Why do people gamble? One big reason is that it’s the lure of winning big – and becoming financially secure for the remainder of one’s life – that turns an ordinary person into a gambler. Though most people place their first bet after they’ve seen or heard about someone who had hit the jackpot.
Such people, who make millions of dollars from gambling, are known as whales. They are respected everywhere they go, casino owners roll out the red carpet for them, and they serve as brand ambassadors of the sport. Casinos advertise their winnings to attract more people towards games (by the way, this may be the best online casino in Canada).
However, as we’re going to show in this article, whales are as susceptible to losses as the rest of us. And since the scale of their losses is as big as the margin of their winnings, most of them can’t even afford to buy basic necessities once their luck has run out.
Read on to know more about the three biggest gambling losers of all time:
Terrance Watanabe – $127 million loss
Given that he bet more than $825 million that year, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Terrance Watanabe, the ex-owner of Oriental Trading Company, lost $127 million in 2007. The former millionaire didn’t accept his defeat with grace as he sued the casino for plying him with alcohol. He is currently penniless and is unable to buy medicine for his cancer treatment.
Zhenlin Ye Gon – $125 million loss
A former Chinese businessman who moved to Mexico and got in bed there with the drug cartel, Zhenlin Ye Gon suffered losses of over $125 million between 2004 and 2007. He was known to play with cash, probably because most of the money he had in his pockets was drug money. The Mexican police busted his cartel in 2007 and sent Zhenlin Ye Gon behind bars.
Omar Siddiqui – $121 million loss
In the three-year period between 2005 and 2008, Omar Siddiqui, who once served as an executive at Fry’s Electronics, lost over $121 million at the MGM Grand and The Venetian. He was so popular among casinos that they sent private jets to fetch him from California to Las Vegas. Omar wasn’t able to withstand the losses and filed for bankruptcy in 2011.
