If you had read this thread in its entirety before responding to my earlier post, the "sliding" dice-throwing method was revealed by other members, to include a newspaper article about a few folks getting arrested..
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Biggest Gambler Busted By Casino
- Thread starter KoolKat9Lives
- Start date
If you had read this thread in its entirety before responding to my earlier post, the "sliding" dice-throwing method was revealed by other members, to include a newspaper article about a few folks getting arrested..
I won't reveal the name of the dice thrower, but he/she had to go to court several times because of this method of dice-throwing. The casinos were charging him/her with cheating with the dice, and he/she is currently banned from several casinos today, but he/she had to respond to issued warrants out for him/her first and then appear in court several times, to include getting an attorney for representation.
It was the sliding dice method of throwing them. I couldn't do it, but it is a technique that will allow one of the two dice to have the number the thrower keeps on top before throwing. In other words, if I kept the number 6 on top and threw the two dice I would be assured that the numbers that came out at the other end would be 7 through 12. The one dice with the 6 number on top would slide across the craps table and the second dice would bounce normally. So when they stop in their motion, the total will be 7 (6 plus 1), 8 (6 plus 2), 9 (6 plus 3), et cetera, on up to 12 (6 plus 6).
This may be helpful to someone who is betting with odds on what numbers will come out. In other words, Snake Eyes through 6 will not be coming out when the dice thrower throws the dice with the sliding method, if they are successful.
I can't imagine it's a perfect science each throw, but maybe I'm wrong.
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Crime must not be too bad in that part of the country when "several different law enforcement agencies" can put that much time into arresting one man for marking some playing cards in a casino!
Thanks for the link Kevin. This story is hard for a non gambler to comprehend!
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I agree with everything you said. You know your stuff IMO. Tell me, who overall has the best methods for getting the cash through non-legit methods, the cheating players or the casinos?
I guess what Im really asking is if you believe the casinos are ALWAYS playing on the up and up. I myself don't buy for a minute that they are too conserved about the gaming commission to pull moves on their heavy hitters. What do you think?
I've already tried to match-up with him playing pool. I even tried pulling at his heart strings: "C'mon, Arch... let me turn my toothpick into a lumbar yard... let's play," or he might be sitting there looking bored as hell for a few hours and I'd say, "Archie... you look sooooo bored.... you might as well do SOMETHING... let's play..."
I could never get him to budge and I chirp pretty well. The chirping always ends up attracting whoever the best is in the room at the time and I usually just end up playing them and making a game.
I'm kinda offended now that you mention he's sometimes in cheap action around Vegas. I'm always very respectable to the man -- maybe I come off as a hair too eager, I dunno. I mean, if he's trying to pump-up and he has the lenses on loan to someone, I'm his man.
Anyways, I HIGHLY respect Archie. I just respect him for way other reasons than what a lot of the people here might respect him for. I'm suuuuure his "run" wasn't "on-the-square." That said, I think elite cheat artists are just as impressive as, say Tiger Woods or Efren Reyes. It probably takes just as much effort to get there.
I know a guy who tells you what he's doing AND does it in slow motion with your nose 1" away from the deck and you STILL can't see the move. I got embarrassed because I kept saying, "F@#K, do it again...one more time." Or, "Gimme a break... ok ok ok.... give the 3rd seat a boat this time and let me cut the deck differently...again."
Guys like that, to me at least, are just as impressive as any elite athlete. When someone TELLS you the move, lets you WATCH the move and does the move at 1/2 speed and you still can't see shit.... what can you say other than, "Thank God I'm friends with this guy and not on the other end."
Anyways, if Archie ever reads this thread ever.... I highly respect the man to the max. I know his "run" is what made him famous, but it's what doesn't make him famous that makes me revere the man. I hate casinos--- too bad he didn't bust that casino before he got caught.
It is said that the greatest art forger in the world is the one who has never been caught.
Ten years ago, an FBI investigation in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York was about to expose a scandal in the art world that would have been front-page news in New York and London. After a trail of fake paintings of astonishing quality led federal agents to art dealers, renowned experts, and the major auction houses, the investigation inexplicably ended, despite an abundance of evidence collected. The case was closed and the FBI file was marked “exempt from public disclosure.”
Now that the statute of limitations on these crimes has expired and the case appears hermetically sealed shut by the FBI, this book, Caveat Emptor, is Ken Perenyi’s confession. It is the story, in detail, of how he pulled it all off.
The artist/author was recently featured on "60 Minutes." Unlike Archie, he got away with it because of statute of limitations.
Ten years ago, an FBI investigation in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York was about to expose a scandal in the art world that would have been front-page news in New York and London. After a trail of fake paintings of astonishing quality led federal agents to art dealers, renowned experts, and the major auction houses, the investigation inexplicably ended, despite an abundance of evidence collected. The case was closed and the FBI file was marked “exempt from public disclosure.”
Now that the statute of limitations on these crimes has expired and the case appears hermetically sealed shut by the FBI, this book, Caveat Emptor, is Ken Perenyi’s confession. It is the story, in detail, of how he pulled it all off.
The artist/author was recently featured on "60 Minutes." Unlike Archie, he got away with it because of statute of limitations.
Attachments
Archie does have some good stories..He still gets lucky ppl giving him money to take a stab at the casino every so often..Well one of the 2 in Vegas that let him play..
Another one that might interest yall with a big time gambler.
http://www.ibtimes.com/phil-ivey-de...don-casino-amid-cheating-investigation-844157
Phil Ivey response to the accusations
http://www.pocketfives.com/articles/phil-ivey-admits-edge-sorting-crockfords-denies-cheating-588763/
Another one that might interest yall with a big time gambler.
http://www.ibtimes.com/phil-ivey-de...don-casino-amid-cheating-investigation-844157
Phil Ivey response to the accusations
http://www.pocketfives.com/articles/phil-ivey-admits-edge-sorting-crockfords-denies-cheating-588763/
I'm going to buy some dice and try the sliding single dice technique for the chica tonight to show her how smooth I am. For the math experts out there I have a 100% probability of failing this stud maneuver. I am open for bets on this and the window is wide open FML. I like the thread KK9...It's a good read.
They wont risk moves because theres too many people involved and its not worth it, its really not, as the players all beat themselves in the long run anyway.
And you never know who is watching. The one story i remember from that Marcus is he got nailed by some girl on the outside who opened her mouth as she saw him make his move, now THIS i believe. A lot of guys got burned by people watching the play because its almost impossible to shade every angle.
Theres still cross roaders out there, just not as many as years ago, technology stopped a lot of them. The cameras today are too high tech in the bigger joints and they can keep the film a lot longer than in the past, this is the major strength.
Now if you want to talk about the 50,s through the 70,s, thats another story. Then a lot of place ripped and tore on the 21 tables all the time, it was mainly done on graveyard but it still got done. I was friends with an old man who is gone now and he was a point owner in some of the old places and he told me a few stories, mainly funny stuff but he said if you were drunk in any of these places on grave and were winning, you were a prime candidate to have a hustler thrown in on your game.
This is long but this tells Archie's Story
Can you imagine anyone driving to Las Vegas in 1992 with $50 in his pocket, then borrowing $10,000 to start playing $200/400 razz and seven-card stud, and in six months, running it up to a $17,000,000 fortune shooting pool, playing poker, and shooting dice? Then, instead of cashing out, he decides to gamble sky-high and runs his bankroll to over $40,000,000, before losing it all back by 1995? Meet the biggest gambler in the world, Archie Karas. You're about to take a journey down memory lane to the most legendary high-roller story that ever happened in Las Vegas. Be sure and fasten your seat belts!
This story is true, and deserves to be written in a best-selling book, followed by a blockbuster motion picture. Archie Karas, a Greek immigrant, was born Anargyros Karabourniotis. He grew up in the city of Antypata, on the Greek island of Kefallonia, which is in the Ionion Sea between Italy and Greece. The Greek Island was mostly rock, with very little fertile land for growing crops. The people depended on rain for water, as there was very little other water available.
Archie's dad was Nickolas, who built houses from the ground up. He worked hard and was a very talented builder, but the villages were very poor. He made a hard living, but it was difficult to make much profit, if any sometimes, to support the family. Poverty was prevalent. As Archie related it, "I had to shoot marbles for money sometimes and needed to have a steady hand when I did."
Archie recently stopped over at my house in Las Vegas, to talk about his modest beginnings, and in a moment of deep reflection said, "Tommy, the hairs just stood up on my arms, just thinking about those early days when I was growing up, having to gamble to win money by shooting marbles! Back in those days, we would play for drachmas, which was the currency then. It took 30 drachmas to make one dollar, so to win two and a half drachmas, it meant I could win a half of loaf of bread to avoid going hungry that day."
