Top 5 biggest casino losses

Did you know that you can become famous not only by busting a multimillion-dollar jackpot, but also by losing the biggest one? Massive failures also make gambling history.

Real estate dealer manages to lose an entire billion

Australian Harry Kakawas was making good money from real estate sales. With his increasing wealth came a passion for gambling. He once gambled away over $164 million in five hours with bets starting at $300,000. On another occasion, a trip to a casino reduced Harry’s account by $4 million. The gambler accused Melbourne Crown Casino of deliberately putting sticks in the wheels, preventing him from winning. However, the trial did not support this theory. The appeal also proved futile. Kakawas’ loss for the year is estimated at $1.5 billion.

Biggest loss in the history of gambling

The list of illustrious losers would not be complete without a mention of Terry Watanabe. The winning streak on his way to a losing record began with the sale of a stake in a souvenir company. The man decided to allow himself to celebrate at the casino and literally settled there. As a result, the gambling house added $205 million to its coffers.

Australian media mogul’s generosity

The beginning of the twenty-first century brought a new side to Kerry Parker’s fame. Unexpectedly, he emerged as the leader in casino losses. Three weeks at the slot machines resulted in a loss of over £20 million. Most interestingly, when losing, Kerry acted as if nothing had happened.

A bet in the form of an aeroplane

The Syrian millionaire was lucky enough to walk into Aspinall’s casino in London one day. A few minutes at the roulette table made Fouad El-Zayat $800,000 poorer. The evening continued with a loss of over $3.6 million.

The businessman’s trip to the Ritz casino ended in a loss of $16 million. In the end, the amateur gambler went on trial for debts to a number of gambling establishments and lost a Boing 747.

Losing out on 140 years in prison

The humble top manager from Fry’s Electronics, with a salary of $225,000 a year, lost $8 million in one night. But that didn’t stop Omar Siddiq on his way to enrichment and in 10 years of marching through the gambling houses, he owed over $167 million.

Such impressive losses of a mere clerk attracted the attention of law enforcement agencies. Investigations uncovered the fraudulent activities of Omar, who was the owner of an underground organisation selling electronics. In addition to 140 years in prison, the court sentenced Siddiq to pay debts to all casinos.

A lavish win is not the only chance of entering the annals of gambling; a billion-dollar loss is also grounds for fame, albeit dubious.