Richest Professional Gamblers

4/14/202222.08.2017admin

So, how was the game last night? Were the cards good? Did you get to hit a mega win that is swelling you up with pride? It doesn’t matter if you haven’t got there yet – there is no rush. But, why we are talking about cards in a write up on richest gamblers – aren’t you wondering that? Of course, you are! Well, cards counting is what most (almost all) of the richest gamblers did in their early life. Today, they have established themselves as professional gamblers. If you are not into cards like the poker legends, try out online gambling. However, before starting to invest in, play some online casino games with free slot bonuses, see what you prefer and then go ahead.
Getting back to the richest professional gamblers, we have come up with ‘Top 3 Richest Gamblers’ who have made millions (in fact billions) just being a gambler. So, let’s get started:

1. Bill Benter
(100 Million Dollars Per Annum)
Bill Benter (also known as William Benter) was born in 1957 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He is a mastermind in Mathematics and holds a degree in Physics. He started off as a professional gambler at the blackjack table in Las Vegas using his mathematics skills for card counting. Later he improvised his skills with strategies shared in Edward Thorp’s book ‘Beat the Dealer’. He was so good at it, that he got banned from most of the casinos in Las Vegas after seven years.
Then, he met Alan Woods and shifted to Hong Kong where the duo explored the horse racing market. Together they created a formula to predict the result of horse races. In 1987, after the two parted the ways, Benter refined the formula and developed the most successful software for horse race gambling. Over time, he expanded the array of variables that have to be examined for every horse in a race. It is anticipated that he makes 100 million dollars every year – often scraping 5 to 10 millions on a single-day race.
Apart from being the richest punter, Bill Benter is known for his philanthropic activities and contributions to political and charity groups.

This professional gamer was born on December 29, 1990, and from Ukraine. XBOCT – Top 10 Richest Gamers In The World He is the first gamer to earn $200,000 from a single tournament and his earnings are estimated at $600,000 which he got from Esports. Edward Thorp – The Card Whisperer Born and raised in Chicago, recognized as the father of card counting, Edward Thorp has most definitely made a name for himself in the community of gamblers.

For four decades, other gamblers have tried to be Billy Walters while investigators have tried to bring him down. And for four decades, the world's most successful sports bettor has outrun them all. Zeljko Ranogajec (born 22 May 1961) is a businessman and professional gambler from Australia. The Manx -based Ranogajec is known for horse betting, blackjack and other forms of advantage gambling. Every year, some individuals become incredibly rich from professional gambling. Here are the richest gamblers in the world right now: Bill Betner, Edward Thorp, Alan Woods, Zeljko Ranogajec, Andrew Black, Billy Walters, and Phil Ivey. Preferred games by these gentlemen are.

2. Edward O. Thorp
(80 Million Dollars Per Annum)
Edward Thorp born in Chicago, Illinois on August 14th, 1932 is hedge fund manager, great gambler – with a Ph.D. in Mathematics from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He has been a math professor as well from 1959 to 1977. With the use of computer imitation, he invented card counting strategy that would help increase odds of Blackjack players. He tested his theory in the casinos of Lake Tahoe, Reno, and Las Vegas. After irking others’ interest, he wrote the very famous book ‘Beat the Dealer‘, the original complete guidebook to card counting for all newbie and pro players. Also, he along with Claude Shannon invented the first wearable computer in 1961. Until prohibited in 1985, he used it extensively in the blackjack and roulette tables. Furthermore, he invented the ‘Thorp count’ methodology for backgammon players. While being an esteemed member of the Blackjack Hall of Fame, he also formed a baccarat syndicate.
In the 1960s, he made good use of his unparallel understanding on statistics and probability in the stock market. Moreover, developed and validated valuable hedge fund methods in the fiscal market earning his an estimated fortune of 800 million dollars.

