Famous Gambling Addicts
- Famous Gambling Addicts People
- Famous Drug Addicts
- Famous Addicts In Recovery
- Famous Gambling Addicts Uk
- Famous Gambling Addicts Websites
- Famous Gambling Addicts Names
Playing games of chance for money, otherwise known as gambling, can be a fun way to pass the time and test out how your luck is running that day. Unfortunately for some people, it can be a little too much fun and those who lack self-control will find themselves in a downward spiral of increasing stakes and a decreased concern for anything outside of gambling.
Whether you are a minimum-wage worker or a multi-billionaire oil tycoon, there is a limit to the amount of money that you should be risking on any given day. No one has unlimited money, and the thrill of hitting a big score can sometimes drive people to gamble far beyond their bankroll.
I will now take a closer look with you at some of the most famous gambling addicts that have ever walked the face of the Earth. Even though some of these stories may sound like these people led an exciting life on the edge, I do not recommend trying to pull these stunts at home.
Archie Karas
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It only makes sense that the first famous gambling addict I talk about today is the king of them all. Archie Karas’ story is almost like it was written for a movie, but I assure you that this all happened in real life and that he was actually crazy enough to let all of these things happen.
Born way back in 1950, Archie was a gambler from the very beginning of his life. His first gamble was running away from home after his father threw a shovel at his head, and he proceeded to shoot marbles with other people on the street in order to feed himself.
He soon got tired of living in Greece and decided to get a job as a waiter on a ship for around $60 per month. Once his ship arrived in the USA, Archie decided to test his luck by staying there, and he ended up in Los Angeles with another boring waiter job.
In addition to this new job, he became such a monster at billiards that he began to play people for money. It turns out that he was so skilled at the game of pool that no one would gamble with him anymore, as he was pulling in more money every week than his waiter job was paying.
After his pool hustle came to a halt in Los Angeles, Archie turned to playing poker for a living. He valued money so little that he was a very tough opponent for most people, as he was constantly raising and re-raising, which really put people to the test. He amassed nearly $2 million from his poker hustles and got such a big ego that he thought he would start to take on poker legends like Doyle Brunson.
As you can imagine, this did not end well for him, since high stakes poker professionals are not rattled by intimidating antics such as Archie’s. He blew through his entire $2 million bankroll in these poker games, even though he was just working for $60 a month not too long before that.
At this point, Archie did the exact opposite of what most people would do and decided to move to Las Vegas with his last $50. In true gambling addict fashion, he convinced someone he knew from Los Angeles to loan him $10,000 based on his fierce reputation in the poker world.
This “small” loan was the turning point for Archie Karas, since he took it straight to the poker tables and turned it into $30,000. He then started pool hustling again with this money against a bunch of local sharks and proved himself to be superior by running his bankroll up to $1.2 million. There were reports that he was playing for as much as $40,000 per pool game.
One of the players that Archie took the most money from in pool then decided to challenge Archie in poker, which filled Archie’s pockets even further. Before long, Archie had dominated this poor fellow and found himself with a $7,000,000 bankroll.
Most people might call it a day once they had $7,000,000 locked up, but Archie would proceed to sit at a poker table by himself every day with $5,000,000 on the table waiting for any challenger who had the mental fortitude to gamble that high. This was almost his entire bankroll, which meant that one bad beat could erase all of his fortunes.
Somehow or another, Archie managed to dodge any cruel twist of fate for the following six months as he proceeded to stomp all of the best poker players in Vegas with his fearless approach. He amassed $40 million, at which point no one would play him in poker anymore.
Instead of resting on his laurels at the top of the poker world with $40 million and living a life of luxury, Archie decided to start playing casino games with the same aggression and carelessness that he used in the poker and billiards worlds. Anyone who understands what “house edge” means can probably see how this is going to end.
After three years of nonstop winning in a town that is extremely tough to win in at all, Archie proceeded to punt off his entire bankroll in a matter of just three weeks. He lost over $10 million playing craps for $100,000 a roll, lost over $17 million playing baccarat at $300,000 per hand, and then decided to take a break with his last $12 million or so.
Archie then moved back to Greece to clear his mind and reconsider his questionable life choices up to this point, but the gambling addict that he had inside called him to Vegas again. When he returned, he proceeded to dust off the rest of his fortune in craps, baccarat, and poker against Johnny Chan, who is a two-time WSOP champion.
