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The World’s Most Well-Known Professional Gamblers

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By Staff | Jan 24, 2024

Gambling remains one of the riskiest things to engage your money in. But, as difficult as it can get, many people gamble for different reasons. Some visit the casinos for the thrill of the game with $200 no deposit bonus 200 free spins real money and other bonuses, while others just like to unwind after a hectic work day. Professional gamblers are a distinct category of people you find at the casinos. For these people, gambling is their primary source of income.

Unlike the young man who drives into a resort to unwind after long work hours, you can find a professional gambler at the casino anytime. Their proceeds are taxed differently because their winnings are considered regular earned income. In this article, we will be reviewing some of the world’s most popular professional gamblers. These humans have made a mark in the casino industry and a fortune from it. You might want to check out this list to become a professional gambler. They are:

  • Edward Thorp
  • Amarillo Slim
  • Bill Benter
  • Doyle Brunson
  • Billy Walters
  • Archie Karas
  • Chris Moneymaker

Edward Thorp

Edward Thorpe is an American octogenarian known as a mathematics professor and blackjack researcher. He is famous for writing a book on card counting. If you’ve watched The Hangover, Rain Man, or 21, you know how important card counting is when playing blackjack. However, where did all this come from? You guessed. This man is a true blackjack virtuoso. Initially using a $10,000 bankroll, Thorpe took his card counting strategy to Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada, where he earned $11,000 in the first weekend. Since it was 1966, he kept changing his disguise to keep the casinos from identifying him. In addition, he created mathematical strategies for professional cheating in backgammon and blackjack. Today, players are increasingly moving into cyber space and looking for gaming platforms among Australia’s best online casino leaderboard by Outlookindia.com where their accounts will be protected and they will be able to play fair games only remembering legends like Edward. Besides, as of this writing, he is still living in Chicago, Illinois.

Amarillo Slim

Thomas Auston Preston Jr – popularly known as Amarillo Slim – was an American professional gambler who lived from 1928 till 2012. He was well-known for his poker skills and won the 1972 World Series of Poker. Originally from Texas, Amarillo Slim was a poker player who teamed up with Doyle Brunson and Puggy Pearson, two other gamblers.

Slim had a history in poker, but he gained most of his notoriety and wealth by placing exceedingly dangerous wagers at the racetrack. Not only did he place reckless bets, but he also made sly wagers easily defeated by his guile and intelligence. Slim didn’t limit this to the racetrack; he used his cunning and intelligence to win table tennis and pool games. Twenty years after winning the WSOP Main event, he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.

Bill Benter

Bill Benter is a 66-year-old American professional gambler who is well-versed in horse betting. Benter earned hundreds of millions of dollars from building a software program in the horse racing market and is considered one of the most successful gamblers ever. This algorithm won him jaw-dropping money over the years. As he travelled to Las Vegas and started card counting with an Australian team of counters, good fortune followed him. It’s estimated that Benter won almost a billion dollars in his career. A lot of this is due to the previously mentioned Edward Thorp, who helped Bill refine his card-counting techniques when they met during Bill’s career. He is presently residing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Doyle Brunson

Doyle Brunson was an American professional poker player who played actively for over 50 years. Brunson – nicknamed Texas Dolly – was a two-time WSOP Main event champion and a Poker Hall of Fame inductee. There’s no denying that the man in the hat is the greatest poker player ever. Brunson dominated the poker world, weathered the dramatic shift to poker on the internet, and generously imparted his wisdom on the widely played card game. Brunson, a fervent supporter of a skill-based approach, gained notoriety for stating that while luck strikes occasionally, nobody is continuously fortunate. Given his performance and the wealth he amassed from poker, we must concur. He first encountered Amarillo Slim while participating in illicit poker games conducted by the mob on Exchange Street in Fort Worth. Later, Brunson and Slim relocated to Las Vegas, where Doyle started a more legitimate poker career. He won 10 WSOP bracelets in his career.

Billy Walters

William ‘Billy’ Walters is an American best-selling author, entrepreneur, and, most popularly known, one of the most successful American gamblers ever. He had a winning streak that lasted over 30 years. In contrast to several other casino games like slots and dice, sports betting requires ability, which many people lack since they get sucked into betting on their favourite team or their home team. Billy Walters, who earned money from his paper route, began placing bets on the 1955 World Series at the tender age of nine, and he quickly became an expert sports bettor. He kept winning, and as time went on, his wagers increased from pennies to millions of dollars every week. His wagers alone could shift betting lines because he was such a strong sports bettor.

Archie Karas

Anargyros Karabourniotis is a 73-year-old Greek-American gambler and pool shark popularly known as a high roller. Greek immigrant Archie Karas made nearly forty million dollars in two years from the meagre $50 he had when he first landed in Las Vegas in 1992. He played several high-stakes games, including baccarat, roulette, blackjack, and poker, to reach these extreme amounts of wealth. Sadly, his tale does not end well, and in 1995, his career as a professional gambler ended, and he lost all of his wealth. In 2013, he was implicated in a card marking scam in San Diego and received a three-year probationary term. He never returned to the level of fame he had during his three-year stay in Sin City. He remains a Las Vegas resident to this day.

Chris Moneymaker

Christopher Moneymaker is one of those American poker players who won a WSOP Main Event. His win revolutionized poker because he was the first to do that after qualifying at an online poker website. Chris Moneymaker is a genuine underdog gone rich tale in the gambling industry since, at the start of 2002, he was just an ordinary accountant who also worked as a waiter. As he got more immersed in online poker, this swiftly changed. His transition from a life of numbers to a celebrity happened swiftly. He left his position to serve as a spokesperson for PokerStars and Harrah’s Entertainment. In addition, he prudently used his earnings to start his own business, MoneyMaker Gaming and spent several years travelling the globe as a professional gambler. He resides in Nashville, Tennessee, with his second wife and is still alive and well.

There is something noticeable about these personalities. They were not necessarily a master at all casino games; some were horse betting experts, professional poker players – who won WSOP – or even sports bettors. You could also be a professional slot machine player and make millions from it.

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