A major incident and falling out between Archie and his dad happened one day, when Archie was working for him in construction. Archie hated working with cement in his hands, as he said it was burning his hands one day. His dad blew up, started cussing at him, and actually threw a shovel at him very hard, barely missing Archie's head. That was it for Archie, as he ran away from home at the young age of 15, never to see his father again. His father died of cancer only four years later, when Archie was 19.
Today, Archie Karas is 57 and lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. His family all resides in Greece. His mom, Mariana, is 87. Pete, his older brother, is 63 and owns a restaurant/pub. His older sister, Helen, is a homemaker, and his youngest sister, Dionysia, 45, is a school teacher. Archie stays in frequent touch with his family by phone, and tries to travel back to Greece at least once per year. Twice he's brought his mom to Las Vegas for six-month visits, and this is when Archie was swimming in millions. His brother and sisters also visited, and can you imagine the family's reaction at seeing Archie rich, beyond any dreams from those early poverty days from back home? They were amazed at the stacks of cash filling his many money boxes! What mom or family wouldn't be amazed?
Pete, Helen, Mariana, and Archie Karas on Fremont Street
Archie says, "I feel lucky to have such a supportive family, as I realize for many others, who might have gone through the ups and downs in life as I have, the family ties might evaporate. Even though I went to the mountaintop and back, losing a fortune, my family is still there for me. My mom used to tell me in her own way, a Greek poem, that basically says, 'When you're a big mountain and the snow melts once per year, there are two more big storms on the way to hit you.' She has always been very wise, yet gave me the freedom to make my own way in life. I loved her for that and still do."
Let's look at what happened to Archie after leaving home back in Greece when he was only 15….
Archie spent the next two years working on ships and freighters, making $60 per month, mostly as a waiter, before he jumped ship once it docked in Portland, Oregon. After two years at sea, this was the first time any ship he was on sailed to America. With great hope and expectations of finding a better life, the 17-year-old Archie began the pursuit of his dreams. Alone and vulnerable, he didn't even speak English when he first arrived. He worked his way down to Los Angeles, and started out as a waiter in a restaurant. He had to pick up English on his own, the best he could. Today, Archie speaks three languages quite fluently: Greek, English, and Spanish.
Amazingly, this was his first job he would ever need, as by the age of 18, he didn't need a job anymore! Right next to the restaurant was a bowling alley and a pool hall, and Archie became quite the pool player, spending many hours hustling games and making more money shooting pool than waiting on tables. The owner of the restaurant was well off and loved to shoot pool. However, he was no match against his 17-year-old waiter, but he loved the action. In a short period of time, Archie won a ton of money from him, and found many other fish, not only in the pool hall, but in poker games in the back room. Archie had a lot of natural card sense, and a ton of gamble, right from the very beginning.
With his victims from the pool hall thinning out, it became clear he needed to turn to high-stakes poker in the LA card rooms to continue his run. In the beginning, Archie thought if he had a bankroll of $10,000 he would be set for life. With his natural tendency to gamble high all the time, he would change that standard to $50,000, then $500,000, and finally to $1,000,000. Through his twenties and thirties, Archie was widely known to win and lose a million dollars as much as fifty times over, mostly playing in the L.A. area. When broke, he would find a new backer to start over. Archie said, "One day I might be driving a Mercedes, and the next day I might be sleeping in it!"
Karas in his heyday
One of the rare qualities Archie always possessed was his desire to play the highest limits with the best players. He was always fearless at the tables, unlike most of us. Archie says "I don't really value money. The things I want, money won't buy: health, freedom, love, and happiness. I have no fear, and play like I have no fear of losing it. Even as a kid back in Greece, I wasn't afraid to bet it all, be it marbles or anything else."
The stress of being up and down with such large swings would eat most of us up, but not Archie. He has always felt that no matter how big a hole he might find himself inside, he had the talent and courage to climb back out. In December, 1992, Archie lost $2,000,000 playing high-stakes poker. Left with only $50 in his pocket, Archie decided to re-evaluate his situation, and felt he needed to take it up a notch and head to Las Vegas to gamble higher. I think you'll agree that most of us would figure our best bet would be to slow down and drop down in limits, to reduce our risks. Archie is wired differently than the rest of us, as he gets an adrenaline rush enjoying the chase. He is that rare, bona fide high roller, who always believed his destiny was to be the biggest gambler the world has ever seen. This was his mindset, and with only his $50 bankroll and a full tank of gas, he headed down Route 15 for Las Vegas.
What happened next in his life was so incredible, it defies explanation. He was ready to take on all comers in Las Vegas, but Vegas wasn't prepared for the likes of Archie. The first casino he entered, with his hefty $50 bankroll, was Binion's Horseshoe, where a tournament was in progress along with big, juicy side games. While scanning the room, Archie spotted a well-to-do poker player who was familiar with Archie's talent playing razz or seven-card stud. With his incredible up-and-down gambling runs back in LA, would this be the moment in his life where he might launch something historic? Nobody in the room new it then, but Archie Karas was on the verge to do something unthinkable!
Remember, Archie had just lost everything in his life, a few nights earlier, with that big $2,000,000 setback in LA. A normal human being's confidence would have to be shaken. Not for Archie, though, with his nerves of steel and the mindset that he couldn't lose.
Archie asked his friend for a $10,000 loan to get staked in a $200/400 razz game. Actually, nobody played razz as good as Archie, and he came out of the gate blazing and tripled his money in three hours. He quickly went over and paid his $10,000 personal loan off, plus a 50% profit for the happy investor. At that point, Archie was on track to play for himself, and his legend in Las Vegas poker lore was ready to be written.
Along with many others, I recently attended Chip Reese's funeral. The large numbers of friends and fellow gamblers that attended were both inspirational and overwhelming. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought Archie Karas was part of the family, as I noticed him meeting, greeting, and shaking hands with many at the front door and lobby. I could see that it was Archie, though, who was there to pay tribute to his fellow competitor, Chip Reese. Ironically, many of the guests and younger poker players probably had no idea who Archie was, as his gambling streak happened about 15 years ago.
The truth is, many of the high-limit poker players, for many years, wouldn't talk to Archie after he went broke. Most of the greats that tried to take him on, playing such high stakes, heads up, learned quickly that Archie was too fearless and too tough to handle. The high limits Archie wanted to play at literally took most of them out of their comfort zone Yet, after all this time, here was Archie showing up to say good-bye to Chip, to pay his deepest respects to both the man, who was such a class act and also Archie's former adversary on the green felt. Archie looked at Chip as a great gladiator who had survived playing high stakes for 30 years.
As I watched Archie and how he handled himself there, the thought occurred to me that there was nobody at the funeral that was ever able to defeat Chip Reese at the poker tables, other than one guy in the world — Archie Karas. He wasn't there to gloat; he was there to pay tribute to Chip like everyone else.
I was walking across the parking lot after the funeral, and noticed this isolated figure walking to his car. I did a double-take and then realized it was Archie, so I went over to talk to him. The experiences he had with Chip were unlike anyone else's in the world. Nobody on the planet had won more money from Chip playing heads-up, high-stakes poker overall, or played higher limits at the time, than Archie. In the parking lot Archie told me, "Tommy, of all the opponents I ever played, and I have played all the greats, Chip had more class than all of them put together."
Although they weren't close friends, who talked to each other for a number of years, here was Archie paying his respects with a quiet reverence, almost unnoticed by most of the large crowd who didn't know who he was. After going broke, he was in stealth mode for a dozen years, hoping not to be barred from the casinos. To the casinos, Archie represented a dangerous, fearless gambler in the pit, one who might not win a few chandeliers, but the whole joint!
Archie says, "Poker gives a person a better chance to win money, but it is a lot more work. I might win $1,000,000 to $4,000,000 in ten to 30 minutes at dice, as high as I like to play, while it might take me 24 hours to win $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 in poker, playing someone heads-up. It's a lot of work that is exhausting. I do it because I love to play poker."
In poker, Archie compares his story as Chip, defending his championship status, against himself, defending his life in the Roman arena. Archie's amazing story between 1992 and 1995 was a journey beyond belief, including his amazing battles against the king, Chip Reese. You'll enjoy more from that here in the next several columns.
The interesting thing about highlighting his story is he is personally going to be our guide. Archie has agreed to several personal interviews to document The Run, the most audacious run in Vegas history and certainly an important chapter in gambling lore. So, as I said at the top… fasten your seat belts, and stay tuned for Part 2!
