Archie Karas: A Casino Legend

Among gamblers, Archie Karas is considered a legend, and for good reason. The Greek player became famous for having the longest winning streak in the history of gambling, referred to as The Run. During The Run, Archie went from having fifty dollars to winning forty million, only to lose everything. Let’s see Archie Karas: a casino legend’s story!

How it All Started

Archie Karas, also nicknamed The Greek, was born in 1950 in Greece as Anargyros Nicholas Karabourniotis. Growing up in a poor family encouraged Archie to help his parents somehow. He started gambling with the kids next door, and the game went so well for him that he kept winning their lunch money. These little successes boosted his confidence to take more risks and raise the stakes. 

At 15, he got enough of his father’s abuse and ran away to work as a waiter on a cruise ship. When the ship docked in Portland two years later, he decided to stay and try his luck at the land of opportunity. Without speaking English, he hitchhiked to Los Angeles. He worked as a waiter again and learned the language while going to a billiards saloon in his free time. He got better and practiced more, so by the age of 19, he won a pile of money from the players, including the owner. 

Archie then realized that with this knowledge, he might never have to work again in his life, or at least not manual work. In the meantime, he also learned the rules of Texas Hold’Em and started playing in the same saloon. What impressed and horrified his opponents the most was that Karas felt no fear at all. In his defense, he needed this approach to be called Archie Karas: a casino legend!

Archie Karas, a Casino Legend

Most gamblers know that without bankroll management, your career will quickly end. Archie Karas did not share this view since he said yes even to the riskiest games. Due to this approach, his career was full of ups and down. He was out of control and wanted more and more.

Karas did not seem to learn from his errors; the only thing he cared about was becoming a famous poker player. However, his reckless decisions led to his downfall. He had to start over with only fifty dollars left in his pocket. He drove to Las Vegas because it is the one place you can become a famous gambler.

His Career Took Off!

Before fleeing LA, Karas lost two million dollars, but he got over it quickly, just like other times. He did not waste any time! Upon arriving, Karas went straight to the casino, knowing the $50 was not enough to play high stake games. Believe it or not, he ran into an old friend who was aware of Archie’s talent and skills, so he lent him ten thousand dollars. Archie tripled it within three hours. Then, he went to a billiard room, where he met a well-known and wealthy player who was good at billiards and poker.

According to online casino sites in the US, Karas never revealed this guy’s name; he always referred to him only as Mr. X. Archie immediately challenged Mr. X to a game of 9 ball pool and then another and another… At first, the bet was 5,000 dollars per match, but this escalated quickly to a point where a single party meant 40,000 dollars. Karas won hundreds of thousands of dollars from Mr. X, but it still wasn’t enough. They started playing poker, where the Greek won another 3 million dollars!

Archie Karas: a Casino Legend

Three months after arriving in Las Vegas, Archie Karas acquired a $7,000,000 fortune. For many, this would have been more than enough, as he could have built a comfortable life, but, as you have probably guessed, Archie was not like that.

He wanted to beat the best and anyone who got in his way. Karas believed that he was the best heads-up player in the world, and that’s why the Greek agreed to every match with confidence. In the meantime, he also turned his attention to craps because he couldn’t find new and worthy opponents. He started to enter high-stake games in craps too. 

At his favorite casino, the Binions Horseshoe casino, he repeatedly tried to persuade the owner to let him play at the highest level possible. After another four months, he made 17 million dollars, still not showing signs of stopping.

Eventually, his fortune reached 25 million dollars. His biggest problem was where to keep all his money. He surrounded himself with security guards, and when his driver drove him around, he never told him the destination, only which way to turn, etc. Only his closest friends knew where he lived, and Archie always had a gun on him. It’s safe to say that he grew paranoid.

Riding the Wave of Success

Is it possible to bankrupt a successful casino? Well, Archie almost did it. At one time, there was no worthy opponent at the poker table, so he started playing craps. At the Horseshoe Casino, Archie, the most esteemed guest, was allowed to play above maximum stake. The owner did not want to anger Karas, so he let the Greek play with a bet of 100,000 dollars. Then something incredible happened! Archie couldn’t lose.

However, the owner was not exactly happy to see his series. In the end, they hoped for at least one lost round, which would have brought most of the money back. Though it did not happen, and he ended up with 300,000 dollars. At the end of the game, Archie won every round pocketing 18 million dollars! Basically, the casino had to buy back some of the chips, so they were rightfully afraid that the Greek would bankrupt them.

All in all, Karas had already won 40 million dollars, more than half of which he collected with the dice. He played and won against high-profile players like Stu Ungar or Doyle Brunson. That’s how Archie Karas became a casino legend who had to build his career from the ground up. He started with fifty dollars in his pocket, and within two years, he made forty million in Las Vegas. There is no poker player or casino employee who hasn’t heard this story!

Archie Karas: a Casino Legend

Everything has to come to an end once. Especially, if it’s about gambling since you can’t win forever, though you can try it at Ignition Casino. Sooner or later, the most fortunate player’s luck will run out too. Archie Karas went through the same thing too. He lost all the 40 million dollars within a few months! First, Karas lost $11 million in craps, and for the first time, he was angry at himself for not stopping. So, out of spite, he returned to the casino the next day. He decided on baccarat and played over maximum stake again.

This time, the owner could finally rejoice since Archie lost $17 million! That is an impossible amount, though we are talking about Archie Karas: a casino legend! He thought that if craps and baccarat did not work, poker will, but once you start losing, it’s hard to get back on track. He ended up losing another two million dollars. After that humbling experience, he decided to take a break and went home to Greece. However, that did not seem to help either since, after his return, he started gambling again, losing the rest of his fortune.

If Karas would have valued the money, he wouldn’t have lost it all. However, he was reckless and didn’t have a single humble bone in his body. Although, it’s also true that if he valued money more, he would never have won so much in the first place. What was his secret?

Well, as we have mentioned, he did not value what he had at all. He was not afraid to take on the fiercest challenges and make the riskiest decisions. He was a unique figure in the gambling world, and his story did not end there!

Shocking News

Archie fell off the face of the earth in the months that followed. Many thought he could not bear the shame and the thought of losing everything and committed suicide. However, that was far from the truth. Archie was a clever man who knew what he wanted and went for it. Six months later, he appeared in a Las Vegas casino and didn’t seem to go anywhere. After spending all his time in the casinos, he made an even bigger fortune. Then one day came some shocking news!

In 2013, the police arrested the legendary player and accused him of fraud. According to online casino sites in the US, he played blackjack at a casino where he marked the cards with a specific dye, giving him an unfair advantage over the house. He marked only the high cards, so he knew exactly the outcome of the next card.

That was Karas’s fourth arrest, by the way, and spent 73 days in prison. He got out of the longer sentence again, and a year later, when he pleaded guilty, they placed him on three-year probation and ordered him to pay about $7,000.

 Karas was eventually blacklisted, which means that he can’t set foot in any Nevada casino. This is a sad yet deserved end to the story of Archie Karas: a casino legend that was not short of successes and failures. Despite the ban, Archie stayed in Vegas, where he still lives. By the way, Archie did not stop gambling, but he has to travel to different states to indulge in his passion or use online sites like Ignition Casino. Here are some of the other legendary casino hustles!

Click here to try 150% up to $1,500 at Ignition Casino