A high roller or ‘whale’ is a gambler who frequently rides on a multi-million gambling wave.
They sweep casino tables clean, wash over fortunes, and if unlucky, are willing to lose big sums of cash.
Casinos offer them lavish welcome treats like personal hostesses, limousine services, and expensive penthouse suites, and private gambling rooms.
There are over 500 whales in the world right now who play big on but none of them can compare to the following casino big wigs.
Here are the 5 biggest high rollers ever.
Kerry Packer
Australian business mogul and billionaire, Kerry Packer is undoubtedly one of the biggest high rollers in history.
In one infamous anecdote, he bet $25 million over four roulette tables. He regularly dropped over $400000 and tipped his waitresses thousands of dollars.
In another record bet, the media mogul wagered over $20 million on a single roulette spin, which he eventually lost.
He gambled over $28 million in London and won over $30 million bucks in Vegas.
During his lifetime, the business baron was touted ‘casino king’ because of his high stakes gambling – over $450000 a blackjack hand – over his 40-year gambling career.
Adnan Khashoggi
Saudi Arabian business baron, Adnan Khashoggi is a well-known high roller who made billions in military hardware trade.
With over $4 billion to his name, Khashoggi was a well-known ‘whale’ in casinos around the globe.
In one gambling season at the Hilton hotel, he caused the company’s annual earnings to drop by close to 20%. Khashoggi easily gambled away a business’s quarterly profits in a single sitting.
Sultan of Brunei
With a personal fortune of over $40 billion, it tough to call the king of Brunei a high roller.
He has too much money that all his gambling expenses are nothing compared to his wealth.
The sultan reportedly places bets of over $250000 on tables in Vegas.
The billionaire royal also reportedly plays games with stakes of over $200000 a hand in casinos around the world.
Fouad Al-Zayat
Fouad Al-Zayat is a Syrian businessman who may well be the reason high rollers are called ‘whale.’
Nicknamed ‘the fat cat of London,’ Al-Zayat spent millions of dollars in London casinos and around world cities.
He reportedly spent close to £ 100 million in Mayfair casino clubs and was even ordered by the court to pay over £2 million he owed to the company.
In 2007, Fouad apparently spent over $25 million in a London casino, which he lost.
He was well known to spend over £1 million easily, which earned him and other high rollers like himself the name ‘whale.’
Terrance Watanabe
American businessman and multi-millionaire, Terrance Watanabe is one of the biggest gamblers in Las Vegas history.
After selling Oriental Trading, Terrance moved to Vegas and fell in love with gambling. It is reported that he has lost well over $220 million while gambling.
In 2007, Watanabe won hundreds of millions during his stay in Las Vegas. Apparently, he lost over $125 million to Caesar’s casinos in Vegas, making him one of the highest rollers in recent history.
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