To be continued with more info
Can you imagine anyone driving to Las Vegas in 1992 with $50 in his pocket, then borrowing $10,000 to start playing $200/400 razz and seven-card stud, and in six months, running it up to a $17,000,000 fortune shooting pool, playing poker, and shooting dice? Then, instead of cashing out, he decides to gamble sky-high and runs his bankroll to over $40,000,000, before losing it all back by 1995? Meet the biggest gambler in the world, Archie Karas. You're about to take a journey down memory lane to the most legendary high-roller story that ever happened in Las Vegas. Be sure and fasten your seat belts!
This story is true, and deserves to be written in a best-selling book, followed by a blockbuster motion picture. Archie Karas, a Greek immigrant, was born Anargyros Karabourniotis. He grew up in the city of Antypata, on the Greek island of Kefallonia, which is in the Ionion Sea between Italy and Greece. The Greek Island was mostly rock, with very little fertile land for growing crops. The people depended on rain for water, as there was very little other water available.
Archie's dad was Nickolas, who built houses from the ground up. He worked hard and was a very talented builder, but the villages were very poor. He made a hard living, but it was difficult to make much profit, if any sometimes, to support the family. Poverty was prevalent. As Archie related it, "I had to shoot marbles for money sometimes and needed to have a steady hand when I did."
Archie recently stopped over at my house in Las Vegas, to talk about his modest beginnings, and in a moment of deep reflection said, "Tommy, the hairs just stood up on my arms, just thinking about those early days when I was growing up, having to gamble to win money by shooting marbles! Back in those days, we would play for drachmas, which was the currency then. It took 30 drachmas to make one dollar, so to win two and a half drachmas, it meant I could win a half of loaf of bread to avoid going hungry that day."
A major incident and falling out between Archie and his dad happened one day, when Archie was working for him in construction. Archie hated working with cement in his hands, as he said it was burning his hands one day. His dad blew up, started cussing at him, and actually threw a shovel at him very hard, barely missing Archie's head. That was it for Archie, as he ran away from home at the young age of 15, never to see his father again. His father died of cancer only four years later, when Archie was 19.
Today, Archie Karas is 57 and lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. His family all resides in Greece. His mom, Mariana, is 87. Pete, his older brother, is 63 and owns a restaurant/pub. His older sister, Helen, is a homemaker, and his youngest sister, Dionysia, 45, is a school teacher. Archie stays in frequent touch with his family by phone, and tries to travel back to Greece at least once per year. Twice he's brought his mom to Las Vegas for six-month visits, and this is when Archie was swimming in millions. His brother and sisters also visited, and can you imagine the family's reaction at seeing Archie rich, beyond any dreams from those early poverty days from back home? They were amazed at the stacks of cash filling his many money boxes! What mom or family wouldn't be amazed?
Pete, Helen, Mariana, and Archie Karas on Fremont Street
Archie says, "I feel lucky to have such a supportive family, as I realize for many others, who might have gone through the ups and downs in life as I have, the family ties might evaporate. Even though I went to the mountaintop and back, losing a fortune, my family is still there for me. My mom used to tell me in her own way, a Greek poem, that basically says, 'When you're a big mountain and the snow melts once per year, there are two more big storms on the way to hit you.' She has always been very wise, yet gave me the freedom to make my own way in life. I loved her for that and still do."
Let's look at what happened to Archie after leaving home back in Greece when he was only 15….
Archie spent the next two years working on ships and freighters, making $60 per month, mostly as a waiter, before he jumped ship once it docked in Portland, Oregon. After two years at sea, this was the first time any ship he was on sailed to America. With great hope and expectations of finding a better life, the 17-year-old Archie began the pursuit of his dreams. Alone and vulnerable, he didn't even speak English when he first arrived. He worked his way down to Los Angeles, and started out as a waiter in a restaurant. He had to pick up English on his own, the best he could. Today, Archie speaks three languages quite fluently: Greek, English, and Spanish.
Amazingly, this was his first job he would ever need, as by the age of 18, he didn't need a job anymore! Right next to the restaurant was a bowling alley and a pool hall, and Archie became quite the pool player, spending many hours hustling games and making more money shooting pool than waiting on tables. The owner of the restaurant was well off and loved to shoot pool. However, he was no match against his 17-year-old waiter, but he loved the action. In a short period of time, Archie won a ton of money from him, and found many other fish, not only in the pool hall, but in poker games in the back room. Archie had a lot of natural card sense, and a ton of gamble, right from the very beginning.
With his victims from the pool hall thinning out, it became clear he needed to turn to high-stakes poker in the LA card rooms to continue his run. In the beginning, Archie thought if he had a bankroll of $10,000 he would be set for life. With his natural tendency to gamble high all the time, he would change that standard to $50,000, then $500,000, and finally to $1,000,000. Through his twenties and thirties, Archie was widely known to win and lose a million dollars as much as fifty times over, mostly playing in the L.A. area. When broke, he would find a new backer to start over. Archie said, "One day I might be driving a Mercedes, and the next day I might be sleeping in it!"
Karas in his heyday
One of the rare qualities Archie always possessed was his desire to play the highest limits with the best players. He was always fearless at the tables, unlike most of us. Archie says "I don't really value money. The things I want, money won't buy: health, freedom, love, and happiness. I have no fear, and play like I have no fear of losing it. Even as a kid back in Greece, I wasn't afraid to bet it all, be it marbles or anything else."
The stress of being up and down with such large swings would eat most of us up, but not Archie. He has always felt that no matter how big a hole he might find himself inside, he had the talent and courage to climb back out. In December, 1992, Archie lost $2,000,000 playing high-stakes poker. Left with only $50 in his pocket, Archie decided to re-evaluate his situation, and felt he needed to take it up a notch and head to Las Vegas to gamble higher. I think you'll agree that most of us would figure our best bet would be to slow down and drop down in limits, to reduce our risks. Archie is wired differently than the rest of us, as he gets an adrenaline rush enjoying the chase. He is that rare, bona fide high roller, who always believed his destiny was to be the biggest gambler the world has ever seen. This was his mindset, and with only his $50 bankroll and a full tank of gas, he headed down Route 15 for Las Vegas.
What happened next in his life was so incredible, it defies explanation. He was ready to take on all comers in Las Vegas, but Vegas wasn't prepared for the likes of Archie. The first casino he entered, with his hefty $50 bankroll, was Binion's Horseshoe, where a tournament was in progress along with big, juicy side games. While scanning the room, Archie spotted a well-to-do poker player who was familiar with Archie's talent playing razz or seven-card stud. With his incredible up-and-down gambling runs back in LA, would this be the moment in his life where he might launch something historic? Nobody in the room new it then, but Archie Karas was on the verge to do something unthinkable!
Remember, Archie had just lost everything in his life, a few nights earlier, with that big $2,000,000 setback in LA. A normal human being's confidence would have to be shaken. Not for Archie, though, with his nerves of steel and the mindset that he couldn't lose.
Archie asked his friend for a $10,000 loan to get staked in a $200/400 razz game. Actually, nobody played razz as good as Archie, and he came out of the gate blazing and tripled his money in three hours. He quickly went over and paid his $10,000 personal loan off, plus a 50% profit for the happy investor. At that point, Archie was on track to play for himself, and his legend in Las Vegas poker lore was ready to be written.
Along with many others, I recently attended Chip Reese's funeral. The large numbers of friends and fellow gamblers that attended were both inspirational and overwhelming. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought Archie Karas was part of the family, as I noticed him meeting, greeting, and shaking hands with many at the front door and lobby. I could see that it was Archie, though, who was there to pay tribute to his fellow competitor, Chip Reese. Ironically, many of the guests and younger poker players probably had no idea who Archie was, as his gambling streak happened about 15 years ago.
The truth is, many of the high-limit poker players, for many years, wouldn't talk to Archie after he went broke. Most of the greats that tried to take him on, playing such high stakes, heads up, learned quickly that Archie was too fearless and too tough to handle. The high limits Archie wanted to play at literally took most of them out of their comfort zone Yet, after all this time, here was Archie showing up to say good-bye to Chip, to pay his deepest respects to both the man, who was such a class act and also Archie's former adversary on the green felt. Archie looked at Chip as a great gladiator who had survived playing high stakes for 30 years.
As I watched Archie and how he handled himself there, the thought occurred to me that there was nobody at the funeral that was ever able to defeat Chip Reese at the poker tables, other than one guy in the world — Archie Karas. He wasn't there to gloat; he was there to pay tribute to Chip like everyone else.