This ended one of the sickest gambling runs to have ever occurred in the history of gambling itself, which begs the question of whether he was cheating or not. He was arrested recently in 2013 after being caught marking cards at a blackjack table, so the idea that he fraudulently earned that $40 million is not so far-fetched.
Michael Jordan
This man needs no introduction, since he is known worldwide as the best basketball player to ever live. However, this confidence that he could be the best spilled over into gambling and the results were not what he had hoped.
There is not much information about Michael Jordan and his gambling addiction before he became an NBA star. I assume that he picked up this habit later in life once he came across hundreds of millions of dollars.
He was a heavy sports bettor as well as a heavy blackjack player. There are also reports that he owed as much as $1.25 million to one person just for losing to him in golf.
One of the biggest gambling controversies surrounding Michael Jordan was in 1993 when he was caught gambling in Atlantic City casinos the night before a big playoff game. He should have been resting up and focusing on the task at hand, but gambling was more important to him.
The funny thing is that Atlantic City was a full 2-hour ride away from where his team was staying in New York. He had only lost $5,000 that day, but this whole incident just goes to show that sometimes even rich celebrities do not have their head on straight when it comes to gambling.
As soon as the NBA launched an investigation into Michael Jordan’s gambling habits to make sure he did not break any league rules, he abruptly retired from the NBA for the first time. This begs the question of whether he felt like he needed to hide something or if he simply needed to get away from the game to get a grip on himself and his addiction.
Leonard Tose
Leonard Tose is not as famous as the first two gambling addicts that I have mentioned thus far, but he certainly was just as big of a risk-taker. He was the owner of a trucking company early in life, and once he amassed a fortune of around $20 million from this company, he became the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1969 to 1985.
He bought the team for a total of $16.1 million, which set a record at the time for the most expensive team purchase. Some might say that this was a gamble in and of itself, but Tose was accustomed to taking such heavy risks.
He reportedly tried to sue the casinos for getting him too drunk to know the difference between $50,000 and $500,000, but he predictably lost that court battle.
He was known for his reckless nature when gambling, and blackjack was his game of choice. It had been reported that he played up to seven hands of blackjack at a time and bet $10,000-$20,000 on each hand.
Throwing caution to the wind in this manner contributed to his eventual downfall, as he continued this rapid gambling pace even after he sold the Eagles. When all was said and done, he was completely broke and had lost his entire $65 million fortune and was evicted from his home.
Harry Kakavas
Harry Kakavas was an Australian real estate salesman who made a giant fortune from his houses located on the Gold Coast. It was a classic case of being lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, but Harry insisted on testing his luck even further in casinos.
It turns out that Harry was clinically diagnosed as a pathological gambler who was unable to control himself or think rationally when in a gambling environment. This problem became quite clear after he punted off an astounding $1.5 BILLION in just 14 months to casinos all over the world.
His game of choice was baccarat, and he was known for betting up to $300,000 per hand. Once he got tired of losing millions to casinos in Australia, he would travel to Macau and Las Vegas to try his luck, but to no avail.
For the next seven years, he proceeded to stop selling real estate and focused his attention on suing the casinos for taking advantage of him. They had provided him with private jets to and from the casinos, millions of dollars in gambling credit, and even drove him to the bank to take out an extra $345,000 one day when he had already punted off $1 million.
As is the case with most of these high-stakes gamblers suing the casinos, Harry came away empty-handed. After losing all of his court battles, he returned to selling real estate on the Gold Coast in 2013. He is reportedly cured of his gambling addiction now and is back to living a normal life at this point, but very few people on the planet can claim that they have felt the exquisite pain of losing as much money as he did.
The Takeaway
Ever hear the saying, “don’t try this at home?”
This blog was written solely to keep you entertained and to open your eyes to some of the most reckless gamblers who have ever lived. I wasn’t trying to give you any ideas for next time you are at the casino or playing on the best sites. Call them degenerates, call them superstitious, call them whatever you want—these guys loved to gamble and had a tough time saying no.
Archie Kara’s story is hard to fathom, but it happened. From 0 to $40 million, and back to 0, it’s quite unbelievable. You and I both know all about Michael Jordan’s premier talents on the hardwood floor, but not everyone knows that this guy can’t play a hole of golf or a game of poker without massive amounts of money on the line.
Leonard Tose was a case of letting the lavish lifestyle get the best of him. Everything was going great for the distinguished businessman until he let his gambling addiction ruin everything.
