8 Professional Gamblers that rocked the world in their given niche. The world’s best gambler isn’t someone who got lucky once at a casino. We’re talking about billionaires who turned betting into a science. Look at Tony Bloom, the “Lizard of Poker,” who built a $1.7 billion fortune through sports betting mastery and poker skills.
Most casual players get excited about winning a few hundred dollars. Professional gamblers, though, play a completely different game. The title of world’s best gambler sparks heated debates, but Bill Benter makes a strong case with his $1 billion net worth and groundbreaking horse racing algorithm. Billy Walters stands out too – he won $3.5 million on a single Super Bowl bet. That’s the kind of massive win most people only dream about.
These gambling titans don’t count on luck. They use math precision, psychology, and strict strategies to consistently beat the odds. The sort of thing I love about these eight professional gamblers is how they reshaped the scene. Each one used unique methods that turned gambling from pure chance into a real profession.
Tony Bloom
“”Poker gives you a good grounding in lots of things, including reading situations and reading people and making tough decisions. Those skills can be used in business and certainly in running a football club.”” — Tony Bloom, Professional gambler, owner of Starlizard, chairman of Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.
People call Tony Bloom “The Lizard” because he stays cool under pressure. He’s one of the most successful professional gamblers who turned math skills into a billion-dollar empire. Gambling runs in his blood – his grandfather Harry was a legend at Brighton racecourse, who passed this betting DNA down the family line.
Tony Bloom’s gambling speciality
Bloom stands out from other top gamblers because he excels in multiple areas. His rise to fame started in poker when he appeared in the “Late Night Poker” TV series and reached back-to-back final tables in the first two Poker Million events. He proved his poker skills by winning the Australasian Poker Championship in 2004, taking home about £180,000.
The sports betting world is where Bloom really shines, especially in football. After studying mathematics at Manchester University, he saw how statistical models could predict sports outcomes better than existing markets. He explains it best: “I realised that applying mathematics and complex algorithms to sport allowed me to assess the probability of sporting events more accurately than the markets”. This insight became the foundation of his amazing success in betting.
Tony Bloom’s net worth and business empire
Today, Bloom’s net worth sits between £1 billion and £1.3 billion. We built this wealth through his betting operations and business ventures. His business life began after working at Ernst & Young, when bookmakers Victor Chandler recruited him in 1997.
His experience led him to start Premier Bet, his own online football betting company, right before the 2002 World Cup. He later sold it for £1 million, though some sources say £1.2 million. His biggest success came with Starlizard, a betting consultancy that works like a hedge fund and employs about 160 analysts, statisticians, and researchers. The company brings in around £100 million each year.
Bloom has spread his money into property across Australia, South Africa, and Panama. He also owns football clubs. His biggest move was buying Brighton & Hove Albion in 2009, putting in £93 million to turn a struggling club into a Premier League force.
Tony Bloom’s biggest wins
One of Bloom’s spectacular wins came at the 2023 Cheltenham Festival when his horse Energumene won the Champion Chase again. He walked away with £1.2 million – £580,000 profit from his £400,000 bet, plus £220,000 in prize money. The year before, he won £750,000 when Energumene first took the Champion Chase.
His poker tournament winnings top £3 million, including £200,000 from winning London’s £5,000 No Limit Hold’em VC Poker Cup Final. Industry insiders talk about his legendary 2010 win when he bet £1.2 million on Robin Soderling beating Rafael Nadal in the French Open quarterfinals – and won.
Tony Bloom’s unique strategies
Bloom’s careful approach to risk sets him apart from regular gamblers. He says: “I believe in betting aggressively and, occasionally, to win big, you have to risk losing”. He rarely loses because he prepares and analyses everything thoroughly.
His work with Asian handicap football betting shows his strategic genius. This system gives underdogs goal advantages against bigger teams, creating balanced odds and value betting chances. Bloom spotted this market’s potential early, and it became the lifeblood of his fortune.