I was walking across the parking lot after the funeral, and noticed this isolated figure walking to his car. I did a double-take and then realized it was Archie, so I went over to talk to him. The experiences he had with Chip were unlike anyone else's in the world. Nobody on the planet had won more money from Chip playing heads-up, high-stakes poker overall, or played higher limits at the time, than Archie. In the parking lot Archie told me, "Tommy, of all the opponents I ever played, and I have played all the greats, Chip had more class than all of them put together."
Although they weren't close friends, who talked to each other for a number of years, here was Archie paying his respects with a quiet reverence, almost unnoticed by most of the large crowd who didn't know who he was. After going broke, he was in stealth mode for a dozen years, hoping not to be barred from the casinos. To the casinos, Archie represented a dangerous, fearless gambler in the pit, one who might not win a few chandeliers, but the whole joint!
Archie says, "Poker gives a person a better chance to win money, but it is a lot more work. I might win $1,000,000 to $4,000,000 in ten to 30 minutes at dice, as high as I like to play, while it might take me 24 hours to win $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 in poker, playing someone heads-up. It's a lot of work that is exhausting. I do it because I love to play poker."
In poker, Archie compares his story as Chip, defending his championship status, against himself, defending his life in the Roman arena. Archie's amazing story between 1992 and 1995 was a journey beyond belief, including his amazing battles against the king, Chip Reese. You'll enjoy more from that here in the next several columns.
The interesting thing about highlighting his story is he is personally going to be our guide. Archie has agreed to several personal interviews to document The Run, the most audacious run in Vegas history and certainly an important chapter in gambling lore. So, as I said at the top… fasten your seat belts, and stay tuned for Part 2!
To be continued with more info
continue
Do you know anybody off the top of your head that will shoot 9-ball for $40,000 per game, play heads-up poker for millions, and shoot dice up to $1,800,000 on the layout at one time? This is more than a short list, as there is only one member of the club. His name is Archie "The Greek" Karas. Jack Binion says, "Archie had more gamble in him than any person I ever met." As revered and respected as Jack is to everyone in the gambling world, we can safely say, Jack has seen them all. According to Jack, Archie was by far the biggest and most fearless gambler he ever saw.
Archie's story of winning over $40,000,000 in Las Vegas started in a bar that had a pool table, adjacent to the Liberace Plaza on East Tropicana. Archie reflected for a moment: "Who could ever dream or imagine going into a bar for a beer, and then start shooting a little pool for money, would result in the beginnings of accumulating a fortune? Life takes mysterious turns!"
I asked Archie to tell us what actually happened, and he said, "Tommy, I'll tell you the sequence of what happened shooting pool, under one condition."
I said, "What's that?"
"I won't tell you the name of the person I played pool with, out of respect for him and his position. Let's just refer to him as Mr. X."
Since it was the story of Archie detailing how he could win so much shooting pool, I said "OK, that's fine. So tell us, what really happened shooting pool?"
"Well, I walked into this bar and noticed Mr. X shooting some pool. We knew each other from the past, and it took no time at all to agree to play a game of 9-ball. We started shooting 9-ball pretty small, like $5,000 per game."
I said, "You call that betting small, shooting one game of 9-ball, where you can lose if the opponent knocks in the 9-ball in a few seconds on the break?"
Archie laughed and quickly added, "It's interesting you bring that up, Tommy, as I'll tell you a story that happened to me in a few minutes that was unbelievable. First, I'll just say, as I continued to win more 9-ball games than my opponent, we both agreed to increase the limits to $10,000, then $15,000, $20,000, $30,000 and eventually to $40,000 per game. We met many times after that first night around town, and probably played over a two-and-a-half-month period altogether.
"Each time we met, the sessions lasted pretty long. After the first four meetings, I found myself up $1,100,000! After each long session, we would usually pay off the next day. It would be too easy to get heisted, carrying big amounts of money around into bars or pool halls around town. The large amounts we were playing for would always attract a crowd at the rail, so we preferred to rotate around quietly to various places when we played.
"My opponent had a lot of money, so this seemed pretty sweet, until the fifth time we met, and I ran into a big buzzsaw. That one night, I lost $740,000 shooting 9-ball, and everything that could go wrong seemed to happen. This session completely turned into a nightmare disaster for me, and I knew I better find a way out, before I lost everything. We mostly played $20,000 and $30,000 per game, before increasing the stakes to $40,000 per game."
"Did you just tell him you were going to quit for the night?" I asked.
"No, not exactly. What happened was, I was lining up a very easy shot on the 9-ball to finally win a game, when a pretty lady, who was with my opponent, inadvertently walked by the table, right where I was aiming to sink the 9-ball. She didn't mean to, but as she stopped to see if I was going to make the shot, slightly leaning over… I missed the shot!" I went off like a rocket and slammed my $2,000 cue stick down on the floor and stomped on it, until it was busted. That ended the night's session. Mr. X quickly offered his own cue for me to shoot with, but I said no. I'll just meet you tomorrow down at the Horseshoe, where my money is in the box, and pay you the $740,000 I owe you."
"The next day, when I pulled into the valet at Binion's Horseshoe to make the payoff, I first had a big problem with my partner riding with me, who had 30% of me. He grabbed my right arm, as I was the driver, and said, 'Don't do this, Archie! This guy is too good! You don't need to ever play this guy again. We are talking about $740,000. That is money we can't get back if we give it to him… $740,000! Listen to me, Archie, let's just tell him we got heisted, and not pay it!'"
"Did you think he was just joking?" I asked.
Archie immediately said, "No, he was very serious. This guy, how do I say this, had a little outlaw in him, and he was dead serious."
"The two of us had quite a verbal battle, as I was worried he might scoot over when I got out and take off on me. He had money in a separate box, and had to pay his share of the loss. When he did get out of the car, I almost ran right behind him, leaving the motor running in valet. I didn't want him to dart in one door and out another, to avoid the payoff.
"He had said I had no chance of beating Mr. X. He, like the two good players that advised me, kept saying Mr. X had a better break than I did, and it was too hard to overcome. All three thought Mr. X should spot me the 8- and 9-ball, to make the match fairer, but I said, 'I'll spot him the 8- and 9-ball, if I have to, to keep on playing him!' I'm going all the way with him, even if I go broke. Of course, gambling everything I had left was something I really meant, but I was joking about spotting him the 8- and 9-ball. I just wanted my partner in pool to know that my mindset was to keep playing, no matter what.
Do you know anybody off the top of your head that will shoot 9-ball for $40,000 per game, play heads-up poker for millions, and shoot dice up to $1,800,000 on the layout at one time? This is more than a short list, as there is only one member of the club. His name is Archie "The Greek" Karas. Jack Binion says, "Archie had more gamble in him than any person I ever met." As revered and respected as Jack is to everyone in the gambling world, we can safely say, Jack has seen them all. According to Jack, Archie was by far the biggest and most fearless gambler he ever saw.
Archie's story of winning over $40,000,000 in Las Vegas started in a bar that had a pool table, adjacent to the Liberace Plaza on East Tropicana. Archie reflected for a moment: "Who could ever dream or imagine going into a bar for a beer, and then start shooting a little pool for money, would result in the beginnings of accumulating a fortune? Life takes mysterious turns!"
I asked Archie to tell us what actually happened, and he said, "Tommy, I'll tell you the sequence of what happened shooting pool, under one condition."
I said, "What's that?"
"I won't tell you the name of the person I played pool with, out of respect for him and his position. Let's just refer to him as Mr. X."
Since it was the story of Archie detailing how he could win so much shooting pool, I said "OK, that's fine. So tell us, what really happened shooting pool?"
"Well, I walked into this bar and noticed Mr. X shooting some pool. We knew each other from the past, and it took no time at all to agree to play a game of 9-ball. We started shooting 9-ball pretty small, like $5,000 per game."
I said, "You call that betting small, shooting one game of 9-ball, where you can lose if the opponent knocks in the 9-ball in a few seconds on the break?"
Archie laughed and quickly added, "It's interesting you bring that up, Tommy, as I'll tell you a story that happened to me in a few minutes that was unbelievable. First, I'll just say, as I continued to win more 9-ball games than my opponent, we both agreed to increase the limits to $10,000, then $15,000, $20,000, $30,000 and eventually to $40,000 per game. We met many times after that first night around town, and probably played over a two-and-a-half-month period altogether.
"Each time we met, the sessions lasted pretty long. After the first four meetings, I found myself up $1,100,000! After each long session, we would usually pay off the next day. It would be too easy to get heisted, carrying big amounts of money around into bars or pool halls around town. The large amounts we were playing for would always attract a crowd at the rail, so we preferred to rotate around quietly to various places when we played.
