5 of the luckiest / unluckiest in the betting world

You've certainly seen a lot of movies in which the characters make - or lose - real gambling fortunes, whether it's in casinos, horse racing or whatever. Maybe you haven't risked your luck yourself and thrown some money at slot machines, games with friends or even some fight?

But what about the bets that happened in real life, the ones that yielded millionaire gains or ended up devastating losses, you know? The folks at Aol have published an article about the biggest and most curious bets ever made, and we at Mega Curioso have selected five of them - with positive and negative balances - for you to check out:

1 - Terrance Watababe: - $ 127 million

In 2007, Watanabe decided to spend a full year gambling in Las Vegas. He probably thought he was very lucky, but he couldn't be more wrong. After losing approximately $ 127 million during that period, a fortune that Watanabe took 20 years to accumulate, his string of losses made him known as one of the world's biggest losers.

2 - Archie Karas: + $ 17 million

Then-unknown Karas, a penniless Greek waiter, after borrowing $ 10, 000 from a friend, decided to take on some of the world's biggest poker players in a Las Vegas competition. . Luckily for him and his friend, Karas not only defeated 15 opponents, but returned home with $ 17 million in his wallet.

3 - Zhenli Ye Gon: - $ 125 million

Known in Vegas simply as “Mr. Ye, ”Gon has already lost $ 125 million (over $ 270 million) in casinos over the years. However, it seems that this amount - astronomical to us mere mortals - does not seem to have shaken the famous drug dealer's finances much, for just to give you an idea when arrested the police found a total of Ye's house. in goods and money that amounted to $ 200 million!

4 - The Hermits: + £ 10 million

The Hermits was a group of five British gamblers who, in the early 20th century, amassed a beautiful fortune by betting on horses. Members were helped by a financier and a horse breeder, and in a single race that took place in Cambridge County 1903, they won an amount that today would amount to £ 10 million. .

5 - William Lee Bergstrom: + e - $ 1 Million

All in all, compared with the sums won and lost by previous gamblers, the $ 1 million amount seems modest, the story surrounding Bergstrom's bet is quite interesting. He arrived at the casino with two bags - one with $ 777, 000 in cash and the other for what he was going to win - willing to bet everything on a single dice game, and the "dealer" ensured that it would cover any bet.

Bergstrom wanted to play $ 1 million - more than he had - and the casino agreed to call, unfortunately! The player won the game with a single dice roll, taking the million from the casino. However, as you know, what comes easy goes easy, too, and Bergstrom eventually lost everything.