Starlizard’s strict rules show his business smarts. Employees must sign non-disclosure agreements and can’t place personal bets to protect the company’s data and strategies. This business approach to gambling helps him achieve more than most professional gamblers ever could.
Bill Benter
Bill Benter stands out as someone who used mathematics in gambling better than most others. He transformed from a modest GBP 2.38 per hour convenience store worker into what many call the best gambler in the world. His physics degree from Case Western Reserve University helped him achieve this.
Bill Benter’s gambling speciality
Born in 1957, Benter excelled at horse race betting. He created one of the most successful analytical software programs in racing history. His trip started with blackjack, not horses. He left university at 22 and moved to Las Vegas. There, he applied Edward Thorp’s card counting techniques so well that casinos banned him from their tables.
His life changed after meeting Australian professional gambler Alan Woods. They saw that their skills complemented each other – Benter knew computers, and Woods understood horse racing. This led them to form a partnership and move to Hong Kong in 1984. Hong Kong was a strategic choice due to its massive betting volume, which reached GBP 7.94 billion annually during the 1990s.
Bill Benter’s net worth and career
Benter’s net worth now stands at nearly GBP 0.79 billion, making him maybe the wealthiest professional gambler in history. Despite his fortune, he keeps a low profile and prefers “making money over talking about it”.
His influence extends beyond gambling. He works as a visiting professor at Southampton Management School’s Centre for Risk Research and holds a fellowship with the British Royal Statistical Society. His expertise in mathematical modelling has earned him speaking spots at prestigious institutions like Harvard and Hong Kong Universities.
Bill Benter’s biggest wins
His most impressive achievement came in 2001. His algorithm correctly predicted the Triple Trio—a bet needing players to forecast the first three horses in three different races, with over 10 million possible winning combinations. The payout reached GBP 12.71 million, which he left unclaimed so it could go to charities.
His yearly winnings grew fast as his model improved. After losing GBP 95,299.21 in his first season, he bounced back to earn GBP 476,496.07 in 1988. His profits jumped to GBP 2.38 million for the 1990-91 season, and reached an estimated GBP 79.42 million per season at his peak.
Bill Benter’s algorithmic betting system
Benter’s status as possibly the best gambler in the world of all time comes from his innovative algorithmic approach. He found an academic paper titled “Searching for Positive Returns at the Track” that showed horse performance could be predicted through measurable factors.
His original model looked at only 16 variables, but he kept improving his approach:
- His final system reviewed 130 different variables for each horse, including past performance, jockey skill, and race conditions
- He carefully assigned values to each variable by analysing past races
- The algorithm simulated potential outcomes and generated probability percentages for each horse
- Benter compared these probabilities against market odds to find value betting opportunities
The biggest improvement came when he added the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s live betting odds into his calculations. This made his predictions much more accurate. His method delivered a consistent 24% profit on turnover—a return that most gamblers can only imagine.
Edward Thorp
“”If tournament winnings (the flawed yet standard measure of poker success) were divided by number of tournaments played, the low-key Lizard would probably turn out to be the biggest winner in the world.”” — Victoria Coren, Professional poker player, writer, and TV presenter
Mathematics professor turned gambling pioneer, Edward Thorp, changed the casino world. He proved that players could beat games of chance with the right strategy. His mathematical methods altered gambling forever, and his analytical approach made him the best gamblers in the world of all time.
Edward Thorp’s gambling speciality
Blackjack and roulette were Thorp’s main focus – games nobody thought they could beat. His journey began in the late 1950s at MIT, where he taught mathematics. The mathematical puzzles behind gambling games caught his attention. Roulette seemed random, but blackjack gave him a chance. He created the first proven card counting system that could beat casino odds through detailed analysis.
His “Ten Count” system was his biggest breakthrough. He used an IBM 704 computer and the Kelly criterion to figure out the best bet sizes. Later, he worked with Claude Shannon—information theory’s founding father—to create something groundbreaking: the first wearable computer made just for roulette. This clever device could predict where the ball would land. It measured wheel and ball speed and gave them a stunning 44% edge over the usual 5.26% house advantage.