Last but not least, Harry Kakavas lost sums of money that you won’t ever have to worry about losing. To say the ups and downs of Harry’s gambling ordeals were like a rollercoaster would be an understatement. I am talking about the most extreme levels of highs and lows on a Baccarat table that one could ever imagine.
I hoped you enjoyed the cases of these individuals who just couldn’t get enough of the thrills of gambling. Like them or hate them. Respect them or think they are completely unethical and irresponsible. These are facts. These are the stories of four of the most notorious “gambleholics” known to mankind.
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.10 Drugs Facts And Statistics
This overview contains 10 interesting drugs facts from the Netherlands that reflect the liberal Dutch drug policy. Alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, magic truffles and other things are part of this sheet with drugs facts, statistics and sources.
Famous Gambling Addicts People
1 There Are 164 Coffeeshops in Amsterdam
People often ask: How many coffeeshops are in Amsterdam?
Amsterdam has currently 164 coffeeshops. In the Netherlands, coffeeshops are businesses where the sale of cannabis for personal consumption by the public is tolerated by the Dutch authorities.
The number of coffeeshops in Amsterdam has drastically decreased. In 1993 there were more than 400 coffeeshops in Amsterdam. This decreased from 283 in the year 2000, from 222 coffeeshops in 2011, to 174 at the end of 2015 (a decrease of 39% ). At present there are 164 coffeeshops in Holland’s capital. (Source)
In the Netherlands it is illegal to grow cannabis for (commercial) sale. It’s only allowed to have a maximum of 5 cannabis plants for own use. Because of this Dutch opium law, coffeeshop owners in the Netherlands are forced to buy their cannabis illegally from criminals.
2 Low Cannabis Use In The Netherlands
With cannabis easily available a lot of people expect that the Dutch are heavy cannabis users. But research from 2016 by Holland’s most preeminent drug addiction treatment authority showed that 1,6% of the Dutch population smoke on a daily basis. This around 270.000 persons on a population of around 17.2 million. 4,1% indicated that they had used cannabis in the last month. Overall 23,7% of the Dutch have used cannabis at least once in their life. (Source)
3 The Netherlands Is Biggest XTC Producer In The World
The Netherlands holds the global top spot when it comes to the production of XTC. In 2017, research estimated that a total of 1 billion XTC pills were produced each year in the Netherlands. In total Dutch criminals produced at least € 18.9 billion of ecstasy and amphetamines in 2017 (Holland’s defence budget is around € 11 billion). (Source)
This position can be explained by, among other things, the great location and infrastructure of the Netherlands. The Dutch tolerant attitude towards the use and production of synthetic drugs also plays a major role. There currently is a shortage of detectives, as a result the chances of getting caught are small. And the penalties for drug crimes are relatively low in the Netherlands.
Drug Prices in the Netherlands
The production cost of a single XTC pill is around 0,20 euro cents in the Netherlands. One XTC pill can easily bring in around 25,- euros in Australia. You can get XTC comparatively cheap in Amsterdam. In the Netherlands, the average market price is 4 Euro for a high quality XTC pill. (Source)
4 There Are 31 Drug Testing Centers In The Netherlands
In the Netherlands there are 31 drug testing centers where people can get their illegal drugs tested. Most of these drug testing centers are located in the major cities in the country. Amsterdam has a few. These legal businesses test the content of illegal drugs (XTC/MDMA, amphetamines, cocaine, LSD etc.) and it’s 100% legal. These drug tests + advice cost around 2,5 euro per test. These organisations share their knowledge, the content of the drugs, the effects and risks.
Harm Reduction Model
The use of drugs is not without risks. It is therefore good to inform yourself about the effects and health risks of a substance. Fortunately that is possible in the Netherlands. Therefore it is recommended you always gets the drugs tested so that you know what and how much is in it. This is the Dutch approach on informing people about drugs: harm-reduction. In Amsterdam there are two official drug test labs called GGD and Jellinek. These drug testing centers are mostly visited by locals. For just 2,50 euro per sample one can get illegal drugs tested legally in Amsterdam. In other Dutch cities – Hilversum, Amersfoort and Utrecht – these drug testing services are even free. (Source)
XTC pills can sometimes be recognised on the spot in the drugs-database of GGD/Jellinek. In that case one immediately gets a test result. Unrecognised XTC pills and all other types of drugs must be sent for a lab analysis.
