Richest Gamblers in the World – Millions of Dollars

We have all tried to gamble at least once in our life hoping to get some cash out of it. Sometimes it worked while in other cases we lost the money. However, gambling has skyrocketed many people’s earnings and income. With talent and intelligence, some professional gamblers made the list of the richest people in the world. In this article, we count down the richest gamblers in the world who have made millions playing the game. 

Bill Benter – The Richest Gambler in the World

Bill Benter tops the list of the richest gamblers of the world as estimates reveal that he makes 100 million dollars per year. Benter always displayed an exceptional talent in mathematics and obtained a degree in physics in 1977. However, he never wanted to pursue a career in teaching and went for gambling. Using his phenomenal skills in counting, Benter was consistently winning on the blackjack tables in Vegas. He was winning so much money to the point that all of the Vegas’ casinos banned him for life.

After getting banned from entering all the casinos in Vegas, Benter turned and switched his focus on horse racing gambling. Using his mathematical genius, he developed a model the predicts the outcome of the races. In his model, he proposed several factors that affect the outcome of any race and organized those factors on the basis of importance. Using those factors, he developed the first-ever gambling software that would predict the outcome of the races very accurately. It was reported that Benter earns somewhere between 5 to 10 million dollars on a race day, and that his current net worth is close to 1 billion dollars making him on top of the richest gamblers in the World list.

Edward O. Thorp – The Card Counting Mastermind

Being a mathematician with a Ph.D. degree in mathematics, Edward O. Thorp became one of the most successful gamblers in the world. What we know today as “Card Counting Strategy” was invented by this man! Using such a strategy, Thorp was the first ever to use computer simulations to win at the game of blackjack. His simulations were so accurate that he decided to build a wearable computer and take into the casinos of Las Vegas, Reno, and Lake Tahoe. After winning so much money at the roulette and blackjack tables, casinos decided to ban the use of computers during the games. The ban on computers in 1985 did not stop him from finding other ways to win money. Thorp used his statistics and probability knowledge to predict stock markets.

Also, he went on and wrote the famous book “Beat the Dealer” which is a guidebook for amateur and professional players on card counting. To this day, the book is still the best guidebook for card counting and ways of beating the dealer. He also developed the “Thorp Count Method” for the backgammon game. Thorp is one of the richest gamblers in the world with an estimated net worth of 800 million dollars.

Zeljko Ranogajec – The “Anonymous” Richest Gambler in the World

Ranogajec is an Australian professional gambler who is known for blackjack and horse race betting and gambling. After dropping out of college, Ranogajec decided to pursue a career playing blackjack gambling. Having a good ability to calculate and blessed with a photographic memory, he was able to earn large amounts of money in a short period of time. It was reported that he started playing blackjack having a few hundred dollars, which he then later turned to millions.

Other professional gamblers described Ranogajec as “one of the most prolific and innovative advantage players of all time”. As he was winning constantly, casinos in Australia banned him from playing blackjack in their tables. This ban led him to turn to other gambling games such as keno and horse racing. He was able to earn large amounts of money from those sports and currently holds the record for the biggest win in keno with 7.5 million dollars.

Despite being one of the most talented and richest gamblers in the world, Ranogajec is not as famous as his colleagues. He keeps his life under the radar and rarely discloses anything about himself to the public. Rumors had it that he earns somewhere close 1 billion per year. However, according to the Australian Financial Review (AFR), his net worth is 600 million dollars.

Phil Ivey

Nicknamed the Tiger Woods of Poker, poker observers consider Phil Ivey to be the best poker player in the world. Beginning as an amateur player, Ivy used to gather and play poker with his friends and co-workers in New Jersey. At a very young age, it was obvious that he was a naturally talented poker player. After turning professional, Ivy became the youngest player ever to win ten World Series of Poker Bracelets. He was also nicknamed “The Phenom” after he won three World Series of Poker Bracelets. Also, up until 2011, Ivy held the record for the biggest win in online poker as he won 19,242,743 dollars. His prestigious winnings and awards also included a World Poker Tour title and getting elected to be in the Poker Hall of Fame in 2017.

As of today, Ivy has a net worth of over 100 million dollars and is one of the most famous and richest online gamblers in the world. You also have the opportunity of earning such large amounts of cash with online gambling. You can gamble on online casino sites in the US and earn a lot of money. Who knows, you may be the next Phil Ivey.

Chris Ferguson

The final professional and one of the richest gamblers in the world on our list is Chris Ferguson. Although Ferguson started gambling at a young age, he has pursued a Ph.D. degree in computer science from UCLA. Throughout his career, Ferguson has won many titles. For example, He has won six World Series of Poker events which include the 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship and the 2000 WSOP main event. Also, he founded one of the major online gambling sites called Full Tilt Poker. With his dedication to poker, Chris Fergusons current net worth is approximately 80 million dollars.

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