A hot roll at the craps table that paid for an entire Las Vegas vacation. Aces cracked by Deuces on the cash bubble at the World Series of Poker. A magical football season where every bet was the right one… Crazy gambling stories, plenty of people have them and they are always fun to hear. Like a right of passage, gamblers live to compare their tales of triumph and woe. With the news of Floyd Mayweather’s huge sports betting victory in Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Finals, ADANAI thought it would be fun to hunt down a few other outrageous gambling situations. Here are 10 crazy gambling stories that give heightened meaning to the expression “put your money where your mouth is”
1. Floyd Mayweather Trusts LeBron
Why not start off with the “Money” Man himself, Floyd Mayweather? Mayweather’s eagerness to bet big on sports has been well documented, especially by the HBO series “24/7.” . Last week Mayweather topped himself when he bet $5.9 million on the Heat in Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Finals. He won, however, it is important to put the numbers in perspective. Celebrity Networth estimates his at $140 million, which means he bet 4.2% of his net worth on a single game. Doesn’t sound like a lot? Take a look at your savings account; now, divide that hard-earned nest egg by 25 and think about risking that amount on something as unpredictable as a basketball game. Not a great idea, even with LeBron on the court.
While it is always hard to qualify someone as a good sports bettor – this particular gamble actually stood a strong shot of holding up. As of June 19, the Heat had not lost back-to-back games since January 10. The Pacers had just beaten the Heat in Game 6 and Game 7 was in Miami. The spread against the Pacers was -7 but Floyd clearly had a hunch and it paid off (to say the least) – he cleared a cool $5 million from the wager.
2. Winning the Jackpot Isn’t Always a Good Thing
Stories about lottery winners suffering serious despair after cashing in abound. It is no shocker that drugs, hangers on and poor money management can lead to some pretty deleterious outcomes. In this case, an Arizona woman won a $1,200 Jackpot drawing at a casino. When asked to show up at the casino with her passport to collect her winnings, she was deported to Mexico. How does that line go? It’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all? Mirna Valenzuela probably disagrees.
3. So You Thought Poker Cheats Were a Thing of the
Past?
In the old Texas roadhouse days, grifting was pretty basic. Card mechanics used slight of hand to deal from the bottom of the deck. Players came up with contraptions to hide an extra Ace up their sleeve. Today, along with everything else, technology has turned card swindling into an elaborate “Ocean’s Eleven” art form.
An Australian man made $32 million in just eight hands of high stakes poker. Phil Ivey or Tom Dwan may be used to that kind of run, but this guy was no poker pro.
He sat down to a high stakes game at the Crown casino in Melbourne, Australia with a significant leg up on his competition. Aided by an accomplice, he hacked into the casino’s security cameras, which record every hand played by each player. His partner communicated the player’s hole cards to him in real time from a remote location via an earpiece. The amazing thing is that after authorities found him out, the man was allowed to leave the casino (and the country) with the money. Now that’s a bad beat
4. You Know You Have a Gambling Problem When…
…a casino sends a Rolls Royce to your house as a token of their appreciation. No, not to cart you in style to the casino for the night; but for keepsies! Chinese-Mexican businessman Zhenil Ye Gon lost a reported $120 million over the years gambling at the Venetian in Las Vegas. He often played $150,000 per hand in Baccarat. While his net worth is unknown, the Federales found $205 million in cash stashed in his Mexico City mansion. Evidently he sold a crap load of chemicals–used to make meth–on the black market. Walt White would be proud
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