"My opponent had a lot of money, so this seemed pretty sweet, until the fifth time we met, and I ran into a big buzzsaw. That one night, I lost $740,000 shooting 9-ball, and everything that could go wrong seemed to happen. This session completely turned into a nightmare disaster for me, and I knew I better find a way out, before I lost everything. We mostly played $20,000 and $30,000 per game, before increasing the stakes to $40,000 per game."
"Did you just tell him you were going to quit for the night?" I asked.
"No, not exactly. What happened was, I was lining up a very easy shot on the 9-ball to finally win a game, when a pretty lady, who was with my opponent, inadvertently walked by the table, right where I was aiming to sink the 9-ball. She didn't mean to, but as she stopped to see if I was going to make the shot, slightly leaning over… I missed the shot!" I went off like a rocket and slammed my $2,000 cue stick down on the floor and stomped on it, until it was busted. That ended the night's session. Mr. X quickly offered his own cue for me to shoot with, but I said no. I'll just meet you tomorrow down at the Horseshoe, where my money is in the box, and pay you the $740,000 I owe you."
"The next day, when I pulled into the valet at Binion's Horseshoe to make the payoff, I first had a big problem with my partner riding with me, who had 30% of me. He grabbed my right arm, as I was the driver, and said, 'Don't do this, Archie! This guy is too good! You don't need to ever play this guy again. We are talking about $740,000. That is money we can't get back if we give it to him… $740,000! Listen to me, Archie, let's just tell him we got heisted, and not pay it!'"
"Did you think he was just joking?" I asked.
Archie immediately said, "No, he was very serious. This guy, how do I say this, had a little outlaw in him, and he was dead serious."
"The two of us had quite a verbal battle, as I was worried he might scoot over when I got out and take off on me. He had money in a separate box, and had to pay his share of the loss. When he did get out of the car, I almost ran right behind him, leaving the motor running in valet. I didn't want him to dart in one door and out another, to avoid the payoff.
"He had said I had no chance of beating Mr. X. He, like the two good players that advised me, kept saying Mr. X had a better break than I did, and it was too hard to overcome. All three thought Mr. X should spot me the 8- and 9-ball, to make the match fairer, but I said, 'I'll spot him the 8- and 9-ball, if I have to, to keep on playing him!' I'm going all the way with him, even if I go broke. Of course, gambling everything I had left was something I really meant, but I was joking about spotting him the 8- and 9-ball. I just wanted my partner in pool to know that my mindset was to keep playing, no matter what.
Pool story continued
"This argument in valet was a defining moment for me in retrospect. My partner thought I was crazy and wanted out of any future dealings. He wanted to cash out whatever he had left. He thought I was doomed to go off the edge of a cliff, if I continued playing him. He begrudgingly walked with me to the cashier's cage, once we got inside the Horseshoe to make the payoff. We pulled out $1,000,000 out of the money boxes and let personnel count out $740,000 at the cashier's cage. About that time, Jack Binion walked by and stopped, noticing this big-money transaction going on He sort of smiled and said 'Hey what's going on here?' I said, 'Well, I lost a little money shooting pool last night.' With that, Jack chuckled a little bit, wished us well, and went on with his duties of running the hotel.
"After the payoff, my partner was still very upset and told me our partnership was over, and that I would be totally on my own, if I was crazy enough to play Mr. X again. He took what he had left and bailed out on me, after once again reminding me that I was going to go broke for sure, if I kept playing him.
"My now ex-partner and two good pool player friends, who were warning me to quit, were right in the sense that if I failed to get over the next hurdle, I would quickly be wiped out. In my mind, though, here was a guy willing to gamble sky-high shooting 9-ball, and I believed I could find a way to beat him. I knew this was my big chance to hit a big score, and I was excited, since I now had 100% of myself in future action. It was true I was on the ropes a little bit now with a lower bankroll, as I basically understood I would have to win my next two sessions, or I would be finished. I wasn't looking for a cinch, I was looking to gamble.
"Now, I was truly on my own, with about $500,000 to $600,000 left in my bankroll from poker and pool. I got plenty of rest, which is so important before shooting pool, and met Mr. X a few days later to resume our battle. The next time we played, I got out of the gate fast and won some big money, running it up to about $1,500,000 after several sessions. My former partner wanted back in, of course, but I told him, 'You can't jump in and out when it suits you…you're either in or you're out.' He was a pretty rough guy, but he understood, respected, and accepted it."
Archie continued with the tale. "My ex-partner came to the matches, even though he no longer had a piece of me. He was curious to see if I would go broke!" Archie began to laugh hard when he remembered a funny time his ex-partner was off at a distance behind the bar, in the dark. Archie said, "Every time I looked over in his direction, all I could see was his two glowing white eyes in the dark. The more I won from Mr. X, the bigger his eyes got, beginning to realize all the money he was losing out on, as I kept winning big.
"I was pumped up and felt invincible. Then my opponent did something to me that seemed impossible: Out of about a ten-game stretch, he knocked the 9-ball in on me on the break, eight out of ten times."
"How much is that at $40,000 per game, Tommy?" I asked. "With the 9-ball going in on the break eight times, you must have lost $320,000 in about 40 seconds between those games…wow!"
Archie said, "Can you imagine how I felt standing there holding my cue stick, watching this lucky streak he put on me? I think he had made three 9-balls in a row on the break, then missed once before hitting three more in. After one more miss on the break, Mr. X hit two more in a row on the break. For the high stakes we were playing for, I was stunned!
"I don't rattle easy, but that rattled me, as I didn't even get the chance to shoot one ball in those games. It is hard to fade, believe me. It felt like I was throwing $40,000 at a time, right out of a car window in seconds, over and over again, and my hard-earned money was flying off into the wind."
I asked, "Archie are you sure he knocked in the 9-ball in eight out of ten breaks? Because it sounds almost impossible."
"Tommy, the difference was the size of the table we were playing on. In this bar, it was smaller than a full-size table. It isn't easy to knock in the 9-ball on the break, but the smaller table makes a huge difference. The balls move around much faster on the break. I've been playing pool 40 years, and I've seen three or four times in a row, but never eight out of ten breaks. I told you earlier my advisors thought Mr. X had the edge on the break. It is kind of like a golfer who only drives his tee shot 200 yards versus his opponent, who hits it 300 yards. It is a big edge."
"Did you ever play anything other than 9-ball, like straight pool?" I wondered.
"No, that takes too long…I'm an action freak, who likes it fast and dangerous. It is just the way I am. However, that night was the extra straw that broke the camel's back. I couldn't fade the skill and luck factor of Mr. X's break, and I knew it. This was the night I laid my cue down, and said 'That's it, I can't fade this. If you want to gamble with me, let's go play some poker.'"
I asked Archie, after everything that happened, "What was the final scorecard shooting pool and playing poker against Mr. X?"
Archie said, "After all of this, I was still up about $1,200,000 from shooting pool. I had succeeded in winning that $740,000 back that I lost from that one night, and had a healthy bankroll to play heads-up poker sky high. There isn't anyone in the world that can beat me in heads-up poker. I started with Mr. X, who is a world poker champion himself, and took that $1,000,000 I won shooting pool with him, and went on to win $3,000,000 more from him playing poker, in only a few days. We started at $4,000/8,000 limit, playing seven-card stud, and quickly moved up to $8,000/$16,000 limit, which was unheard of in those days."
Looking back at Archie's shooting pool with Mr. X, it definitely appeared to be the seed money he needed to begin playing high stakes heads-up poker and dice. Remember, Archie's friends, who shot pool well themselves, had warned him emphatically that Mr. X was too good, and that Archie shouldn't play him. Somehow, though, Archie found a way to win.
Archie seemed to know what he was doing, like Muhammad Ali did with his rope-a-dope strategy that worked on George Foreman in 1974. All of Ali's corner people were going crazy in the corner the night they fought, imploring him to get off the ropes. They thought their man was going to get killed with that tactic. Ali didn't listen to his advisors, as his strategy was to wear out the bigger, stronger opponent, and at the right moment, go for the kill. Ali knocked George Foreman out that night in Zaire, Africa in the eighth round, which was Ali's defining moment in his career. Archie's most defining career moment was to gamble high stakes with Mr. X. His advisors had warned him not to do it, but Archie instead shocked the whole town, winning big-time money that would set the stage for the amazing performance to come.
Archie 'The Greek' Karas
I asked Archie, "Did you ever play higher than $40,000 per game shooting pool with anyone?"
