Most Outrageous Casino Bets

Posted on 26/03/09 – by Theodor Mavrodis

Top Vegas Bets

Professionals and amateur gamblers may not have an equal bankroll or the same amount of skill, but they do generally have one thing in common: They both revel in the thought of winning a life-changing amount of money by placing an extravagant casino bet. And who could possibly blame them? I personally think it’s a dream that most of us have had at one point or another, especially if you frequently enjoy hitting up the casino to play Blackjack online, Slots or any other game of choice.  Below we take you through the top 5 most outrageous casino bets in the history of casino gambling to help inspire you, entertain you and let your imagination run wild. 

5. The Largest Novelty Casino Bet in History

Nowadays, you can bet on basically anything that tickles your fancy- who is going to win American Idol, when life on Mars will be discovered, who will be the next president, literally anything you can imagine. And while these so called novelty bets can be very entertaining, very few, if any, professional gamblers are long-term novelty-bet winners. However, in 1989 an unknown Welshman walked in to his local bookie and wagered £30 on a number of events to happen before the year 2000. These were his forecasts and the odds:

• Singer Cliff Richards being knighted: 4 to 1
• The Irish pop band U2 remaining as a group: 3 to 1
• The soap opera Eastenders still being aired on BBC: 5 to 1
• Neighbours still being shown on British TV: 5 to 1
• Home and Away still being an active TV show: 8 to 1

The odds for all of this to happen were 6,479 to 1, and a couple of days into the new millennium, this lucky Welshman walked down to the local Ladbokes and cashed in £194,400 – the largest novelty bet in history. Utterly astounding, no?

4. Ashley Revell Bets Everything on One Spin

Another person to make it on our list of biggest casino bets in history is none other than Ashley Revel. His story is rather interesting. In 2004, the young Brit decided to get rid of everything he owned. He sold his car, stereo, TV, bicycle and even his clothes. Then he emptied his bank account and his poker bankroll. Altogether he managed to scrape together $135,300.And what to do when you have a bit over 100 grand? Well, as most of us would, Revell travelled to Las Vegas to bet it all on one Roulette spin. Below you can see what happened.

Biggest Roulette Bet 

Yes ladies and gentlemen, he bet it on a single bet on red and won. In fact, he walked out of the the Plaza Hotel & Casino where he was playing Roulette with a cool $270,600. Not bad, huh?

The momentous occasion was filmed by Sky One as a reality mini-series called ‘Double or Nothing’ and it was due to this large life-changing win that Revell was dubbed a professional gambler. Yet, I strongly believe that Revell had Lady Luck’s hand on his shoulder throughout the entire course of the bet.  

Mr. Revell later took on another gamble when he set up an online poker company called Poker UTD. The company later went out of business in 2012. He now owns his own iGaming Recruitment agency website which helps prospective candidates find jobs in the online gambling industry.

3. Johnny Moss Takes on a Fist Fight Bet

Poker Legend Jonny Moss, who is regarded to be the first ever winner of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, was once standing in a bar talking to a man who claimed that he had never lost a fight in his life. Moss got a proposition from his friends that if he could knock the man out he would get 15 to 1 on his money. It seemed like fair deal. The bet was on and Moss threw a punch at the self-claimed fighting expert.

Naturally it didn’t work. All Moss got was a few broken bones and a trip to the hospital. However, when he came out of the infirmary he didn’t regret his decision: “15 to 1 was too good to pass up,” Moss said.

2. Turning a Social Security Check into $1 Million With the Biggest Blackjack Bet 

In 1995, a less fortunate Las Vegas resident went down to the social security office to cash in a $400 check. His wife had just kicked him out of the house and life wasn’t looking too bright. So rather than sitting on a bench outside feeling all glum, what did the man do? Well, he cashed the check and headed straight for the Treasure Island Casino in Sin City to play Blackjack of course.

According to people that were at the casino that faithful day the man smelled so bad that nobody wanted to be near him, but luckily the cards don’t care about odor. Thanks to his unconventional strategy – he didn’t follow the basic blackjack strategy whatsoever – he managed to win $1 million.

Now one would think that this is one of those rags to riches stories you here about in the media. Sadly, it’s not. What could have been a turning point in this man’s life, ended up being the entire opposite. Unfortunately, the man didn’t stop there. He kept on playing. And as we all know if you keep on playing the casino always wins in the long run. Basically to cut the long story short, in the end the poor Las Vegas Resident remained poor and ended up leaving Treasure Island Casino with an empty wallet.

1. William Lee Bergstrom Bets it All – The Biggest Bet Ever Placed in a Casino 

Casino owner, Benny Binion revolutionized gambling in Las Vegas. Before him, casinos just accepted “small” bets and wanted to slowly but steadily capture every player’s bankroll. Binion, on the other hand, let his visitors’ first bet be their only limit. If you wanted to bet $100,000 on your first Blackjack hand that was totally fine, but you couldn’t raise the stakes later in the session. This was something William Lee Bergstrom wanted to take advantage of.

So on a day in the mid-1980s, Austin-born William Lee Bergstrom walked into Binion’s Horseshoe Casino with a suitcase containing $777,000 (the rough equivalent of $2.31 million dollars today). The man, who later became known as The Suitcase Man, went over to the Craps table and bet it all on the Don’t Pass Line. He won the bet and this was the starting point of an amazing hot streak.

Bergstrom came back a while later and doubled a $590,000 wager, and later a $190,000 bet and lastly he won another $90,000. Everybody there saw that this was a player playing the rush.

Unfortunately, as many casino gamblers throughout history know, the man didn’t know when to stop. One day he stood in the lobby again – now with a suitcase containing one million dollar. He bet the money and lost. The streak was definitely over. Three months later he decided to raise the stakes once again. Bergstrom wagered what he had left in a game of Russian Roulette. He lost. The winning streak was over and he was left with nothing as a result.

Placing The Biggest Bets Ever: To Risk it All or Not to Risk it All? That is the Question 

Feel inspired or just craving a great time at the casino after reading our article? Go on and place a casino bet at an online casino. But don’t be foolish and bet it all at one go. Play the smart way and you might just make it in the online casino player’s hall of fame.