During the course of history, some people have tried to play their whole life, or almost, in one go at the casino. Whether its blackjack, roulette or craps, there are people who have tried the experience and most have come to regret it. Indeed, when you double your bet, you always have the opportunity to lose everything but when you lose everything, you lose everything.
Ashley Revell, the madman of roulette
The story of Ashley Revell is pretty well known. Ashley has tried to bet on a roulette color all her life. The 32-year-old, living in England, decided to sell all his belongings and play roulette all the way to try a double or a double. An extremely dubious idea.
According to legend, he even went so far as to sell all his clothes before his bet.
Arriving at the Plaza Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas – where a film crew was following him – he placed $135,300 on the red. Originally, he was counting on black but the crowd around him convinced him to bet on the red. Luckily, the roulette ball stopped on the red 7, allowing him to have $270,300 in front of him. When the dealer asked him if he wanted to double, the lack of lucidity he seemed to have was enough to answer no thank you.
Today, we do not know how Ashley Revell is doing financially. If he was able to make a bet so foolish once, he may have been able to lose everything afterwards. One thing is certain, his roulette bet was paid that day. One chance out of two to get broke (video available here)
William Lee Bergstrom, craps maniac
The story of William Lee Bergstrom is less known than that of Revell but much more tragic. This Texas native is known to have placed some of the most important bets in casinos. His favorite place was the Binion, in Downtown Las Vegas, which had the reputation of accepting any bet.
The player decided to go to Binion on September 24, 1980 with two suitcases, one containing a jackpot of $777,000 and the other empty. His goal was to play his fortune on a single craps throw. Chance that day, his throwing is a success and the man cash $777,000 more and doubling his bet.
Later, we learn that Bergstrom intended to commit suicide if the bet had been lost. It was really a double or double, with money he had borrowed.
After enjoying the money and traveling around the world, Bergstrom returned four years later to the Binion to make the same bet. This time, he placed a bet of $538,000, which he won again. Three other craps tonight make him earn $117,000 more.
But like any problem gambler, Bergstrom failed to stop and returned a few months later to the same casino to try a $1 million bet in craps. This time, the dice were not nice with him and he lost his fortune at one time.
Having never recovered from this loss, he committed suicide a few months later by drug overdose. According to a word he had left close to him, he also took action because of a breakup in love with a man 10 years younger than him.
He remains one of the players who has spent the biggest bets in history in a land-based casino.
September 7, 2024
September 7, 2024
September 7, 2024
September 7, 2024
September 7, 2024