Archie said, "Only one time, and that was later on in my streak, two years after my encounter with Mr. X. I later played a great player, named Tobey, at one-pocket pool. He was a world-class player and he spotted me 12-to-5, which meant he had to make 12 balls in his designated pocket, while I only had to make five balls in mine.
"We played for $40,000 per game, but there were three or four poker players at the rail who wagered another $35,000 on side bets every game. That meant I was playing for $75,000 per game. The funny thing is I wanted to bet $150,000 per game, but they wouldn't do it. A few rail bettors were Howard Lederer, Steve Zolotow, and perhaps someone representing Chip and Doyle. As it turned out, I had the worst of the matchup, and I was normally the best handicapper in making the match at least an even gamble. In this match, though, I ended up losing about $700,000 over three days."
Looking back, it seemed to be Archie "The Greek" Karas against every sharpie and world-class poker player in town. He was a one-man army, a green beret, able to defeat a whole battalion of the world's best poker players, as you'll find out in future columns.
When you think Archie literally started with nothing when he came to town in December of 1992, and was now in position to do what he always dreamed and believed he could do, be the biggest gambler in the world, his story is truly mind-boggling. Stay tuned for more on Archie's legendary story in Part 3.
"This argument in valet was a defining moment for me in retrospect. My partner thought I was crazy and wanted out of any future dealings. He wanted to cash out whatever he had left. He thought I was doomed to go off the edge of a cliff, if I continued playing him. He begrudgingly walked with me to the cashier's cage, once we got inside the Horseshoe to make the payoff. We pulled out $1,000,000 out of the money boxes and let personnel count out $740,000 at the cashier's cage. About that time, Jack Binion walked by and stopped, noticing this big-money transaction going on He sort of smiled and said 'Hey what's going on here?' I said, 'Well, I lost a little money shooting pool last night.' With that, Jack chuckled a little bit, wished us well, and went on with his duties of running the hotel.
"After the payoff, my partner was still very upset and told me our partnership was over, and that I would be totally on my own, if I was crazy enough to play Mr. X again. He took what he had left and bailed out on me, after once again reminding me that I was going to go broke for sure, if I kept playing him.
"My now ex-partner and two good pool player friends, who were warning me to quit, were right in the sense that if I failed to get over the next hurdle, I would quickly be wiped out. In my mind, though, here was a guy willing to gamble sky-high shooting 9-ball, and I believed I could find a way to beat him. I knew this was my big chance to hit a big score, and I was excited, since I now had 100% of myself in future action. It was true I was on the ropes a little bit now with a lower bankroll, as I basically understood I would have to win my next two sessions, or I would be finished. I wasn't looking for a cinch, I was looking to gamble.
"Now, I was truly on my own, with about $500,000 to $600,000 left in my bankroll from poker and pool. I got plenty of rest, which is so important before shooting pool, and met Mr. X a few days later to resume our battle. The next time we played, I got out of the gate fast and won some big money, running it up to about $1,500,000 after several sessions. My former partner wanted back in, of course, but I told him, 'You can't jump in and out when it suits you…you're either in or you're out.' He was a pretty rough guy, but he understood, respected, and accepted it."
Archie continued with the tale. "My ex-partner came to the matches, even though he no longer had a piece of me. He was curious to see if I would go broke!" Archie began to laugh hard when he remembered a funny time his ex-partner was off at a distance behind the bar, in the dark. Archie said, "Every time I looked over in his direction, all I could see was his two glowing white eyes in the dark. The more I won from Mr. X, the bigger his eyes got, beginning to realize all the money he was losing out on, as I kept winning big.
"I was pumped up and felt invincible. Then my opponent did something to me that seemed impossible: Out of about a ten-game stretch, he knocked the 9-ball in on me on the break, eight out of ten times."
"How much is that at $40,000 per game, Tommy?" I asked. "With the 9-ball going in on the break eight times, you must have lost $320,000 in about 40 seconds between those games…wow!"
Archie said, "Can you imagine how I felt standing there holding my cue stick, watching this lucky streak he put on me? I think he had made three 9-balls in a row on the break, then missed once before hitting three more in. After one more miss on the break, Mr. X hit two more in a row on the break. For the high stakes we were playing for, I was stunned!
"I don't rattle easy, but that rattled me, as I didn't even get the chance to shoot one ball in those games. It is hard to fade, believe me. It felt like I was throwing $40,000 at a time, right out of a car window in seconds, over and over again, and my hard-earned money was flying off into the wind."
I asked, "Archie are you sure he knocked in the 9-ball in eight out of ten breaks? Because it sounds almost impossible."
"Tommy, the difference was the size of the table we were playing on. In this bar, it was smaller than a full-size table. It isn't easy to knock in the 9-ball on the break, but the smaller table makes a huge difference. The balls move around much faster on the break. I've been playing pool 40 years, and I've seen three or four times in a row, but never eight out of ten breaks. I told you earlier my advisors thought Mr. X had the edge on the break. It is kind of like a golfer who only drives his tee shot 200 yards versus his opponent, who hits it 300 yards. It is a big edge."
"Did you ever play anything other than 9-ball, like straight pool?" I wondered.
"No, that takes too long…I'm an action freak, who likes it fast and dangerous. It is just the way I am. However, that night was the extra straw that broke the camel's back. I couldn't fade the skill and luck factor of Mr. X's break, and I knew it. This was the night I laid my cue down, and said 'That's it, I can't fade this. If you want to gamble with me, let's go play some poker.'"
I asked Archie, after everything that happened, "What was the final scorecard shooting pool and playing poker against Mr. X?"
Archie said, "After all of this, I was still up about $1,200,000 from shooting pool. I had succeeded in winning that $740,000 back that I lost from that one night, and had a healthy bankroll to play heads-up poker sky high. There isn't anyone in the world that can beat me in heads-up poker. I started with Mr. X, who is a world poker champion himself, and took that $1,000,000 I won shooting pool with him, and went on to win $3,000,000 more from him playing poker, in only a few days. We started at $4,000/8,000 limit, playing seven-card stud, and quickly moved up to $8,000/$16,000 limit, which was unheard of in those days."
Looking back at Archie's shooting pool with Mr. X, it definitely appeared to be the seed money he needed to begin playing high stakes heads-up poker and dice. Remember, Archie's friends, who shot pool well themselves, had warned him emphatically that Mr. X was too good, and that Archie shouldn't play him. Somehow, though, Archie found a way to win.
Archie seemed to know what he was doing, like Muhammad Ali did with his rope-a-dope strategy that worked on George Foreman in 1974. All of Ali's corner people were going crazy in the corner the night they fought, imploring him to get off the ropes. They thought their man was going to get killed with that tactic. Ali didn't listen to his advisors, as his strategy was to wear out the bigger, stronger opponent, and at the right moment, go for the kill. Ali knocked George Foreman out that night in Zaire, Africa in the eighth round, which was Ali's defining moment in his career. Archie's most defining career moment was to gamble high stakes with Mr. X. His advisors had warned him not to do it, but Archie instead shocked the whole town, winning big-time money that would set the stage for the amazing performance to come.
Archie 'The Greek' Karas
I asked Archie, "Did you ever play higher than $40,000 per game shooting pool with anyone?"
Archie said, "Only one time, and that was later on in my streak, two years after my encounter with Mr. X. I later played a great player, named Tobey, at one-pocket pool. He was a world-class player and he spotted me 12-to-5, which meant he had to make 12 balls in his designated pocket, while I only had to make five balls in mine.
"We played for $40,000 per game, but there were three or four poker players at the rail who wagered another $35,000 on side bets every game. That meant I was playing for $75,000 per game. The funny thing is I wanted to bet $150,000 per game, but they wouldn't do it. A few rail bettors were Howard Lederer, Steve Zolotow, and perhaps someone representing Chip and Doyle. As it turned out, I had the worst of the matchup, and I was normally the best handicapper in making the match at least an even gamble. In this match, though, I ended up losing about $700,000 over three days."
Looking back, it seemed to be Archie "The Greek" Karas against every sharpie and world-class poker player in town. He was a one-man army, a green beret, able to defeat a whole battalion of the world's best poker players, as you'll find out in future columns.
When you think Archie literally started with nothing when he came to town in December of 1992, and was now in position to do what he always dreamed and believed he could do, be the biggest gambler in the world, his story is truly mind-boggling. Stay tuned for more on Archie's legendary story in Part 3.
If you won $7,000,000 on a three-month rush, and stacked up all the cash on a big table, would you then risk it all playing the world's greatest players, including Chip Reese, Doyle Brunson, Stu Ungar, Johnny Chan, and a host of other poker greats? Playing as high as $10,000/$20,000 limit heads-up poker, you could easily lose your new-found fortune to a school of sharks! Of course, the other choice you would have, while standing behind this mountain of cash, peering around it at this dangerous lineup of poker sharks, would be to cash out, take the money and run!
