The 4 craziest roulette wins ever
Roulette is one of the more glamorous types of casinos games.
Images of scantily dressed sheilas and dapper blokes at roulette tables instantly spring to mind. As do pictures of gawking spectators crowding around a daring punter as he or she puts it all on a single spin.
It seems that the mere mention of roulette conjures something up in the mind of just about everyone. For this we have music, movies and TV shows to thank… but perhaps it all comes back to the fact that roulette is damn fun.
For those who don’t mind spinning the roulette wheel every now and then, you’ll be pleased to know we offer European roulette at Fair Go along with some other virtual casino table games. For those wanting to learn more about some of the most famous wins ever on this casino game though, here’s our breakdown of the top 4 craziest roulette wins ever.
From handsome celebrities who were handsomely rewarded to intoxicated professionals who risked it all for the biscuit. The following crazy roulette wins might not be the biggest, but they sure do make for a good story. Check out the following 4 insane roulette wins in history by reading on below.
What is roulette?
Roulette is a gambling game in which punters bet on either the red or black numbered pocket or compartment of a revolving wheel. The aim is to wager on the pocket or compartment that you believe the small ball will come to rest within.
When was it invented?
There are many unlikely origin stories about roulette, which is actually the French word for “small wheel”. Some credit its invention to a 17th Century French mathematician called Blaise Pascal while others say that it came from China.
In reality, roulette evolved from two older games that went by the name of hoc and portique. It was only mentioned by the name we know it as now in 1716 in Bordeaux, after which its progress from low-key gambling game to wildly popular casino title is easy to track.
Following multiple modifications, it quickly became the leading game in casinos and gambling houses throughout the European continent. This eventually put it on the radar of French authorities, who banned it during the years 1836 to 1933.
How does it work?
Roulette is one of the easier games to play at either an online casino or a land-based casino. Essentially the winner is decided by a small ball which is spun in the opposite direction to the roulette wheel by the roulette dealer, also known as a croupier.
Eventually the ball begins to slow down before falling onto the wheel and into one of the numbered red and black pockets. The number of pockets on a reel is dependent on the variation of roulette that is being played. French or European roulette wheels have 37 pockets while American-style roulette wheels have 38.
Instead of betting directly on the reels, you place your wager on a table that sits adjacent to it. You can bet on a single number, multiple number combinations, red or black or an odd or an even number. If the ball falls on the number, colour or odd or even number that you bet on, you will be declared the winner.
4 crazy roulette stories
Enough about the game of roulette… let’s get to the good stuff. Here are the top 4 craziest roulette winner stories that we could dig up. Check them out now and be prepared to get pumped up for a game of roulette.
Sean Connery – Stay on 17
Sean Connery, rest his soul, was a bloke with a reputation. Many of our Aussie fans probably know him as the heavily accented super spy James Bond, but did you also know he was a formidable gambler? Well according to all reports, Mr Connery loved having a punt as much as he loved a shaken martini.
His most famous win came about in 1963, a few years before his roulette win in the ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ film in 1971. While on a visit to the Alps in Italy, Connery let his alpha male flag fly high by putting all of his cash on 17 at the roulette table.
This resulted in not one but two losses straight off the bat. It also had all the other players wondering what the heck he was thinking. Connery, on the other hand, was only thinking about one thing. He decided to place another bet on 17 and before anyone knew what was happening he had won.
Instead of collecting his winnings though, Connery left his cash on the table and told the croupier to spin it again. Amazingly the ball came to rest once more on 17. We know, we know. Of course only a man who was already wealthy and famous could pull this off feat off twice in a row… but guess what?
Connery ramped the insanity up one more notch by refusing to take his winnings. He then demanded that the croupier “Schpin that bluddy wheel” a final time. The ball raced around the wheel as everyone’s eyes darted between the table and Connery. Eventually it came to a stop on (you guessed it) number 17.
