Did your idol make it to the list of the top gambling legends?
There are a lot of gambling legends, one of whom is blackjack star Ken Uston. Making a complete list of all of these stars would take numerous books. These are the four most popular gambling legends in the recent 20 years.
During the early 1980's, "suitcase man" came to Binions and made a high-stakes bet. The tale about "suitcase man" is one of the modern Las Vegas legends and no detail has been missed in the numerous times it's been retold over the last 20 years. As a matter of fact, the story has 6 varying versions. Here is the most accurate.
William Lee Bergstrom is a native of Austin, Texas. One time, he decided to check if Binion's claim that it would pay out any winning bet, regardless of the size, provided that it's the player's first bet. Bergstorm arrived at the casino bringing with him a suitcase full of cash. It was worth $777,777. He put it on the line Don't Pass at craps and won. He left the casino with double the amount he had with him when he arrived. But he couldn't resist the place for too long. He went back and gambled some more, winning each and every time. Once, he won $590,000 and another $190,000 in just one bet. Unfortunately, the last time he played, which was in 1984 and was very famous because he wagered a million dollars, he lost. After 3 months, William Bergstorm committed suicide at Strip Hotel. He died $647,000 richer, albeit he was losing at life.
Possibly the most unusual of these legendary men is Greek immigrant Archie Karas. Between 1992 and 1993, he had a great run in Vegas that's definitely one for the books. He started with a $10,000 borrowed credit and went on to beat 15 poker superstars. When nobody had the guts to play with him, he transferred to the craps table at Horseshoe and won more millions. There was a time when he owned all the chips at Horseshoe, which was worth more than $11 million.
Kerry Packer is the most praised and featured gambler. He is an Australian player and it's hard to put the exact amount of his winnings. He prefers blackjack and baccarat and earned most of his billions from them.
Last but not the least of these gambling legends is the Captain. He has been beating craps ever since 1978. Although many consider him to be just a myth, he is alive and existing - numerous casino bosses know about him.