Edward Thorp’s net worth and legacy
Thorp’s net worth now stands at GBP 635.33 million. He made his fortune by using his gambling knowledge in financial markets. Princeton Newport Partners, his first quantitative hedge fund, started in 1974. The fund never lost money in a single year. It earned impressive returns of 19.1% each year over 19 years. His second fund, Edward O. Thorp & Associates, kept up this success with 18.2% yearly returns from 1992 to 2002.
Thorp’s book “Beat the Dealer” (1962) became his lasting gift to gambling. It sold over 700,000 copies and landed on the New York Times bestseller list. The book taught card counting to everyone and changed blackjack forever.
Edward Thorp’s biggest wins
Manny Kimmel gave Thorp his first big break with GBP 7,941.60. He won GBP 8,735.76 in one weekend in Nevada, proving his blackjack theories worked. Another test in Reno, backed by New York businessmen, showed his skill. He bet between GBP 39.71 and GBP 397.08 in single-deck games. His profits hit GBP 8,735.76 in just 30 hours, worth about GBP 69,886.09 today (GBP 2,382.48 per hour).
His investment wins were even bigger. He bought an oil tanker at scrap price that earned 30% yearly returns. The tanker was later sold for GBP 18.27 million, much higher than its GBP 4.76 million purchase price.
Edward Thorp’s influence on modern gambling
Thorp’s mathematical approach changed gambling completely. Casinos had to fight back with multiple decks and shuffling machines. Nevada even made card counting illegal on May 30, 1985.
His ideas sparked a movement among advantage players. The MIT Blackjack Team, featured in the movie “21,” followed his lead. Gambling legends from Ken Griffin to Warren Buffett learned from his methods. Buffett even invested his own money with Thorp. Edward Thorp showed that math could beat chance. This idea changed both casinos and Wall Street forever.
Phil Ivey
People call him the “Tiger Woods of Poker,” and Phil Ivey ranks among the most feared and respected players at any table. His almost supernatural opponent-reading skills and legendary poker face have made him one of the best gamblers in the world.
Phil Ivey’s gambling speciality
Poker is Ivey’s world, and his extraordinary skills shine in many variants. He stands out from other specialists by dominating mixed games. Eleven of his World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets come from non-Hold’em events. His relentless aggression and elite-level hand-reading make him a force to reckon with in any card room. Ivey’s career includes five mixed-game bracelets. He won S.H.O.E. in 2002, Omaha Hi/Lo / 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo in 2009, and H.O.R.S.E. in 2010, proving his versatility.
Phil Ivey’s net worth and titles
Ivey’s estimated net worth ranges from GBP 79.42 million to GBP 99.27 million. His wealth comes from tournament wins, high-stakes cash games, and business ventures. His live tournament earnings are a big deal as it means that GBP 38.47 million, plus millions more from private games. Before Full Tilt Poker closed, he earned about GBP 15.88 million from online cash games alone.
His eleven WSOP bracelets put him second to Phil Hellmuth’s 17 on the all-time bracelet winners list. He became the youngest player to win ten bracelets at age 38. On top of that, he won one World Poker Tour title and made it to nine WPT final tables.
Phil Ivey’s biggest wins
Ivey’s tournament success started in 2000 with his first WSOP bracelet in Pot Limit Omaha. He made history as the first player to beat Amarillo Slim heads-up at a WSOP final table. His best year was 2002 when he won three WSOP bracelets, matching Phil Hellmuth Jr., Ted Forrest, and Puggy Pearson’s record for most World Series tournament wins in a year.
After ten years without a WSOP win, Ivey grabbed his eleventh bracelet in 2024. He won the GBP 7,941.60 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship, beating 149 players and taking home GBP 275,922.99. This victory moved him past poker legends Johnny Chan, Erik Seidel, and Doyle Brunson on the all-time leaderboard.
