[Ian]

From soft white underbelly

[pologq]

very interesting. thank you for sharing.

[jjgold]

Will watch later

Thanks

[unde0087]

i like this guy, he is real

[dmm]

Saw this earlier in the week. Interesting character!

[Eddy Munny]

There was no talk about his approach or strategy... He must've had some special skill set that set him apart from the average joe. This guy didn't even bet sports apparently. All that was mentioned was poker, pool, blackjack, and dice. It would've been nice to hear more about his monstrous run that got him into the millions, but the interview was pretty generic.

[pologq]

it seemed like he didn't want to give details, esp with money won and even saying how he built his $$$. i would have liked to here more about "taking $50 and turning it into millions".

[TheGoldenGoose]

Enjoyed that very much. Thanks for posting.

Doesn't sound like he did any sportsbetting whatsoever. He's the type of guy who was addicted to the immediate rush of casino gambling. He mentioned dice was his favorite casino game.

I thought the interviewer was prepared and did an excellent job with the questions.

Can definitely relate to the fact that a casino will try to skrew you with the comp games they play. Casinos do not like players who press when they are winning because that kind of player is dangerous.

Very interesting that he said money means nothing. More important to have health first, a good friend second. And that he understands "he's in the end game".

[hotcross]

There was no talk about his approach or strategy... He must've had some special skill set that set him apart from the average joe. This guy didn't even bet sports apparently. All that was mentioned was poker, pool, blackjack, and dice. It would've been nice to hear more about his monstrous run that got him into the millions, but the interview was pretty generic.

in 1992, the 42-year-old Karas went on a huge bender, managing to blow through his entire $2 million bankroll while playing high stakes poker. Realizing that things were getting out of hand, and looking for a fresh challenge, he took his last $50 and drove down to Las Vegas.




Archie Karas: And So It Begins


Stepping into the Mirage Casino poker room, Karas caught up with some old poker buddies from the LA scene. His good friends gave him a $10,000 loan to get into the game there. Not being one to shy from a challenge, he then took a seat at the most expensive jackpot poker game being offered by the Mirage in those days. The table limit was $100/$400. In a short while, Karas was able to turn a $20,000 profit, thanks to his aggressive style and innate card sense. As a reward for his friend’s faith in his playing, Archie Karas tossed his friend an instant double up of $20,000, pocketing the $10,000 for himself. But unlike many other gamblers who would of continued playing, Karas cashed out his bankroll and left the casino. He then headed for the nearest pool hall.




Being A Pool Shark


As you’re probably aware, pool sharks are on the constant lookout for players they can fleece. These poor saps are referred to as “marks”, simply because they’re marked out for losing. Well, Karas found his mark. Rumor has it that this was in fact a local casino executive called Bobby Baldwin, though Karas will not reveal the name out of the high stakes gamblers respect. Never the less, this poor guy ended up losing $1.2 million playing pool at over $10,000 wagered per game. That’s the type of nutter Archie Karas was. The fact that a few hours before he had only $50 to his name, and then to put all of his casino winnings on the first pool wager, is nothing short of amazing. Or bonkers!.




Archie Karas: An Aggressive Player


When Karas was up by several hundred thousand dollars, he convinced the mark to up the wagers to $40,000 a pop. Just to spice up this crazy mix, the mark offered to play Karas at some other casino games. By the way, this mark was in fact a four-time world poker champion. But due to Karas’ aggressive play and a mad willingness to sacrifice everything on the one hand being played, Karas came out on top. All in all, he ended the night winning another $3 million from the executive. As you can imagine, Archie Karas set the city on fire that evening.


Over the next couple of day, Karas threw down a challenge for the high stakes poker community. All comers were invited to the ultimate high stakes game. Instead of the normal table cap of $500 or $1,000 limit, Karas wanted to play with the limit set at $3,000/$6,000 limit. In the end, it all came down to the final battle between David “Chip” Reese, who was a three-times world poker champion, and Karas. Reese has already crowned the best poker player in the world especially during the late ’80s and early ’90s. With a whole group of sharks backing him up, Reese turned the stakes up even further to $8,000/$16,000 limits. But Archie Karas totally crushed the game, winning around $2.2 million for his efforts. As Reese would say about the jackpot game, “God made your balls a little bigger. You’re too good.”






The Infamous “Run”


For the next few years, Karas was uneatable at high stakes poker, though he never appeared to have a jackpot winning strategy. Beating out a huge number of former world poker champions, he managed to amass a whopping $17 million in winnings. This period became known as “The Run.” Soon there was simply no one left to play in Vegas. He was setting the stakes too high and so gamblers were simply afraid. So Archie Karas packed his bags and headed down to Binion’s Horseshoe Casino. The owner was famous for being willing to set high limits if that’s what the players required. The casino had negotiated a “no odds bet” provision in order to protect the casino. In the Spring and Summer of 1993, Karas held court there and played with a $300,000 per roll limit on the pass line and come bets. He could also place bets on the 10 and the 4 at $100,000 per roll. This was probably the most exciting craps game to of ever been played, anywhere or at any time.




Archie Karas: From Poker To Craps


Moving from a game of skill to a game of chance didn’t seem to bother Archie Karas at all. “I know I’m taking the worst of it with the dice. But nobody would play poker with me for that much. With each play, I was making million-dollar decisions. I would have played even higher if they’d let me.” Karas was playing like a maniac, with nothing to lose. As a result, it quickly became apparent that he wanted even bigger stakes. But Binion’s couldn’t afford it, especially after Karas took them for over $23 million in craps winnings.




Almost Won The Casino


The story goes, that at one point Archie Karas owned every single brown chip in the casino, with each one worth a cool $5,000. Binion has since said, that if Karas’luck was to continue for just a couple more rolls, then he and his family would have had to sign over the property deeds of the actual casino to Karas. Later that year, Archie Karas offered to pay a $15 million poker game with the world then richest man, the Sultan of Brunei. And in more or less the same breath, he foretold his own downfall. “You’ve got to understand something. Money means nothing to me. I don’t value it. I’ve had all the material things I could ever want. Everything. The things I want money can’t buy: health, freedom, love, happiness. I don’t care about money, so I have no fear. I don’t care if I lose it.”




Determined To Lose Everything


It’s crazy when you think of all the times Archie Karas could have simply walked away from the table and never had to work another day in his life. In fact, he could have lived a life of high luxury on $17 million. But something else was driving him onward. It was as if he was determined to prove that what comes so quickly can be taken away equally so. So here we are at Binion’s, and instead of slowing down, Karas is rolling for six figures a time. But lady luck has deserted the building. He quickly loses $11 million of that bankroll. He then decided to re-challenge Reese, but this time the roles were reversed, with Archie Karas losing $2 million to him. Then, Karas turned to another game of total chance, baccarat. This ended up costing him over $17 million. A year later, he would polish off the remainder of his $40 million bankroll.

[jjgold]

Bottom line broke
All gamblers fate

[pavyracer]

Bottom line broke
All gamblers fate

But he doesn't have to get up at 7 am to cut grass in 30 degree weather for $100.

[jjgold]

However we don’t know, all gamblers are banged up to