4 minute read
For some people, the casino is a place to relax, have a great drink or a great meal. For others, it’s a place to enjoy a unique atmosphere. But for most people, stepping into the casino is a matter of hope! The hope to win, and preferably, to win big!
“The house always wins”, as the saying goes. Yet, millions of people still visit the casinos all around the world to try their luck hitting the jackpot. Aside from scratch cards and poker games where the stakes can get pretty high, casinos are still the number one spot where all dreams of fortune get a chance to come true. Because casinos can make you win big. So big that some winners have made history.
Archie Karas: a casino legend
Born in a family constantly struggling with financial issues, Greek player Archie Karas turned his life around by becoming a casino world legend. As a kid, he started playing marbles for money. He then stepped his game up to playing pool and poker, but with way less success. In December 1992, completely bankrupt, he heads over to Vegas with just 50$ in his pockets.
And he nails it! He bumps into a poker tournament as he gets there and wins a hefty sum of 10 000$. That initial gain will then grow to become no less than 40 million dollars in three years. Until…the tide turns and Archie loses close to all his fortune in just three weeks. An appalling catastrophe that seems to leave him indifferent…
'One day I might be driving a Mercedes, and the next day I might be sleeping in it!’ – Archie Karas
Regardless, Archie becomes the absolute number 1 of all casino winners throughout the world.
The anonymous winners
In a whole different style, we love the story of this 25-year-old software engineer - stayed anonymous - who decided to collect his earnings in a quite reasonable way. Indeed, the lucky winner of 39,7 million dollars at the slot machines in March 2003 asked to receive his gains in transfers of 1,5 million dollars at a time, rather than all at once.
And this money management genius is not the only winner who decided to remain anonymous. The retired air stewardess who gained over 27,5 millions wished to keep her identity a secret as well. Same goes with the 49-year-old business consultant from Illinois, USA, who threw 10$ in a Megabucks machine and earned 21 million dollars from the very first go. You see, happiness might really just be around the corner!
Good luck, bad luck
Sometimes, it takes a little bit of perseverance to score big. That’s the case of cocktail waitress Cynthia Jay-Brennan who played 27$, split in rounds of 3$, and did not hit the jackpot until her ninth and last attempt! With 24,96 million dollars in her pocket, Cynthia treated herself to a few weeks of a luxurious life, a splendid wedding with her fiancé and a honeymoon to the Fidjis, while taking care of her family financially.
Cynthia felt pretty lucky, until a family trip to Las Vegas, March 11. She went from good luck to bad luck in a split second as a drunk driver drove into the back of her car while she was stopped at a red light, and killed her sister on the spot while leaving Cynthia in a coma. When she finally woke up, she was paralysed from the waist down. And even though she considers herself lucky to be able to pay for her medical fees with her gains, she says: “I’d give back every cent I have to go back to the days before the accident.”
Tales of winners are endless and all very different so, whether you win big, small or nothing at all, don’t forget that the tide may turn! Also, keep in mind that you can always count on the great atmosphere of VIAGE to have a great entertaining time, anytime!