Phil Ivey’s edge sorting controversy
Two major edge sorting controversies challenged Ivey’s career. He won £7.7 million (about GBP 8.10 million) playing Punto Banco at London’s Crockfords Casino in 2012 but never received payment. He also won GBP 7.62 million over four sessions at Borgata Casino in Atlantic City.
Edge sorting lets players spot subtle manufacturing defects on card backs to gain an advantage. Ivey openly admitted using this technique but managed to keep his stance that it wasn’t cheating, just “legitimate advantage play”. Courts in both the UK and the US ruled against him. The UK Supreme Court said that “what Mr. Ivey did was to stage a carefully planned and executed sting”. The US court found he had breached his casino contract.
Ivey settled with Borgata in July 2020, though nobody knows the terms. These controversies haven’t damaged his table skills, cementing his place as one of poker’s greatest players ever.
Zeljko Ranogajec
Zeljko Ranogajec, nicknamed “The Joker” in gambling circles, remains as elusive as Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster. This Australian-born mathematical genius has revolutionised gambling into a billion-dollar enterprise through unmatched statistical analysis and innovative business strategies.
Zeljko Ranogajec’s gambling speciality
His expertise covers many gambling domains. Card counting mastery in blackjack earned him a spot in the Blackjack Hall of Fame in 2011. Casinos worldwide banned him because of his skills, which led him to explore horse racing, keno lotteries, and sports betting. His operation now places bets on sporting events worldwide every minute of the day. His betting syndicate generates over GBP 2.38 billion in annual turnover.
Zeljko Ranogajec’s net worth and secrecy
Estimates place his wealth between GBP 348.64 million and GBP 484.44 million, yet the true figure remains a mystery. His business philosophy is simple: “We like to keep our dealings secretive. Nothing in writing”. His lifestyle offers glimpses of his wealth – he lives in London’s most expensive apartment complex, One Hyde Park, and owns properties in several countries.
Zeljko Ranogajec’s biggest wins
His most notable win came in 1994 with a record GBP 5.96 million Keno jackpot at North Ryde RSL Club in Sydney. He invested between GBP 7.94 to GBP 10.32 million over six days to secure this prize. His syndicate’s dominance showed when they won 40 out of 44 keno jackpots drawn in Australia in a single year.
Zeljko Ranogajec’s mathematical approach
His unique rebate strategy sets him apart as potentially the best gambler in the world. Rather than just picking winners, he negotiates special kickbacks with bookmakers.
“It’s very simple,” he stated during a rare court appearance. “If you bet GBP 79.42 and lost GBP 3.97, but you get a 10% rebate, you still make 5%. You always win”.
His team includes over 300 specialists – mathematicians, data analysts, veterinarians, and computer scientists who find small advantages in betting markets of all types. The team buys up to 90% of tickets for promising betting pools, creating mathematical edges unavailable to regular gamblers.
These rebates from major bookmakers like Tabcorp can reach 10%, ensuring profit even on losing bets – an innovative approach that has changed professional gambling forever.
Billy Walters
William T. Walters started his life in a house without running water and ended up becoming what many think over to be history’s most dangerous sports bettor. His remarkable story began in 1946 in Munfordville, Kentucky, and stands as the perfect gambling success story.
Billy Walters’ gambling speciality
Walters mastered sports betting, especially American football, basketball, and college sports. His 39-year betting career saw just one losing year, and he maintained a 30-year winning streak. Most professionals boast inflated success rates, but Walters openly acknowledges winning about 57% of his bets—enough to generate massive profits. His winning strategy focused on high-volume wagers and maximising advantages when odds looked most promising.
Billy Walters’ net worth and career
Walters built an estimated fortune of GBP 158.83 million through gambling and legitimate businesses. His early days included cutting lawns and delivering newspapers. Kentucky’s most successful car salesman title came to him by age 20, earning GBP 44,472.97 in 1966 (worth GBP 397,080.06 today). His gambling success soared after he joined the Computer Group in the 1980s, a pioneer in algorithmic sports betting.
