Since gambling began in ancient Egypt, this type of entertainment has been gaining popularity in society. Today, there are many casinos not with Gamstop to place bets on every kind of game. However, some years ago, the world of sports betting also made a strong entrance, allowing the most passionate fans to bet on their favourite sports and teams.
Betting, whether it is on games, a sport, or races, is a skill that requires the bettor to possess a certain degree of knowledge of what they are betting on, a strong sense of intuition, and a bit of luck. It is the ability to make an educated and well-informed guess as to which choice, out of hundreds, will make you walk out with a win. It is a craft learnt and perfected through success and failure, perseverance, research, and a keen eye.
Within the broad and illustrious history of gambling, certain bettors have stood out from the rest. These individuals, having made a name for themselves through their expertise, skill, professionalism and renown in the world of gambling, have proven that you can indeed turn betting into a high-stakes profession that rewards the brave and the bold, even though you might stumble along the way from time to time. After all, being a star in this exciting yet unforgiving world sometimes means disappointment, but we like to see it as part of the experience; after all, where is the fun if you never lose?
This list is meant to commemorate five of history’s most famous bettors. As you go through this list, you will likely find specific household names as you go through this list. If you’re a big fan and need to know whether their impact through the exciting-yet-unforgiving world of gambling proved triumphant or otherwise, keep on reading because this article is for you. These are the five biggest bettors in the history of the game.
Billy Walters
Kicking off our list, we have a true heavyweight in the sports-betting world. Considered the greatest sports bettor to have ever lived, Billy Walters has managed to pull off the longest winning streak in the world, lasting for over 30 years. This phenomenal bettor was willing to test his luck in NFL, NBA, and college football matches, winning over $3.5 million in the Superbowl. With such an outstanding record, his claims of winning 50 to 60 million dollars a year seem less of a bluff and more like a safe bet.
Tony Bloom
A multitasker able to triumph in sports and card-betting alike, Tony Bloom, nicknamed ‘‘The Lizard’’, has proven to be a true rags-to-riches story. Beginning as a humble arcade player, he became a star in the poker circuit with high-profile finishes. He turned gambling into a professional career in the early 90s, learnt and perfected the Asian handicap system, and set up many online gambling websites in the 2000s. His talents for gambling were such that he set up the betting consulting firm Starlizard, where countless large-scale bets are made daily.
Amarillo Slims
Going by the alias Amarillo Slims, Tomas Austin Preston started as a promising poker player and sports bettor with aspirations to become the greatest bettor in the world. Gifted with analytical precision, accurate instincts and a lot of wits, his exploits include winning the 1972 World Series of Poker and entering Guinness World Record for belonging to five halls of fame categories: Poker, gambling, legends of Texas, legends of Nevada, and seniors. For these well-deserved feats, he’s earned a spot on our list as one of the greatest. Although he passed away in April 2012 to colon cancer, his legend lives on as one of the greatest.
Bob Voulgaris
This next entry is no slouch either. Bob Voulgaris is considered an eminence in the bettor world who learned the intricacies at a young age. Considered to be the most successful sports bettor ever, Voulgaris started in the early 1990s and possessed a naturally-born instinct; he began carving out a name for himself. By the time he was 25, he was betting 1,000,000 dollars a day and held a cushy job in the front office of the Dallas Mavericks.
Bill Benter
We close off our list of winners with William Benter, a software engineer who proves that, even in gambling, success comes to the talented. Born in 1957, his prodigious mathematical prowess proved invaluable when he applied it to gambling matters. Starting by beating the system as a card counter, he was banned entry from many casinos that took notice of his consistent wins. Through the years, he and his team designed a sophisticated betting algorithm to make big wins in horse racing. Winning up to 5-10 million dollars a day, he continues updating his algorithm to continue bringing home the bacon alongside some pretty big bucks.