3. Zeljko Ranogajec
(Supposedly 1 Billion Dollars Per Annum)
He is the most secretive gambler of all – this is why he isn’t that famous. However, he lives the life of the Rich somewhere in Europe. He was born in 1961, in Hobart, Australia. He left his commerce and law studies to chase his dream career in advantage gambling. With his photographic memory and intricate mathematic calculations, he can easily turn hundred-dollar stakes into seven-digit wins. Eventually, it got his outlawed from the majority of the Australian casinos. Hence, he jumped to validate his skills in predicting the results of horse betting. As they say, it made him a fortune of billions.
He never gave any interviews or shared any of his ventures with other, which is why it is hard to guess his net worth right. However, a close family source depicts him to be a multi-billionaire. It is claimed that he accounts 6 to 8% of Tabcorp’s annual revenue. It is also reported that Ranogajec has been fighting a 900-million dollar tax war with the ATO (Australian Taxation Office). Keeping these speculations aside, one cannot overlook that he is the record-holder of winning $7.5 million in Keno in the 1990s.
Next time if anyone tells you that gambling is game of luck or it’s the house that always wins, tell him about these people. We have just introduced top 3 richest gamblers in this post, but in reality, there is a section of people who make a living by placing bets. Hold on, for there are going to be many more names to add up to this list!

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Born	22 May 1961 (age 59) Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Nationality	Australian-Manx
Other names	John Wilson
Occupation	Businessman; Professional gambler
Net worth	A$600 million (AFR2020)^[1]

Zeljko Ranogajec (born 22 May 1961)^[2] is a businessman and professional gambler from Australia. The Manx-based Ranogajec is known for horse betting, blackjack and other forms of advantage gambling.

Early life[edit]

Ranogajec was born in Hobart, Australia, in a family of Croatian immigrants.^[3] He was a Commerce and Law student of the University of Tasmania, studying tax, finance and banking, when he began card counting in Blackjack at the Wrest Point Casino.^[4] While there, Ranogajec met his future wife and business partner, Shelley Wilson, who was a full-time employee.^[4] He subsequently relocated to New South Wales where he transferred his studies to the University of NSW in Sydney from which he eventually dropped out of to concentrate fully on advantage gambling.

Australian gambling career[edit]

Blackjack[edit]

According to professional blackjack players,^[5] Ranogajec was 'one of the most prolific and innovative advantage players of all time'. His starting bankroll was allegedly 'a few hundred dollars', through which he won 'millions'. Ranogajec worked with Alan Woods in the 1980s.^[6] Eventually, Ranogajec was banned from most casinos in Australia, starting with Wrest Point, the Jupiters Casino on the Gold Coast, and then, after he moved overseas, in the United States as well.^[4] Ranogajec, by that time, was already moving to other areas of advantage play, in any area of gambling where an advantage could be identified.

In 2011, Ranogajec was inducted into the Blackjack Hall of Fame.^[5]

Keno[edit]

In 1994, Ranogajec reportedly won a $7.5 million Keno jackpot at the leisure and entertainment complex North Ryde RSL Club, of New South Wales, after reportedly^[7] betting 'significantly more than $7.5 million' to win it but coming out ahead due to the additional, smaller prizes awarded along the way to winning the jackpot.

How Much Do Professional Gamblers Make

Horse racing[edit]

Ranogajec, according to insider accounts,^[7] deployed, for his betting activities on horse races, a strategy combined of specific factors: identifying betting opportunities with as high liquidity as possible, meaning betting pools with significant money being bet by the regular gambling public; deploying a 'highly sophisticated betting system'; identifying small margins, on which he bets significant amounts of money; and, importantly, closing deals with bookmakers, including industry leader TabCorp, for significant rebates on his bets. The latter has created controversy in the horse betting world, with many punters complaining about the alleged deal.^[8] A TabCorp spokesman stated, in response to the media reports, that the corporation 'investigated the incidents' and found 'no evidence of illegal activity', but reminded the betting public that 'the offering of tote-odds betting products by corporate bookmakers has inherent risks of pool manipulation [by large bettors].'^[8]

Ranogajec reportedly accounts for 6–8% of Australian bookmaker TabCorp's $10 billion annual revenue.^[9] His betting on Betfair is believed to account for one third of the company's Australian operations.^[10]

Ranogajec has gradually organised an extensive network of spotters, analysts, bettors and administrators, directing activities from office space he is allegedly occupying in the Fox Sports building at 235 Pyrmont Street,^[11] in Sydney's inner suburb of Pyrmont.^[12] It is known that he contracts many companies to provide information and does not employ anyone directly. However indirectly due to his information requirements, to gain the edge, he provides employment to over 300 people in Australia.^[10]^[13]