Billy Walters’ biggest wins
Walters’ spectacular victories include a GBP 2.78 million win betting on the New Orleans Saints’ Super Bowl XLIV victory in 2010. On top of that, he won GBP 1.75 million when USC beat Michigan in the 2007 Rose Bowl. His peak years saw earnings between GBP 39.71 million and GBP 47.65 million yearly from sports betting alone.
Billy Walters’ legal troubles
Walters’ winning streak came crashing down. The year 2017 brought his conviction for insider trading with Dean Foods, which had yielded GBP 25.41 million in profits while avoiding GBP 8.74 million in losses. A five-year prison sentence and a GBP 7.94 million fine followed. He served about four years until President Donald Trump commuted his sentence in January 2021.
Haralabos Voulgaris
Bob Voulgaris revolutionised basketball betting with his mathematical mind and became one of the most analytical gamblers in history. His trip from university student to professional sports bettor shows how informed decision-making can beat traditional betting markets. Born to Greek parents in Canada, he made his mark through careful analysis and strategic thinking.
Haralabos Voulgaris’ gambling speciality
NBA betting became Voulgaris’s expertise through his obsessive analysis and pattern recognition. He watched about 400 complete games each season and viewed parts of almost all NBA games. His remarkable success came from finding weak spots in bookmakers’ methods. The early 2000s saw him profit from bookmakers’ habit of setting similar point totals for both game halves, though teams scored more in second halves. This strategy led to an impressive 70% win rate. Bookmakers updated their models, which pushed Voulgaris toward more complex analysis methods.
Haralabos Voulgaris’ net worth and NBA role
Voulgaris’s net worth stands at about GBP 3.97 million. The Dallas Mavericks hired him as Director of Quantitative Research and Development in 2018. He left the Mavericks in 2021 and bought Spanish soccer club CD Castellón for GBP 3.18 million in 2022. The club rose to Segunda División under his ownership in 2024.
Haralabos Voulgaris’ biggest wins
His first major win came in 1999. He bet GBP 63,532.81 on the Lakers to win the NBA championship and won GBP 397,080.06 overnight. He placed up to GBP 0.79 million in daily bets on NBA games during his peak, with about 1,000 bets each season. His success extended beyond basketball. He won GBP 2.38 million in live poker tournaments, including GBP 920,338.66 for finishing fourth at the 2017 WSOP One Drop event.
Haralabos Voulgaris’ data-driven strategy
The lifeblood of Voulgaris’s success was his predictive model “Ewing,” which he created with an unnamed mathematics prodigy. The system needed two years of refinement and analysed countless variables to find valuable betting opportunities. This sophisticated model could predict players’ career paths and minute-by-minute game changes. “We calculate the cost to go up, our predicted promotion,” he said about managing sports teams. His insights go beyond gambling. He challenges sceptical coaches by asking: “Who knows you better? Your wife or your Google search history?”
Dan Bilzerian
Dan Bilzerian, a social media celebrity and self-proclaimed poker titan, stands out from traditional professional gamblers. His bold claims about making his fortune through poker have created fierce debates in the gambling community about his place among the best gamblers in the world.
Dan Bilzerian’s gambling speciality
We focused on poker as Bilzerian prefers high-stakes private games over sanctioned tournaments. His tournament record has just one notable highlight – he placed 180th at the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event and earned around GBP 29,086.91. Bluff Magazine named him one of the “funniest poker players on Twitter” in 2010. His fame comes more from his social media presence than what he’s achieved at tournaments.
Dan Bilzerian’s net worth and lifestyle
Bilzerian’s net worth estimates vary a lot, from GBP 79.42 million to GBP 230.31 million. Beyond gambling, he runs Ignite International Brands Ltd. The company sells CBD oils, electronic cigarettes, water bottles, and vodka. The business lost over GBP 39.71 million in 2019 alone. His lavish lifestyle features private jets, including a Gulfstream G-IV business jet he bought in 2014 for about GBP 4.76 million.
