We’ve seen movies of gambling, where the games have been romanticized with the rich and lavish lifestyle that comes with a successful career, but how about in real life? There are a few famous figures throughout history who managed to make their mark as some of the most successful gamblers in the industry of casinos and the online casino.
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Chris Moneymaker
Born in 1975, Christopher Moneymaker became an overnight sensation when he qualified for the 2003 World Series of Poker when he registered for an $86 satellite tournament on an online casino. Moneymaker became the first ever world champion to have qualified from a poker site. Having lasted against 838 other players on the series, he also won the $2.5 mill and WSOP gold bracelet which raised the profile of poker- this is now known as the “moneymaker effect”.
Moneymaker (what a cool name!), who had two jobs as an accountant and side job in a restaurant, quit them both and became a professional poker player. He also became the face for PokerStars and Harrah’s Entertainment. Wisely, Moneymaker was able to start his own business called Moneymaker Gaming in 2005 and released a children’s book called Bet Big to Win Big, which sought to promote the teachings of basic math and life principles.
Chris Moneymaker now lives in Memphis, Tennessee with his second wife Christina Wren and as of 2019 was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame!
Doyle Brunson
More famously known as the Texas Dolly or The Godfather of Poker, Doyle Brunson is professional poker player who played for more than 50 years. He is also the author of Super/ System which is one of the most relevant Poker books that many professionals and amateurs still find useful today. Brunson believed it may have also cost him a lot of money in the future!
Before winning the Main World Series of Poker twice, once in 1976 and 1977, Doyle Brunson was a school principal, having earned a degree in education. He was also part of the All-State Texas basketball team, however a knee injury shattered his hopes of becoming professional basketball player.
Brunson has now retired and lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. During his entire run as a poker player, Brunson managed to garner over $6,100,000 in live tournaments and $3,000,000 at the WSOP events! However, his most lasting legacy is that he has a Texas hold’em hand named after him. So, to this very day, if a player shows a hand of 10-2, this is known as the Doyle Brunson hand…
Phil Ivey
Known as the best all round player in poker, Phil Ivey is a 10 times champion of the World Series of Poker and was conducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2017. Ivey began his poker career practicing with fellow colleagues at his telemarketing job in the 1990s.
He then started playing poker in Atlantic City with a fake ID card which led to his nickname ‘No Home Jerome’. In 2000, Phil Ivey won against Amarillo Slim which led to his first ever WSOP bracelet. With 10 bracelets won at WSOP at the age of 38 (the youngest ever to win this many), he’s currently tied with Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan for the second most all-time. It also only took him 14 years to acquire all 10 bracelets which is the quickest of any player.
Phil Ivey has twice been accused of cheating by casinos via a technique called edge sorting. Ivey did lose both court battles, although an appeal of the second incident did lead to a settlement between Ivey and the casino.
As of 2012 and 2014, Ivey founded two companies – the Ivey Poker and the Ivey League.
MIT Blackjack Team
We’ve seen the movie 21 starring Jim Sturgess, but did you know it’s based on a real-life story and a real-life team of students? The MIT Blackjack Team were a group of students and alumni from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and other notable colleges. They most famously used the card counting technique to beat the house in Blackjack.
The team operated from 1979 up to the 21st century. The team recruited its players by handing out flyers throughout colleges in the US. If the new recruits were successful, they would then be trained for free by the members. The ‘trial by fire’ consisted of playing through 8 six deck shoes in near perfect play, supervision, casino trials and further training until they could play full stakes.
Some of the most famous players today include J.P Massar, also known as Mr. M, who would then recruit Bill Kaplan as the investor and team leader of the group. Under his management, the rag tag team became professional Blackjack players who would tour the US casinos. Other members of the group include Jonathan, Goose and ‘Big Dave’ aka Coach.
By 2000, the 15+ year reign of the team came to an end as the players drifted towards their own pursuits.
Billy Walters
William T Walters, an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and ex-gambler, is known as the most successful sports better having a winning streak for 30+ years.
Walters grew up poor in rural Kentucky and was raised by his grandmother. At age 7 he secured a $40 loan to start a lawnmower business cutting grass. At age 9, he then secured a $90 loan for a newspaper round. By 1965, Walters went to work as a salesman and eventually started his own business in 1972 in Auto Sales. All the while, Walters was still betting on the side from the age of 9. Walters first big win was in 1986 where he won $3.8 million. Walters claimed that in a good year, he could make between $50-60 million.
In 1987, Walters stopped gambling, and instead began to focus on his businesses which include 8 car dealerships, 1 golf course, a car rental franchise and a few commercial properties.
That Was How They Did It
As you can see, they didn’t do anything in particular to become these all-star famous gamblers. For some, they became overnight sensations, and for others they had years of toil before they were able to break through the barriers. Some faced legal issues, while others sailed by in their lifestyle choices. Of course, gambling of any sorts should be taken with the utmost seriousness, and only be done if it can be afforded – these stories of successful players are their stories and theirs alone.
Contributed by Danisha Kaur