Rebate controversy[edit]

Ranogajec's success has been revealed to be based upon favorable discounts and rebates that he has negotiated with betting pool operators. In 2011 it was reported that the commercial failure of Tote Tasmania was partly due to the large rebates that Ranogajec had received on his betting turnover.^[14] Subsequently, the business was purchased by Tatts Group. According to Ranogajec's own testimony in a court case involving a former bookmaking associate, the plan was: “You bet to lose, so that you actually turn over more money and the win comes from the rebates … If you bet $100 and lost $5, but you get a 10 per cent rebate, you still make 5 per cent.” Ranogajec estimated he'd earned about $52m over a three-and-a-half-year period betting on US races, but just 15% of that sum came from picking winning horses.^[15]

Downfall of Tote Tasmania[edit]

In 2012 Ranogajec was named as being the leader of a gambling syndicate which had profited from a rebate arrangement with Tote Tasmania Pty Ltd which was a Tasmanian state-owned company. The profits paid to Ranogajec and his partners virtually wiped out the profits of the Tote Tasmania Pty Ltd, to the extent that Treasurer of Tasmania was reduced to selling off the entire business to Tabcorp Holdings.^[14]

The 'Punters Club' Syndicate[edit]

Ranogajec headed a group known as the Punters Club, consisting largely of math-inclined gambling geeks, reportedly including high-stakes poker player David Steicke. The Club is believed to have contributed over $1b annually to Aussie TAB outfits’ turnover but generated significant controversy in 2011 when it was reported that Tote Tasmania was offering lucrative rebates to such whales while slashing odds on rank-and-file punters to balance the books.^[15]

Tax audit controversy[edit]

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has looked at his activities on numerous occasions over the last 25 years and on each occasion has concluded his activities did not constitute a business. Due to the level of his success, the ATO had decided to probe again in 2008. The ATO's current position is that betting and gambling wins are not assessable unless you are carrying on a business of betting or gambling and is contained in published rulings^[16] for gambling syndicates in Australia. His business partner David Walsh believes that he does not owe them money as gambling on horse racing has never been a taxable source of income in Australia.^[10] Tax experts following this case have said if the ATO has now changed its position on horse racing gambling, taxing retrospective wins is unjust and imminent for a high court challenge and could potentially open up a can of worms for every Australian who has won on horse racing in the past.^[10]

After months of debt claims by the ATO, a settlement was agreed with Zeljko and other members of the punter's club, late October 2012. After a court-ordered mediation session between parties.^[17] The ATO deal remains confidential but it understood to relate to the years 2004–2011 only.^[18]

Gaming career since leaving Australia[edit]

Since leaving Australia, it was reported in 2019 that Ranogajec is based in Europe, mostly UK and the Isle of Man.^[19] He was appointed as a consultant to Newfield Limited,^[20] an international racing and sports event company.^[21]

In the United Kingdom, Ranogajec is a co-founder of Colossusbets Limited^[2] along with Bernard Marantelli.^{[citation needed]} Colossus Bets had announced a new venture partnership with the consortium Britbet comprising 55 British racecourses to operate horse betting racing pools and become a 'major competitor in Tote service'.^[22] On 12 June 2018 it was announced that the Britbet project with Colossusbets as a partner, had been terminated.^[23] In October 2020 Bernard Marantelli resigned as Chief Executive Officer of Colossusbets. He was also replaced as a director of the company by Eva Karagianni-Goel^[24]

Personal life[edit]

Ranogajec rarely gives interviews.^[4] According to some reports, there could be some intentional confusion as to his real name, whereby he'd be using his wife's surname, registering as John Wilson for investment or gambling endeavours.^[4]

Ranogajec first appeared in The Australian Financial ReviewRich List in 2019 with an assessed net worth at A$600 million;^[19] and on the 2020 Financial Review Rich List, also at A$600 million.^[1] Ranogajec has denied suggestions that he is the world's biggest punter, replying that 'I believe that's absolutely untrue' and the magnitude of his betting and wealth is 'all just a big exaggeration'.^[7]

Year	Financial Review Rich List		Forbes Australia's 50 Richest
Year	Rank	Net worth (A$)	Rank	Net worth (US$)
2019^[19]	164	$600 million
2020^[1]	179	$600 million

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Icon	Description
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