5 Free Addiction Treatment Programs In The Netherlands
Addiction care falls under everyone’s health insurance policy in the Netherlands. If one need help getting rid of any addiction, the costs will be fully reimbursed by Dutch health insurers. This also applies to clinic admissions. A large part of the treatments at Holland’s largest and most known institute for addiction care – Jellinek – are based on cognitive behavioural therapy. One can also follow treatments based on the Minnesota-model. Jellinek offers all types of addiction treatments; alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, gaming, gambling, tobacco, sex, etcetera. All are fully reimbursed by Dutch health insurers.
There are even (Dutch) addiction-clinics in South Africa that are also fully reimbursed by Dutch insurance. A person only needs to pay its deductible amount – usually between 300 and 450 euro. (Source)
6 Low Heroin Use In The Netherlands
According to a latest estimate in 2012, there are 14.000 problematic opiate users in the Netherlands. In addition to opiates, this group uses almost all also crack cocaine. In 2009, there were an estimated 3.023 problematic opiate users in Amsterdam.
At the start of the 1970’s there were 0 heroin addicts in the Netherlands, in 1980 there were 10,000 heroin addicts in Amsterdam alone and 30,000 in the Netherlands. A true public health crisis!
Most heroin addicts in the Netherlands use a method whereby heroin is burned on aluminum foil and the vapour is inhaled. The heroin users who inject the drugs is 30% in the Netherlands. (Source)
Famous Drug Addicts
7 Alcohol Consumption In The Netherlands
Alcohol is also a drug and should therefore be mentioned in this sheet with 10 drugs facts.
In 2017, 79,5% of all Dutch adults had drunk alcohol in the past year. That’s 11 million people. In the general population (15 years and older), the Netherlands is one of the EU member states where the least liters of alcohol per head are consumed. Alcohol consumption is more common among the highly educated than among the lower educated. 88.4% of highly educated Dutch people say they sometimes drink alcohol, compared to 67.3% of those with a low educational level. (Source)
Research done in between 2007 – 2009 showed that the Netherlands had almost 400.000 alcohol abusers and 82.400 alcohol addicts. In 2015 a total of 29.374 people were registered with addiction care in the Netherlands, with alcohol consumption being the primary problem. (Source)
9 High Cocaine Use In The Netherlands
In 2017, approximately 1.8% of the Dutch population aged 18 and older had used cocaine in the past year. Approximately 250.000 people. This percentage is only higher in the United states, United kingdom and Australia. (Source)
The percentage Dutch that had ever used cocaine rose from 5.2% in 2017 to 5.62% in 2018. The number of young users at festivals and in clubs is increasing. However, the number of problem users is decreasing. Daily cocaine consumption in the Netherlands amounts to around 8-10 kg per day. Amsterdam alone takes up 4 kg of that. (Source)
Dutch Cocaine Factory
From 1870 till 1919 cocaine was legal in the Netherlands. In the 1910’s the Netherlands was actually a global market leader in the production of cocaine. The Dutch Cocaine Factory was located in the South-West of Amsterdam and people could even invest in this cocaine factory via stocks. Even though cocaine became an illegal substance in 1919 due to the Dutch Opium Law, it could still be produced for export and medical purposes. In the early 1920’s the Dutch Cocaine Factory produced 20% of the world’s cocaine. (Source)
Learn more about the Dutch Cocaine Factory and get many interesting drugs facts during our exciting Amsterdam Drugs Tour.
10 Drug Smuggling In The Netherlands
Famous Addicts In Recovery
A lot of drugs is smuggled into and from the Netherlands. In 2019, the amount of seized cocaine in the port of Rotterdam doubled. 38,000 kilos cocaine was intercepted in 2019, compared to 19,000 kilos in 2018. A 100% increase! In the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp combined a record amount of almost 100,000 kilos of cocaine was intercepted. In 2018 the total was 74,000 kilos. Almost all cocaine that enters via Belgium’s harbours is first transported to the Netherlands before being distributed to Europe. (Source)
Famous Gambling Addicts Uk
It’s estimated that only 10% of the drugs that enter the Netherlands are actually consumed here. The vast majority goes to the rest of Europe.
Amsterdam Drugs Tour
Famous Gambling Addicts Websites
Hear more drugs facts during our super interesting Amsterdam Drugs Tour. During this 1,5 hour walking tour our local guides explain everything about the liberal Dutch drug policy, the history of drugs, use, effects, war on drugs, prices and much more. Explore the best drug highlights in town while learning everything about drugs in the Netherlands.