High-stakes gambling can go one of two ways. You can get rich overnight, or you can spend the rest of your life banging your head against a wall for blowing all of your money on a simple card game.
If you don’t have a lot of money to spend, then you can only take small risks from time to time. But for those who have amassed millions of dollars over the years, gambling is simply too irresistible.
We have read time and again about famous actors like Ben Affleck, Pamela Anderson, and Charlie Sheen and their gambling addictions. We also know that they lost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
However, for some reason, we don’t get a lot of stories about celebrities that win. Are there any? Let’s find out.
Don Johnson
The famous actor who is best known for legendary role in TV series Miami Vice quite coincidentally has a vice — playing blackjack. While he also lost more than a few times, Don Johnson will be remembered for winning big in Atlantic City.
Namely, while sitting at a blackjack table in Atlantic City one night, he won $6 million. He also reportedly won a total of $15 million over six months back in 2011.
Jennifer Tilly
We were able to see Jennifer Tilly acting in great movies such as Chuck, Liar Liar, and Bound. However, not a lot of people know that she is also a professional poker player. Not only does she often play at big events, but she has also won the World Series of Poker in 2005, earning $750,000.
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III, also known by his stage name 50 Cent, is one of the most successful rap stars in history. Apart from being great with the microphone, 50 Cent also knows how to make the right guess when it comes to sporting events, boxing in particular.
Namely, Fifty has won a round of million dollars after he placed a bet on a boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya.
Phil Mickelson
The famous American golfer Phil Mickelson has over 40 PGA Tour titles. For those efforts, he won millions of dollars over the course of a 27-year career. However, there’s no such thing as having enough money, so Phil occasionally likes to bet too.
In 2000, he put $20,000 on a Super Bowl game and reportedly won around $560,000.
Sean Connery
The best we saved for the end. We all know that James Bond is a gambling man, but the most famous actor playing him loved gambling too. Sir Sean Connery was particularly lucky in 1963 while playing a roulette game. He put a lot of chips on number 17 five times in a row. He lost the first two spins but kept on with his risky strategy.
On the third spin, the 17 finally showed up, and Connery won with the odds 36:1. However, he felt that it wasn’t enough, so he put 17 two more times, miraculously winning both times and walking out of the casino with over $27,000.
If you wish to find out more interesting stories, check out the infographic below.