Dan Bilzerian’s biggest wins
Bilzerian claimed he won GBP 8.58 million in one night playing poker back in November 2013. He later said he won GBP 39.71 million throughout 2014. His most impressive win supposedly came from a heads-up no-limit hold ’em game against billionaire Alec Gores. The stakes ranged from GBP 3,970.80 to GBP 7,941.60, and he walked away with GBP 10.17 million. Despite that, many professional players question these claims.
Dan Bilzerian’s poker strategy
People know him for his aggressive style. Professional players think he might struggle against skilled online players but could do well in “soft, high-stakes live games”. Bilzerian mentioned that since 2013, high rollers prefer using cryptocurrency to settle large bets instantly. Players still debate whether his approach shows real strategy or just aggressive play against rich amateurs who don’t know better.
Professional Gamblers Comparison Table
| Gambler | Specialty | Net Worth | Achieved | Strategy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Bloom | Sports Betting & Poker | £1-1.3 billion | £1.2M at 2023 Cheltenham Festival; £3M+ in poker tournaments | Mathematical models for sports betting; Statistical analysis through Starlizard |
| Bill Benter | Horse Racing | £0.79 billion | £79.42M per season at peak; Unclaimed £12.71M Triple Trio win | Algorithmic betting system with 130 variables; Real-time odds integration |
| Edward Thorp | Blackjack & Roulette | £635.33 million | £8,735.76 in 30 hours at Reno; 19.1% annual returns in hedge fund | Pioneered card counting system; Created first wearable computer for roulette |
| Phil Ivey | Poker | £79.42-99.27 million | 11 WSOP bracelets; £38.47M+ in tournament earnings | Mastery of multiple poker variants; Superior hand-reading skills |
| Zeljko Ranogajec | Multiple Games (Blackjack, Horse Racing, Keno) | £348.64-484.44 million | £5.96M Keno jackpot (1994); Won 40 of 44 keno jackpots in one year | Rebate optimization; Large syndicate management |
| Billy Walters | Sports Betting | £158.83 million | £2.78M on Super Bowl XLIV; Maintained 30-year winning streak | Volume-based betting approach; Consistent 57% win rate |
| Haralabos Voulgaris | NBA Betting | £3.97 million | £397K overnight Lakers bet; £920K WSOP One Drop finish | Evidence-based research; “Ewing” prediction system |
| Dan Bilzerian | High-Stakes Poker | £79.42-230.31 million | Claims £8.58M in single night; £39.71M yearly earnings | Aggressive private game tactics; Crypto payment methods |
Professional Gamblers – The Big Conclusion
A fascinating pattern emerges when we look at the world’s elite gamblers who have mastered calculated risk. These professional gamblers don’t rely on luck. They use mathematical precision, data analysis, and disciplined strategies. Tony Bloom built a billion-dollar empire with statistical models. Bill Benter changed horse racing forever with his 130-variable algorithm that brought steady profits. Edward Thorp’s card counting methods proved that blackjack could be beaten and changed how casinos operate today.
What makes these gambling titans different from regular players? Without a doubt, they know how to spot patterns that others miss. Phil Ivey rules multiple poker variants with his supernatural reading skills. Zeljko Ranogajec leads a secretive gambling syndicate that turns over billions yearly through rebate strategies. Billy Walters managed to keep an impressive 30-year winning streak by taking a disciplined approach to sports betting.
The sort of thing I love is how their methods differ. Haralabos Voulgaris mastered NBA betting through obsessive data analysis and created predictive models better than bookmakers. Dan Bilzerian stands as a more controversial figure whose poker winning claims stir debate in the gambling community.
These elite gamblers share remarkable traits despite their different specialities. They treat gambling as a business, not entertainment. They show exceptional discipline to stick to their systems, whatever the short-term results show. They constantly improve their strategies as markets change. They also use mathematical edges that grow over time.
Most people find gambling risky, but these professionals show how systematic approaches can turn games of chance into real careers. Their stories tell us that behind every seemingly lucky win are countless hours of analysis, preparation, and mathematical skill.