Ask yourself, what you would do in this spot? Most normal people would take the $7,000,000 in a heartbeat, and be set for life. After all, why risk it against the immortals of poker? However, there was one guy on the planet wired differently than all of the rest of us, and his name was Archie "The Greek" Karas. He was fearless and ready to take on the best of the best in the poker world. The reason: Archie truly believed that he was the world's heads-up poker champion of all time. He was born for this moment. Looking back in time in early 1993, Archie had set the stage to go and prove it.
Archie literally mowed down the world's best poker players, in an amazing exhibition of skill and courage, running his recently amassed $7,000,000 fortune into $17,000,000 million in just three more months. In some circles, this period of time in Las Vegas is often referred to as The Run. To Archie, though, he was just warming up, as though he was just stepping into the starting blocks to set a record in the most talked-about race in history.
Before we go into the details of some of his biggest poker matches, let's re-examine how he accumulated his first $7,000,000 to challenge the world's best poker players. First, Archie won $1,200,000 shooting pool, playing nine-ball in local Las Vegas bars. The stakes ranged from $5,000 per game up to $20,000, $30,000, and even $40,000 per game. What kind of nerve would this take to do such a thing over a two-and-a-half-month stretch? After making this gigantic score, he and his opponent agreed to play heads-up poker, where Archie says he won between $3,000,000 and $4,000,000 playing seven-card stud over the next three to four weeks. It is hard for Archie to recall the exact amount here, as it was at this time that he began shooting dice at Binion's Horseshoe while waiting for his opponent to show up for their poker matches there. Archie couldn't wait three hours to gamble, and, in his words, was living the dream. In dice, Archie began winning scores like $800,000, $600,000 and $400,000. Archie was on fire, no matter what he did, and his episodes were creating a tidal wave of interest among the sharks in town.
Karas in 1994: Another day at the office
Archie said, "I easily had a $7,000,000 bankroll at this point, and my confidence was on top of the world. I remember getting ten racks of $5,000 chips, which is $5,000,000, and putting them in the middle of the poker room on a poker table at the Horseshoe. I was ready to take on all comers in poker, and this stirred up a lot of interest. Poker's most colorful character, Puggy Pearson, began to circle the table and the whole room, chanting, 'Step right up here, boys, and help yourself to some of this easy money… $5,000,000 just waiting for you… step right up!' Puggy was comical and appeared to be like a carnival barker, continuing, 'Archie will take on all comers… step right up to his office!' During all of this," continued Archie, "I would walk to the bathroom, leaving my $5,000,000 on the table, like I could almost care less if I lost it. Of course, I knew security was close to the money, guarding it, as the Horseshoe had high hopes of winning it from me as well.
"Puggy Pearson, poker's 1973 WSOP champion and Hall of Fame member, knew me quite well, as I beat him numerous times heads-up in the past, including winning $90,000 from him the night he got so mad at me for running over him in a match. Now, Puggy looked like my promoter out there, circling the table, comically inviting one and all to step up to the plate. Puggy knew how good I was, as a small part of the $5,000,000 on the table was contributed by him.
"My first big match out of the gate was against a true legend in the game, Stu Ungar. Of course Stuey had already won the 1980 and 1981 WSOP titles and three main events in Amarillo Slim's Super Bowl of Poker by 1993. He shocked the world, making his comeback win for his third WSOP title in 1997, later being inducted into poker's Hall of Fame." Archie continued, "I loved Stuey for many years. We both shared a deep respect for each other, and had a unique bond between the two of us, as we both had many ups and downs in our careers. He would loan me money occasionally, which I always paid back. I would do the same for many others. As poker gladiators however, it was now time to battle on the green felt. I remember Jack Keller brought $500,000 to the table for Stuey to play with. At the time Jack was working for Lyle Berman in Mississippi, and Lyle was backing Stuey up."
Lyle became quite famous ten years later, as the visionary who financed the World Poker Tour, and was later inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame himself. As the match began, Archie said, "After Jack brought Stuey's money down, I noticed he stayed seated at the table while Stuey and I played. I didn't like that, and even though Jack was the 1984 WSOP champion and later inducted to poker's Hall of Fame, I quickly said to him, 'What are you trying to do, Jack, get a line on my play? If you want to play, put your money up and let's go!' When I play heads-up, I like to control everything, including the game we played, which was razz. I know nobody in the world can beat me in razz, not in the long run."
I asked Archie, "Did Jack Keller get up from the table when you zeroed in on him?"
Archie said, "Immediately, as I made it clear he had to put his money up or leave the table!"
"So, Archie, what happened in the match with Stuey?"
"It didn't take long to demolish Stuey," responded Archie, "and I beat him for $500,000."
Next up in Archie's parade of champions was the youngest player ever inducted into poker's Hall of Fame in 1991, who was considered by one and all to be the best all-around poker player in the world. This was, of course, the legendary Chip Reese. Archie said, "Just a few days after I defeated Stu Ungar for a half a million in razz, I was going to jump back in the fire with Chip Reese. Chip wanted to play razz too, which I was happy about, as heads-up, I don't think there is a man alive who can beat me in that game, not in the long run, anyway."
What Archie did next was something no one on the planet has ever done before or since. Archie beat Chip Reese and Stu Ungar on the same day! He first played Chip in razz, and won $500,000 from him. The match took about eight tough hours. Archie said, "I went to dinner for a couple of hours, and when I walked back into the poker room, Stu Ungar walked up to me and challenged me to another match. This time he wanted to play seven-card stud, so I quickly agreed to play him.
"In a little more than four hours, I beat Stuey again, but this time for $700,000. I noticed when the match was over, Lyle Berman who sat next to Stuey as his backer, gave Stuey the last two $5,000 chips. Lyle had just lost $700,000, and his compassion for Stuey's hard-fought effort showed me a lot of class. What an exhausting day this was, but I picked up $1,200,000 in one day from the world's top two players!"
I said, "Archie, that feat completely boggles my mind. The next day when you woke up, you must have been in awe of the previous night and what you had done?"
Even Archie paused to reflect for a minute, "I've done some amazing things playing poker, but beating Chip and Stuey on the same day for $1,200,000 was extra special!"
You're about to learn about the most money Chip Reese ever lost in one day in his career, when his next match with Archie Karas is highlighted in next week's Part 4. It is important to point out that Archie played Chip, Doyle Brunson, Ungar, Johnny Chan, and almost every world champion player around in L.A. and Las Vegas for many years before his iconic streak from 1992-1995. In the beginning, Chip and Doyle would pay Archie $2,000 to $3,000 per hour to play the game of their choice. If they were playing $1,000/$2,000 limit or $1,500/$3,000 limit, they would offer him one big blind per hour. Archie said, "If they were playing razz and high cards were coming, they might attempt to steer me to change over to seven-card stud." They didn't realize they had Tony the Tiger by the tail, and quickly realized this kid could play poker. That trick in their bag was quickly dropped, as they found Archie difficult to beat heads-up.
In Part 4, we'll look at more of The Run, the amazing stretch where Archie Karas took his pool winnings to the poker table and built his bankroll up to $17,000,000.
Ask yourself, what you would do in this spot? Most normal people would take the $7,000,000 in a heartbeat, and be set for life. After all, why risk it against the immortals of poker? However, there was one guy on the planet wired differently than all of the rest of us, and his name was Archie "The Greek" Karas. He was fearless and ready to take on the best of the best in the poker world. The reason: Archie truly believed that he was the world's heads-up poker champion of all time. He was born for this moment. Looking back in time in early 1993, Archie had set the stage to go and prove it.
Archie literally mowed down the world's best poker players, in an amazing exhibition of skill and courage, running his recently amassed $7,000,000 fortune into $17,000,000 million in just three more months. In some circles, this period of time in Las Vegas is often referred to as The Run. To Archie, though, he was just warming up, as though he was just stepping into the starting blocks to set a record in the most talked-about race in history.
