible. Whether you are a strategic genius or testing out your pure luck, the thought of becoming a millionaire is exciting…but it’s rare to become a millionaire from casino gambling but not impossible – there are some people who become multi-millionaires overnight. Winning millions was never a bad thing, which is why so many people love to visit casinos all over the world. People want to cash in on the chips, literally! In recent years the times have changed with online casinos and slot sites meaning people can play a live casino without leaving the house. Without further ado, we present you five of the biggest casino wins to date with snippets of their stories.
1. Archie Karas – Turned $50 into $40 million
Imagine going to a casino with just fifty dollars in your pocket and walking out with forty million dollars! It may sound like well-written fiction, but it is a real-life casino story. Archie Karas built his $50 up to $10,000, and he could have gone home, but he was on a lucky streak, so he decided to keep lighting up the Las Vegas casinos. He was a long way from fifty dollars, so he decided to keep playing and he eventually hit the jackpot for forty million dollars.
Archie became the luckiest man in casino history, but that luck ran out just as quickly as it came rolling in. Great story, but remember, this is real-life, so unfortunately for Archie, and there was no happy ending. He ended up losing it all, but the point is, he won it. You have to know when to get up, or you can go belly-up.
2. Biggest Online Casino Winner – $38 million
How about winning millions of dollars in your pj’s, while drinking coffee and never leaving your house? It can happen, thanks to the wonderful world of technology with online casino slots. You use your credit card online to place bets, and it is a safe and secure process. A gentleman named only as ‘Peter’ won the biggest ever progressive jackpot online, in the amount of 11.7 million in Norwegian krone, which equals over 38 million dollars in American currency. Peter was so shocked by the amount that he began trembling from all the excitement.
3. Elmer Sherwin – Won $5 million. Then won $21 million!
Mega-Millions is the lottery game, but Megabucks is the casino slot name. The Megabucks progressive slot has paid out millions of dollars, dated back to 1989. Since then Elmer Sherwin won five million dollars in 1989, and he tried his luck again.
In 2005 Elmer won twenty-one million dollars making him a mega-millionaire.
The odds of hitting the jackpot on this machine are one in fifty million, but Elmer beat the odds.
4. Mike Ashley – $1.6 million
The fourth largest casino win came from a man who was already famous, and sat down at Fifty London Casino roulette table, just for fun. Mike Ashley, owner of the Newcastle United Football Club, wanted to be noticed by the individuals in the casino.
As if owning a football club does not bring enough attention. Well when Mike made his bet, he became noticed because he won himself 1.6 million dollars. In a true winner’s fashion, he thanked the dealer after he collected his winnings, and left the casino. In 2011 however, he lost £1 million in 2 hours at a casino it is reported.
5. Charlie Wells – the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo – $1 million
The fifth largest casino win was for one million dollars, but this win was in the year 1892. After playing roulette for eleven hours straight, Charlie Wells became known as “the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo.”
Musicians wrote songs about Charlie, who became famous and rich because he took a chance at a roulette table, and it paid off. This could be you, and if you are lucky, you too could get your own theme-song!
Whether you’re at the Hard Rock in Biloxi, the Empire in London, the Marina Bay Sands in Las Vegas, or online with Royal Vegas or Euro Grand casinos, you place your bets and watch the chips fall where they may. Taking a chance is what all of the top five casino winners of all-time did, and it paid off, even if only momentarily.
