What Is The Most Money Ever Lost In A Casino?
Money and its value are relative and what may lead to your bankruptcy is a mere drop in the bucket for the whales. I a not talking about actual whales but the extremely wealthy gamblers, the VVIPs of luxury casinos. But even thee high rollers aren’t always lucky and end up losing millions, if not billions, in casinos.
What is the most money ever lost in a casino? As of this writing, the most money ever lost in a casino is nearly $1.5 billion in only over 14 months.
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Read on and find out the gambler who incurred the highest gambling losses ever recorded. We will also take a brief look at the runners-up.
Harry Kakavas
Known for his real estate empire, Harry Kakavas acknowledges that he has a special disability. He’ a pathological gambler whose compulsion cost him nearly $1.5 billion over 14 months. He lost it at Crown Casino, a luxury casino in Melbourne, Australia.
His reputation in the gambling industry is described as the Land Down Under’s highest of high rollers. His wealth allowed him to place $300,000 per hand bets and lose it as if it was nothing. He also lost $164 million during a five-hour gambling spree.
But it seems that even high rollers want their money back, if not all, then some of it. Kakavas filed a court claim to recoup $20.5 million of his losses from Crown Casino.
He alleged that the casino took advantage of his special disability resulting in his continued gambling. He lost both the case and appeal.
Terrance Watanabe
In December 2009, the newspapers were abuzz about the $127 million gambling losses experienced by Terrance Watanabe, a Nebraska businessman. He lost it after a year-long gambling binge in two Las Vegas casinos, Caesars Palace and Rio, in 2017.
It’s possibly the largest losing streak recorded in Las Vegas, Nevada! Las Vegas is the mecca of gambling in the United States, but it’s also popular among foreign nationals.
Like Kakavas, Watanabe also filed a lawsuit against Harrah’s Entertainment in Clark County District Court. He claimed that the casinos were partly responsible for his stunning losing streak.
The man alleged that the casinos plied him with painkillers and free drinks to gamble more. He was also apparently allowed to gamble even when he was intoxicated.
Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. is the parent company for both Caesar’s Palace and Rio. Ironically, he is credited with giving around 5.6% of both casinos’ gambling revenues in Las Vegas in 2017.
Singaporean Tycoon
While the name of the Singaporean tycoon who lost about $75 million remains shrouded in mystery, it’s a staggering amount! He’s supposedly a billionaire who’s made a consistent appearance in the Forbes’ Top 40 wealthiest people in Singapore.
He lost the money at the famous Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa.
Conclusion
Gambling losses are nothing new, and most, if not all, of the high rollers can take the hit. But it isn’t so for mere mortals who have to watch every penny, especially in these difficult times. If you wish to take care of your money, you should reconsider that trip to a casino.