Meet the Gamblers Who Lost a Fortune

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Tuesday, February 7th, 2017 | Written by Charles Washington

Those players who gamble at the highest levels are incredibly profitable for casinos, and are known as “whales”. This type of wealthy player provides 80 percent of a casino’s profit throughout the year, yet only accounts for less than 20 percent of total customers. While many whales go on to achieve a legendary status in the gambling industry, more often than not, they become known for their big losses rather than big wins. With that in mind, here are some of the high-rollers who have gone down in history for losing a fortune at the gaming tables.

Terrance Watanabe ($220m)

American businessman Terrance Watanabe lost $220 million gambling during his run at the casinos, including $125 million in 2007 alone. Unlike most whales who prefer skill games, however, Watanabe favored keno, slots and roulette, and after his stunning record of losses Watanabe stated that he was a gambling addict and blamed Caesars for exploiting him.

One of the claims Watanabe made was that the casino gave him prescription drugs to keep him gambling, but Caesars denied the claims and took him to court to try and recoup more than $14.75 million that he owed the company due to bad checks. The matter was eventually settled out of court, but Caesars was later slapped with a $225,000 fine from gambling regulators, with an extract from the investigative report stating that:

“Senior managers didn’t respond appropriately to allegations that Mr. Watanabe was using illegal drugs on company property and was making inappropriate sexual advances toward Caesars employees.”

Zhenli Ye Gon ($125m)

Chinese-Mexican businessman and known methamphetamine trafficker Zhenli Ye Gon lost $125 million between 2004 and 2007 playing primarily at the Las Vegas Sands owned casino called The Venetian, although $40 million was lost at a few other nearby casinos. In 2007, he was subsequently investigated for money laundering, as Mexican officials believed he was using profits from his drug business to fund his gambling. The Las Vegas Sands Casino ended up in hot water over the incident and had to explain why they failed to report Zhenli Ye Gon’s large bets.

In 2013, The Sands then paid $47 million to settle the U.S. Justice Department’s investigation into the issue, and as FinCEN director Jennifer Shasky Calvery stated at the time, referring to the USA’s anti-money laundering laws:

“I fear there may be a culture within some pockets of the industry of reluctant compliance with the bare minimum, if not less.”

Charles Barkley ($30m)

NBA superstar Charles Barkley may be best known to most people for his skills on the court, but those in the casino industry know him as a major whale. He has publicly stated that he lost around $30 million at the blackjack tables and had to take a break from gambling as a result. Most of the time, Barkley said that he aimed to win around $1 million per session, but after winning about half that amount he would invariably lose it all back plus his stake.

Barkley may have tried to recoup some of his enormous loses by eating at many of Las Vegas casinos’ all-you-can-eat buffets, but unfortunately for him the 6 foot 6 inches, 265 lbs star was banned by a group of casinos after his large appetite proved too much for them. As a Wynn Casino representative stated at the time:

“I don’t care how much he loses, it doesn’t make up for the shrimp and lobster the man eats.”

Even The MGM Grand released a statement explaining that even “David Copperfield isn’t this good at making stuff disappear.”

Kerry Packer

Kerry Packer (photo) is one of the best known whales of all time and gained fame for his astounding losses in the 1990s. The Australian media tycoon managed to lose $33 million in just one session at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand, and at a London Casino, he also bet $30 million across four roulette tables, losing all four wagers. Packer’s run wasn’t all losses, though, and he did manage to win $20 million playing blackjack over a 40-minute period.

Furthermore, some smaller casinos in London banned Packer from playing at their casinos, as his large bets proved too risky. In 1990, for instance, the Aspinalls Club had to close when Packer won $600,000 at their tables. Another famous story states that Packer was once approached for a game of poker by a wealthy Texan who said that he was worth $60 million. Packer apparently nonchalantly took out a coin and asked him if he wanted to wager it all on a $120 million heads or tail flip. When Kerry Packer died in 2005 aged 68, he was worth around $5 billion.