The Most Famous Australian Gamblers

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A significant part of Australians are risk-takers: gambling losses per adult are more than twice as much as those in America. Gambling was an integral part of the local culture back in colonial times. Nowadays, casino customers exceed the Sydney Opera House visitors; they mostly enjoy wagering real money in pokies (slot machines), racing, and lotteries. Sports betting statistics seem insane: locals bet $11,000 per person! Addiction is a topical issue in Australia, but the popularity of casino activities has also provided many opportunities for rational people.

The highest number of bets is placed at Australian pokies for real money. However, it’s hard to find success stories about the lucky winners: it seems that Australians lose more than they win at pokies. On the contrary, other popular gambling activities are highly lucrative.

Lottery Winners

In Australia, lotteries are much like pokies for real money: they both depend purely on luck. But unlike pokie machines, lotteries regularly bring impressive wins that shake society. Most of the lucky winners have remained anonymous, and we can only find out the betting details. For example, Powerball lucky draws made people richer by $55 million or even $107 million! The last number is the most recent Powerball jackpot paid in January 2019. Oz Lotto jackpot is also one of the most generous: recently, a group of girlfriends left a casino with $70 million in their pockets.

Since the lotteries don’t require any strategies, there are no stories of how people share their experience and give tips on how to win. Most of those who hit it big are still living a modest life. For instance, none of the neighbors of the Chester family, who got $18 million, even knew about that until they made a large donation to the church.

Professional Punters

Sports betting is one of the most lucrative forms of gambling in Australia. Not only does it bring a lot of cash to bookies, but it’s also quite profitable for reasonable bettors, who are called punters. Australians are nearly obsessed with sports betting, especially horse races. There are lots of professional punters that not only earn money from it on a daily basis but also sell tips and share some information on Twitter or other social media accounts.

Daniel Kelly, John McLeod, Adam Blencowe, Matt Welsh — these are punters who are regularly mentioned in the thematic magazines with an army of followers. Daniel O’Sullivan is one of the most famous poker players with many years of experience in this industry. He owns an educational service and provides counseling and statistics to people interested in sports betting.

There is a distinction between big-name punters, who are successful businessmen enjoying sports gambling, versus professional bettors, who are not that recognizable but are still constantly involved in the process. They work with mental coaches to improve their betting patterns, and they are engaged in big betting sessions every day.

Famous Bettors

Let’s discover who all those Australian businessmen are, who have made their way into successful gambling.

Kerry Packer

After inheriting a fortune, he had a continuous streak of losses for a total amount of $28 million. But later, he managed to earn good money on horse racing and cricket; table games and slots (more than $33 million in total) and baccarat (the most famous win involved playing twenty hands, each worth $115,000).

At the moment, his family continues to run a successful casino and the World Series Cricket businesses.

Lloyd Williams

Lloyd is the founder of the largest Australian gambling facility (Crown Casino in Melbourne). He got famous for his four Melbourne Cup wins in 1981, 1985, 2007, and 2012. He eventually sold his business to the Packer family.

Alan Woods 

Woods is an experienced mathematician who knew how to apply technical knowledge to gaming. With a friend, he made the most successful horse racing team ever.

Zeljko Ranogajec (Also Known Under a Pseudonym John Wilson)

There’s no exact data on his winnings; some experts claim he is the biggest racing gambler in the world. Apart from races, Zeljko professionally plays blackjack; in 2011, he was honored to be presented in the Blackjack Hall of Fame.

Enormous winnings of Ranogajec forced many Australian-based casinos to ban him. He is a unique example of a person dedicated to the idea of becoming an advantage gambler: he left education to pursue a career in betting.

His syndicate once won 40 keno jackpots out of the 44 available. This group, called Bankroll Punters Club, annually turned over a billion dollars! Calculations and clever use of rebate allowed them to earn this much.

David Walsh

This gambler is mostly known not for his impressive wins, but for his extravagant lifestyle. Like Woods, he wrote a program for horse races, which was aimed at calculating the odds. Since the 1990s, he has been shaping his art collection and investing money into a museum.

David is a close friend of Ranogajec; he developed gambling solutions for Zeljko’s.

Poker Players

Poker is also quite popular in Australia, and some players are recognized worldwide. The following are some of the biggest gamblers who have made millions out of playing poker.

Mel Judah

This Australian poker player has earned over $3 million in live tournaments. He learned the rules at the age of 14 and then made a career out of a hobby.

Antanas Guoga

He is known for intimidation techniques he uses at the table, as well as for being Lithuania’s Rubik’s Cube Champion. The total amount of money he won exceeds $4 million.

Jeffrey Rossiter

Being in his 20s, he made more than $5 million on poker. He is the youngest poker star in Australia, and who knows whether he will increase his success or leave gambling.

Joe Hachem

Joe had his ups and downs at the world’s most significant poker events, but he made way more money out of it than any other Australian player, almost $12 million! Number one in his country, he’s ranked 16th worldwide for live tournament earnings, and 24th for popularity. Of course, there are numerous women poker players in Australia, and some of them can easily beat the outstanding pros. Jackie Glazier, Marsha Waggoner, and many others prove that poker is a worldwide game and pleasure available for both genders which can be equally successful in conquering the world of poker.