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tommy![]() Eternal Order Devil's Island 15717 Posts ![]() |
There are an estimated 180 gamblers known as 'whales'. So who are they, that is questiom. Is there a list some place?
If there is a single truth about Magic, it is that nothing on earth so efficiently evades it.
Tommy |
silverking![]() Inner circle 4574 Posts ![]() |
Let's start one (keep adding names with brief stories of their exploits):
Rumor states that 75% of the 150 to 200 whales in the world are Asian......a portion of them (it might be fair to say) are somewhat unknown (at least to the public) outside of that part of the world. Definition of how much scratch is required per table session might be 100 betting units for whatever the table limit is. If the table limit is $20,000.00, then you'd need $2 million to sit down and play. If the table limit is 50K, then you'd need $5 million........and on up: "The List" Kerry Packer - once won $28 million in 48 minutes, Las Vegas casinos gave him a 20% discount on his losses.......rumored to have offered a guy a coin-flip for $60 million dollars. Liked to play all the seats at a Blackjack table, for upwards of $250,000.00 per hand. Was worth over $6 Billion dollars when he died. Terrance Watanabe - $200 million in the hole in Las Vegas. Inherited his fathers "party favor" company fortune. Claims the casinos kept him in booze, drugs, and women in order to "trick" him into staying and gambling. In Vegas today he's routinely called "the biggest loser of all time". (he's certainly got one of the worst hair-cuts of all time). Archie Karas - turned $50.00 (fifty) dollars into $40 MILLION dollars in what's simply known as "the run". He lost most of it before stopping, and often bet $300 thousand dollars per hand at whatever game he was playing. When he played Hold'Em with Chip Reese, Stu Unger, Doyle Brunson and the rest of the boys, it was often in an $8000.00/$16,000.00 NL game! He played nearly every casino table game..........he's unique in that he wasn't a whale, then he was a whale, and finally a whale no more. In casino circles he's legend. (Archie probably isn't a "true" whale, but his along with Stu Unger's story is probably one of the greatest in all gambling). |
stoneunhinged![]() Inner circle 3067 Posts ![]() |
Two more:
Akio Kashiwagi - murdered by being stabbed 150 times with a samurai sword (the Yakuza?), and the basis for the character K.K. Ichikawa in Casino, Kashiwagi would routinely bet 100K or 200K per hand for hours--make that even *days* on end, only grabbing a few ours of sleep between 48 hour sessions at the table. Known for losing $10,000,000 in a single eight day session at the Trump Plaza in 1990. Mo Chan - after having a good run--he was up $10 million--Sydney's Star City casino changed its payback commission policy. So he stormed out of the place and never went back. He allegedly would bet as much as 500k per game. Whichever Star City executive decided to change the rules on him was an idiot. |
tommy![]() Eternal Order Devil's Island 15717 Posts ![]() |
'Fat Man': Fouad al-Zayat Syrian-born gambler - one of an estimated 180 high-rolling international gamblers known as 'whales' The Fat Man lost £2m one night at Aspinall's in London but refused to pay saying 'Casinos give a service, and if the service is not good, considering the price which you are paying, then you do not pay. 'If you go to a restaurant and you do not like the food, you do not pay. If you go to the ***house and do not get the pleasure you were seeking, you do not pay.' And he won the resulting court case. Where it emerged he had lost £23m there previously and paid them. He said he would never bet again in London. He has a villa in Cyprus. Thanks. I will see if I can find some more. A couple of names spring to mind but not casino gamblers as such but horse racing punters. I don’t know if they count as whales. Whale Hunting Tips here in Poker magazine that mentions Larry Flint and Bill Gates but it seems Gates is not a whale. http://www.pokerplayer.co.uk/sports-bett......cyr.html
If there is a single truth about Magic, it is that nothing on earth so efficiently evades it.
Tommy |
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