Record-Breaking Gambling Achievements and Massive Wins
While most of us don’t expect to break any world records while enjoying online baccarat, there is a thrilling list of gambling world records and astonishing achievements. Prepare to be astounded as we take you through the best of them.
Record-Breaking Casino Marathon
In 2025, a new world record was set for the most casinos visited in 24 hours. Joel Strasser and Garrett Smith managed to visit 115 casinos, playing at least one game in each, while traveling only on foot or by e-bike. Their carefully planned route took them through a mix of world-famous venues and smaller local favorites, allowing them to experience many different types of casinos while setting a new world record.
The Biggest Casino Wins
For many, the purpose of gambling is to allow them to dream about big wins. However, for a lucky few, those dreams become a reality. Here are some record-breaking gambling wins:
- Land-based Slot Jackpot: In 2003, an anonymous Los Angeles software engineer hit a $39.7 million Megabucks jackpot at Excalibur in Las Vegas.
- Online Slot Jackpot: A Finnish player set a record in 2013 after landing just over $20 million on Mega Fortune when playing at Betsson.
- Blackjack: Don Johnson won over $15 million in Atlantic City casinos in 2011 using expert strategy. Australian businessman Kerry Packer also became a legend for winning up to $40 million in one gambling streak, betting $250,000 per hand.
- Poker: Antonio Esfandiari made poker history in 2012 when he took home $18.35 million after winning the Big One for One Drop tournament.
- Craps: William Lee Bergstrom, known as the “Suitcase Man”, once placed a $1 million bet on a single roll at Binion’s Horseshoe in 1984 and went on to earn an estimated $40 million in his lifetime.
The Largest Bets Ever Made
Unfortunately, we can’t all be big winners, but some gamblers have made history by placing some eye-wateringly large bets.
William Lee Bergstrom’s legendary $1 million craps bet remains one of the boldest in Las Vegas history. Terence Watanabe, heir to the Oriental Trading Co. fortune, was known for betting up to $500,000 per hand and reportedly lost more than $200 million over time.
Ashley Revell, meanwhile, sold everything he owned in 2004 to make one all-or-nothing bet. With $135,300 on the line, he placed it all on red on the roulette wheel at the Plaza Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and doubled his money.
The Longest Gambling Sessions
While it is never advised to gamble for long uninterrupted periods, some players don’t take this advice on board at all.
In 2010, poker pro Phil Laak played for 115 consecutive hours at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, breaking the record for the longest continuous poker session. Taking only short breaks, Laak’s effort raised money for charity and earned him a modest $6,766.
Archie Karas, famous for his legendary “Run” in the 1990s, reportedly gambled for nearly three days straight while turning $50,000 into $40 million. In one of the strangest cases, a West Virginia man named Kerry Johnson played the slots for 24 hours in 2016 and stopped only to rob a bank before returning to continue his session!
Historic Casino Jackpots and Lottery Wins
While the $39.7 million Megabucks jackpot from 2003 remains unbeaten in casinos, online slots have also delivered enormous payouts. In 2018, an anonymous Grand Mondial Casino player won €19.4 million (around $21 million) on a single spin.
Lotteries, however, have rewritten record books entirely. The Powerball jackpot reached $2.04 billion in November 2022, followed by a $1.6 billion Mega Millions prize in August 2023. In Europe, EuroMillions reached €250 million in June 2025, and the prize remains the largest in the game’s history.
Poker Tournaments That Made History
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is an annual highlight for gamblers. In 2023, the event broke records with more than 10,000 entrants and a prize pool exceeding $93 million. The winner walked away with $2.1 million.
Online poker also saw its biggest-ever tournament in 2020 during the pandemic, attracting 5,802 players and creating a $27.5 million prize pool.
Unusual and Quirky Records
The world of gambling has seen plenty of eccentric moments. For example, a James Bond fan once recreated Casino Royale in real life, walking into a Montenegrin casino in a tuxedo and winning €100,000 with a straight flush.
In another example, Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale placed a record $10 million bet on the Houston Astros to win the 2022 World Series. When they did, he earned $75 million, which is the largest sports betting payout ever recorded.
The MIT Blackjack Team
One of the most famous gambling stories of all time involves the MIT Blackjack Team. Using advanced card-counting techniques, the group of students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology took casinos across the United States for an estimated $5 to 6 million. Their exploits inspired the best-selling book Bringing Down the House and the Hollywood film 21.
Records Waiting to Be Broken
One of the most exciting things about gambling world records is that they can always be broken. While it may not be advisable to try to break some of the above, many of them are sure to be broken in the coming years, which is just one of the reasons why gambling will always remain a truly thrilling pastime.