Having pulled this off, Connery won £10,000 pounds which would be worth roughly £170,000 today. We’re not sure what he did after claiming his winnings, but we’re almost 100% sure that most of that prize money went straight into the bartenders till.
William Nelson Darnborough – From roulette to nobility
Before Sean Connery became a roulette legend, there was William Nelson Darnborough. Born in 1869, Darnborough made a name for himself as one of the most successful roulette players of his time.
Rather than winning all of his wealth in one go, Darnborough accumulated cash over a period of years. In fact, once he began playing roulette, he didn’t stop for 7 years. In this time he amassed half a million dollars at different illegal casinos throughout the United States. An amount that comes to a total of roughly $15,500,000 in today’s money.
One could say that Darnborough was determined if not incredibly lucky. So in order to test his luck, Darnborough travelled to Monte Carlo in the early 1900s in order to play at some of the more distinguished casinos. While there he honed his skills at the roulette table, winning a small fortune.
Many credit Darnborough’s success at the roulette table to his innate ability to know where the ball was going to land. If you think about it, this is pretty much the only special talent you need if you want to become a roulette winner. One occasion in particular had spectators gaping in shock.
As the story goes, Darnborough won five spins in a row on the number 5. This is absolutely crazy if you calculate the odds, however, it was apparently just another day in the life of this prolific roulette punter. But what became of Darnborough after he sent nearly every casino in America and Europe broke?
In the end Darnborough moved to England and married into nobility. He died in 1958, but it’s safe to say that the legend of William Nelson Darnborough lives on in the hearts of roulette players around the world. Now if that’s not one of the top 4 craziest roulette winner stories ever, we don’t know what qualifies.
Ashley Revell – Putting all your eggs in one basket
If you haven’t heard of the name Ashley Revell before then hold onto your seat’s ladies and gentlemen. This may just by the most insane roulette win ever recorded… and that’s not hyperbole.
In 2004, the resident of Kent in England sold everything that he owned but the clothes on his back. We’re talking about liquidating his car, his house, his clothes and every single one of his worldly possessions.
Revell, however, wasn’t trying to downsize his life. Instead he was trying to get his hands on as much cash as possible so that he could put it all on one crazy roulette bet. In the end, his net worth amounted to approximately $135,000.
Revell then took all of this cash to Las Vegas, were his next goal was to find a casino that would accept such a ludicrous wager. After searching, enquiring and feeling out practically every casino on the strip, the Plaza Hotel & Casino allowed him inside to place his bet.
By this point in time, Revell’s antics had been widely publicised. This means that when he finally laid down $135,000 on red at the roulette table, there was a horde of onlookers waiting with bated breath to see if his gamble was going to pay off. To Revell’s relief and the surprise of everyone, the ball stopped on red 7. This means that he walked away with $270,600 in winnings and strolled right into every gambler’s collective imagination.
To this day many say that Revell was a mad man, while others believe it could’ve been a publicity stunt by the casino. No matter what you choose to believe, one thing’s for sure… this is one of the craziest roulette wins you’ll ever hear of.
Jake Cody – Doubling up on prize money
It’s often said that nothing good ever happens after your sixth drink of the night but try telling that to professional poker player Jake Cody. Cody, who is famous for taking part in high stakes poker tournaments, recently sat down at the table for a crack at the UK Poker Championship.
Being a preliminary event, the total prize pool for winning was only $60,000. While still a considerable amount, this is nothing compared to the multimillion dollar games that are played these days. In any case, Cody played like it was the last event of his life… all the while he was knocking back beer like it was water.
Surprisingly Cody went on to win the event, netting himself a cool $60,000 in the process. Perhaps feeling a little Dutch courage and with no short goading from his mates, Cody then decided to take his winnings and lay them all out on the roulette table across the floor.
Pretty much everyone in the casino came to watch, including all of his so-called friends who pushed him into this crazy situation in the first place. Cody put everything on black and the croupier spun the wheel. In a matter of moments, the ball had found its way into the black 22 pocket… instantly doubling his winnings so that he finished the night with $120,000.
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