Before we go into the details of some of his biggest poker matches, let's re-examine how he accumulated his first $7,000,000 to challenge the world's best poker players. First, Archie won $1,200,000 shooting pool, playing nine-ball in local Las Vegas bars. The stakes ranged from $5,000 per game up to $20,000, $30,000, and even $40,000 per game. What kind of nerve would this take to do such a thing over a two-and-a-half-month stretch? After making this gigantic score, he and his opponent agreed to play heads-up poker, where Archie says he won between $3,000,000 and $4,000,000 playing seven-card stud over the next three to four weeks. It is hard for Archie to recall the exact amount here, as it was at this time that he began shooting dice at Binion's Horseshoe while waiting for his opponent to show up for their poker matches there. Archie couldn't wait three hours to gamble, and, in his words, was living the dream. In dice, Archie began winning scores like $800,000, $600,000 and $400,000. Archie was on fire, no matter what he did, and his episodes were creating a tidal wave of interest among the sharks in town.
Karas in 1994: Another day at the office
Archie said, "I easily had a $7,000,000 bankroll at this point, and my confidence was on top of the world. I remember getting ten racks of $5,000 chips, which is $5,000,000, and putting them in the middle of the poker room on a poker table at the Horseshoe. I was ready to take on all comers in poker, and this stirred up a lot of interest. Poker's most colorful character, Puggy Pearson, began to circle the table and the whole room, chanting, 'Step right up here, boys, and help yourself to some of this easy money… $5,000,000 just waiting for you… step right up!' Puggy was comical and appeared to be like a carnival barker, continuing, 'Archie will take on all comers… step right up to his office!' During all of this," continued Archie, "I would walk to the bathroom, leaving my $5,000,000 on the table, like I could almost care less if I lost it. Of course, I knew security was close to the money, guarding it, as the Horseshoe had high hopes of winning it from me as well.
"Puggy Pearson, poker's 1973 WSOP champion and Hall of Fame member, knew me quite well, as I beat him numerous times heads-up in the past, including winning $90,000 from him the night he got so mad at me for running over him in a match. Now, Puggy looked like my promoter out there, circling the table, comically inviting one and all to step up to the plate. Puggy knew how good I was, as a small part of the $5,000,000 on the table was contributed by him.
"My first big match out of the gate was against a true legend in the game, Stu Ungar. Of course Stuey had already won the 1980 and 1981 WSOP titles and three main events in Amarillo Slim's Super Bowl of Poker by 1993. He shocked the world, making his comeback win for his third WSOP title in 1997, later being inducted into poker's Hall of Fame." Archie continued, "I loved Stuey for many years. We both shared a deep respect for each other, and had a unique bond between the two of us, as we both had many ups and downs in our careers. He would loan me money occasionally, which I always paid back. I would do the same for many others. As poker gladiators however, it was now time to battle on the green felt. I remember Jack Keller brought $500,000 to the table for Stuey to play with. At the time Jack was working for Lyle Berman in Mississippi, and Lyle was backing Stuey up."
Lyle became quite famous ten years later, as the visionary who financed the World Poker Tour, and was later inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame himself. As the match began, Archie said, "After Jack brought Stuey's money down, I noticed he stayed seated at the table while Stuey and I played. I didn't like that, and even though Jack was the 1984 WSOP champion and later inducted to poker's Hall of Fame, I quickly said to him, 'What are you trying to do, Jack, get a line on my play? If you want to play, put your money up and let's go!' When I play heads-up, I like to control everything, including the game we played, which was razz. I know nobody in the world can beat me in razz, not in the long run."
I asked Archie, "Did Jack Keller get up from the table when you zeroed in on him?"
Archie said, "Immediately, as I made it clear he had to put his money up or leave the table!"
"So, Archie, what happened in the match with Stuey?"
"It didn't take long to demolish Stuey," responded Archie, "and I beat him for $500,000."
Next up in Archie's parade of champions was the youngest player ever inducted into poker's Hall of Fame in 1991, who was considered by one and all to be the best all-around poker player in the world. This was, of course, the legendary Chip Reese. Archie said, "Just a few days after I defeated Stu Ungar for a half a million in razz, I was going to jump back in the fire with Chip Reese. Chip wanted to play razz too, which I was happy about, as heads-up, I don't think there is a man alive who can beat me in that game, not in the long run, anyway."
What Archie did next was something no one on the planet has ever done before or since. Archie beat Chip Reese and Stu Ungar on the same day! He first played Chip in razz, and won $500,000 from him. The match took about eight tough hours. Archie said, "I went to dinner for a couple of hours, and when I walked back into the poker room, Stu Ungar walked up to me and challenged me to another match. This time he wanted to play seven-card stud, so I quickly agreed to play him.
"In a little more than four hours, I beat Stuey again, but this time for $700,000. I noticed when the match was over, Lyle Berman who sat next to Stuey as his backer, gave Stuey the last two $5,000 chips. Lyle had just lost $700,000, and his compassion for Stuey's hard-fought effort showed me a lot of class. What an exhausting day this was, but I picked up $1,200,000 in one day from the world's top two players!"
I said, "Archie, that feat completely boggles my mind. The next day when you woke up, you must have been in awe of the previous night and what you had done?"
Even Archie paused to reflect for a minute, "I've done some amazing things playing poker, but beating Chip and Stuey on the same day for $1,200,000 was extra special!"
You're about to learn about the most money Chip Reese ever lost in one day in his career, when his next match with Archie Karas is highlighted in next week's Part 4. It is important to point out that Archie played Chip, Doyle Brunson, Ungar, Johnny Chan, and almost every world champion player around in L.A. and Las Vegas for many years before his iconic streak from 1992-1995. In the beginning, Chip and Doyle would pay Archie $2,000 to $3,000 per hour to play the game of their choice. If they were playing $1,000/$2,000 limit or $1,500/$3,000 limit, they would offer him one big blind per hour. Archie said, "If they were playing razz and high cards were coming, they might attempt to steer me to change over to seven-card stud." They didn't realize they had Tony the Tiger by the tail, and quickly realized this kid could play poker. That trick in their bag was quickly dropped, as they found Archie difficult to beat heads-up.
In Part 4, we'll look at more of The Run, the amazing stretch where Archie Karas took his pool winnings to the poker table and built his bankroll up to $17,000,000.
People I know beat the Blackjack by having a "spotter" at another table where he could get a peek at the dealers hole card and signal his partner at the table. I know it sounds crazy but this team won well into six figures before the casinos wised up. Now all three of them are on Nevada's Black List. None of them ever did any jail time for it, just got banned. Along the way they got comped for everything because they were betting so high.
Sometime in the mid 90's I had a little chat with Archie outside the Cue Club in Vegas. He told me he actually won about thirty some million all told over a two year period. At that time he had SEVENTEEN MILLION in cash and chips in casino boxes all over Vegas, maybe 8-10 million at the Horseshoe, and a few mil each at the Mirage, Caesars and the Stardust. He had already paid Uncle Sam four million in taxes! So that money was all his, with no encumbrances.
I advised him to talk with a financial adviser who had helped members of my family, all of them getting a 10-15% return on their money year after year. I explained to Archie that if he gave him $10,000,000 he could expect maybe 80K a month income for life! He would still have $7,000,000 to have fun with. Archie trusted NO ONE!
Short version of a long story - a couple of years later Archie ran into me at a pool tournament and said he should have listened to me. Now he was down to his last few hundred K. Since that time Archie has had other runs where he pumped up a million or two. He's probably had more six figure wins than any gambler EVER! The way he plays, give him a few thousand and he might turn it into two or three hundred thou in a couple of days.
I've never seen a more fearless gambler. He's the only guy I ever staked playing Craps. I would give him a thou or two and just let him go. My deal with him was I could pull chips off the table any time I wanted to. If he ran it up a few thousand I would grab a handful of black chips and put them in my pocket. There was one time at Caesars where Archie got it going pretty good, taking all the numbers. He ran $1,500 into $15,000 in less than 30 minutes. And we had a shot at really big money if the dice stayed hot. When he finally went broke I had over $7,000 tucked away in my pockets.
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People I know beat the Blackjack by having a "spotter" at another table where he could get a peek at the dealers hole card and signal his partner at the table. I know it sounds crazy but this team won well into six figures before the casinos wised up. Now all three of them are on Nevada's Black List. None of them ever did any jail time for it, just got banned. Along the way they got comped for everything because they were betting so high.
Yes it was called "Spooking or Hole Carding", it was around before the prism device came into play, that put an end to that but theres still other ways.
Its also a pain in the ass because you are deviating from basic and if youre playing high and they are watching, they can figure it out unless theyre total dummies.
Its been around a very long time, that Kenny Uston put it into one of his books and tried to make like he invented it, lol. He was great at the self promotion but he wasnt that great a player from what i have been told.
Archie's auto-biography seems to have left a small detail out of his story. It seems to be very detailed all the way up until he landed on me. Its at that point that he jumps forward a year to when he played Tobey. What am I, chopped liver?
Beard
Beard
Staking somone at craps. Funny.