The Biggest Gambling Losses of the Most Notorious Gamblers

We constantly see the faces of the lucky ones who won the lottery. We hear stories of people that won fortunes in casinos. But the ones that lose immense amounts of money are hardly that known. Sometimes rumours are spread about a celebrity that turned a Las Vegas weekend trip into a spectacle, but it happens rarely and usually is far away from the truth. We, on the other hand, decided to gather some of the biggest gambling losses and give you some curious details about people that gave away their wealth on poker rooms, blackjack tables and sports bookies.

Many of the gambling losses stories that you will read below are not confirmed and we cannot expect them to be, in all honesty. If you lose millions of dollars, you wouldn’t go out and shout it to the world, would you? There are, however, solid proves that help with the credibility of these tales. Dealers that saw the happenings, close ones that shared with the media and so on.

Harry Kakavas – 1.5 Billion Dollars

Harry Kakavas is from Australia and made his fortune from selling real estates on the Gold Coast. But he is actually known as one of the biggest gamblers that the continent ever had. And the Crown Casino in Melbourne witnessed how far he can go with his bets. Unfortunately for Kakavas, this is not the only gambling venue that had a taste of his habits. The biggest reported loss of his is 164 Million dollars in the range of 6 hours. According to rumours, though, Kakavas’ gambling problem cost him more than 1 billion and a half which turned him into the most renowned player with a huge gambling problem.

Maureen O’Connor – 1 Billion Dollars

Maureen was the first woman to become a mayor of San Diego and she served in the position for 6 years, up to 1992. She is also one of the few women that enter the section of Whales. And while she could’ve had an amazing career in politics, she turned to the other side. Her appetite for gambling cost her more than 1 billion dollars, in the range of years. She was also charged for money laundering, regarding the charity organization founded by her husband, Robert Peterson. In 2013, in court, she associated her gambling addiction with a brain tumour, for which she had surgery two years prior to the charges.

Kerry Packer – 28 Million Dollars

If you never heard of Kerry Packer, we cannot blame you. He is an Australian media tycoon that had a certain passion for gambling. An impeccable businessman, Packer was known for throwing substantial sums in casinos all over the globe. And while he had some wins that are hard to even imagine he holds a record that fits perfectly with the topic of our article. In the very end of the 20th century, a trip to London which lasted barely three weeks made the wallet of Packer lighter. 28 million dollars lighter, to be exact. And this is believed to be the biggest among UK gambling losses of all time. Well, at least we have to admit that Packer hardly felt this loss, taking into account his bankroll, and he kept on ‘amusing’ casinos with his huge wins and losses, together with his strange demands and jokes.

Terrance Watanabe – 127 Million Dollars

Terrance Watanabe is the CEO of the Oriental Trading Company, which was founded by his father in the 1930s. Unfortunately, Watanabe is not famous with his business attitude, nor is the pride of the family. That is because in the range of one year he threw in the wind an amount that easily ranks in the chart for the biggest gambling losses in history. In 2007, Harrah’s in Las Vegas took around 127 million dollars from the pocket of poor Terrance. This is around 6% of the annual revenue of the casino. The scandal, though, went deeper when Watanabe stated that he won’t pay the credit of almost 15 million dollars that the casino gave him so he can continue with his gambling losses. He also said that the staff of Harrah’s was secretly intoxicating him with medications. Needless to say, two years later he was charged for intent to steal and defraud.

Andy Beal – 50 Million Dollars

Andy Beal is a banker from Dallas, which impressed the world with his business skills and eye for potential profits. He was also enrolled in aerospace, but that activity of his was dropped after few years. But business opportunities are not the only thing Andy enrols in. He has a passion for poker, which brought him to sit on a table with the Corporation. The latter was a team of 7, with Phil Ivey becoming the 8th player. Because of them, Beal had his first real losses in poker. At the end of it all, Beal went away with around 50 million dollars less. And he is known as the player that won more money from poker in a single day than any other! Still, with his battle against the pros of the Corporation, he also entered the list of the worst gambling losses!

High-Rollers, High-Stakes and the Worst Gambling Losses

All in all, gambling hides risks, but the bigger your bet, the bigger your possible loss would be. The people that you read about in our article are a small part of the notorious players that gave food to many stories for big gambling losses. They all had substantial bankrolls, which eventually became smaller for the time being. But people like Packer, for example, are known also for their huge wins and successes. Betting can turn into a nightmare if you lose control of it, and you should always gamble responsibly. After all, a million for a billionaire is not a problem, but for a normal human being, one salary is enough to destroy relationships, happiness and sanity!