The most famous gamblers who have won millions playing at the casino

Most people are aware that there are professional players, especially as televised poker tournaments and the like show very wealthy players battling it out against each other. It's not just famous poker players, of course. Gamblers make a living in all sectors of the industry, with the possible exception of bingo and lottery players, where blind luck predominates. However, as most gamblers prefer to keep a low profile, there are countless people who make a living from gambling in one way or another. Some make a few thousand dollars a month at an best online casino and others much better. It's those who do "much better" that we're interested in today. Making a modest living from gambling is very impressive, but we want to know who has made a lot of money.

To that end, we're going to take a look at the world's richest gamblers, or at least the ones we know about, because who knows how many secret millionaires could be lurking in casinos and quietly making their fortunes. Bear in mind, however, that players are not required to declare their accounts, so most of the figures given here are estimates and there may be conflicting information elsewhere. Finally, while many people who enjoy playing in the cashback casino have made a lot of money doing other things, we are only interested in those who have made the majority of their money playing.

Bill Benter - $1 billion AUD

Like so many others, Benter started his gambling career playing blackjack, and was actually inspired to do so after reading a book written by Edward Thorp. In 1977 he started counting cards professionally in Las Vegas, but over the next 7 years he was banned from all casinos, preferring to bet on horse racing with none other than Alan Woods. They raised $150,000 and moved to Hong Kong, where horse racing was flourishing, and developed a formula for betting on horses.

They lost $120,000 in the first year, fell out and went their separate ways. Benter went to Atlantic City where he made some money counting cards again, and constantly tinkered with his system to improve it, adding or removing variables to test what worked and what didn't.

Two years later he was back in Hong Kong, and this time he made $600,000 in 12 months. From then on, he was a total success and, to this day, he continues to bet on races all over the world and donates a great deal to charities and good causes.

Edward Thorp - $800 million

This is a name that will be familiar to most readers, and although Thorp made a lot of money doing other things too, it was in gambling that he became rich, so his place on this list is correct. A professor and mathematical genius, he used his computer brain to conquer the casinos and then Wall Street.

Thorp made his fortune playing baccarat, online slots and blackjack, and became famous for his book 'Beat the Dealer'. This publication explained how he had been turning the tables in casinos for years and highlighted the practice of card counting, which drove many other card counters out of business.

After conquering the casino world and becoming too famous to continue gambling, Thorp turned to the world of the stock market, setting up several hedge funds where he used his expertise in numbers, statistics and his knack for spotting price anomalies to make some very good deals.

Billy Walters - $100 million

Once dubbed the world's most dangerous gambler, Billy Walters has made millions doing everything from casino games to sports betting. He started out as a car salesman, now earning the equivalent of $400,000 a year by relentlessly pursuing business opportunities and working 80 hours a week, but even as a successful businessman, he loved to gamble. He gambled all his life, and mostly unsuccessfully until his late thirties, twice losing over a million dollars in Las Vegas. In 1986, his luck changed when he won $2 million at the Golden Nugget roulette tables and walked away with $3.8 million after a 38-hour session.

He was so successful that he had to place bets through a runner system so that the bookmakers didn't know it was him making the bets, and said that in a good year he could win $50-60 million. His fortune used to be well over the $100 million listed in the column, but he was arrested and jailed for insider trading in 2017, sentenced to five years but only served four before being pardoned by then-President Donald Trump.

Chris Ferguson - $80 million

It would be fair to say that Chris Ferguson isn't the most popular man in poker. He was accused of being one of the people behind a massive Ponzi scheme at Full Tilt Poker, which stole around $444 million from players. Although he later apologised, many felt it was too little too late.

Despite his questionable behaviour, he remains a great player, having won the WSOP Main Event in 2000, with a prize of $1.5 million. Overall, he has earned nearly $7 million over his career in live tournament winnings, much of it from his 90 cash finishes at the WSOP.

Doyle Brunson - $75 million

Doyle Brunson is known as one of the biggest names in poker history. During his career, he won 10 WSOP bracelets and won the Main Event twice, in 1976 and 1977. The retiree also played regularly in cash games at Bobby's Room at the Bellagio, including a $4,000/$8,000 blinds limit mixed poker game.

In total, Brunson has won more than $6.1 million in live tournaments. It is not known how much he has won playing high-stakes cash games. He has also earned money from a variety of other sources, including his book Super System, considered one of the best poker strategy books ever written.

Johnathan Duhamel - $34 million

Duhamel is a hero to Canadian players after becoming the first person from the Great White North to win the WSOP Main Event in 2010 at just 23 years old, and winning 2 more bracelets in 2015. He also plays extensively online at PokerStars, which is also his sponsor.

Born in Quebec to a middle-class family, he worked picking strawberries from the age of 13 because his parents wanted him to understand the world of work and the value of money. Naturally, he then dropped out of university to devote himself to professional poker. He has had success with many different versions of poker, but no-limit hold'em is his real strength.

Unfortunately, his success led to him being targeted by thieves in 2011, who broke into his house, tied him up and beat him for information about valuables. His WSOP bracelet was stolen, along with cash and a Rolex that had been gifted to him by PokerStars. The thieves were traced and prosecuted, but unfortunately the WSOP bracelet had already been sold. It was in fact found a few months later in the streets of Montreal, but it had been damaged beyond repair. He continues to compete and donates a generous proportion of his winnings to various charities.

Here is the list of the richest players in the industry. These professional players have made a name for themselves. They have become a force in the world of casino gaming and the story of the game cannot be told without their names being mentioned. We believe that some of them did their best and did the right thing by retiring from the scene. Of course, we also believe that there are many up-and-coming professional players who will take the community by storm. The casino world is indeed full of amazing talent and we are delighted to hear about them.