According to his own statement, no one in history has made ??bids of the same amount as he did. Checking whether this statement is true is hardly possible. But studying the biography of Karas, we believe that it was so.
Early years
Anargyros Karaburniotis (the full name of Archie Karas) was born in 1950 in the Greek city. His father Nicholas worked in construction and his mother ran the household and raised several children. Their family was frankly poor, so that sometimes they all had to live from hand to mouth.
From early childhood, Archie did not get along with his father and spent more time on the street. It was there that he launched his career as a professional Gambler. He first started to win money deftly throwing balls in the famous game.
When Archie was fifteen, he had a terrible quarrel with his father and he almost broke his head with a shovel. That same night, Karas ran away from home and never met his father, who died four years later.
Starting an independent life
Archie decided to get out of Greece at any cost. He became a waiter on the ship. Over the next two years he worked for a salary of sixty dollars, When the ship arrived in Portland, thought up to stay in the United States and left the ship without telling anyone about his intentions.
After traveling along the west coast hitchhiking, Archie Karas settled in Los Angeles, where he was employed as a waiter again. Salary was enough for a comfortable life but such a life was too boring for Archie. He started to visit the bowling alley, where he received in his youth useful skills on the "balls". Soon bowling became much more serious source of income for him than a job in a restaurant.
In the bowling alley were also billiard and poker rooms. Karas decided to learn a new game for him and after a short time succeeded in both. In his memoirs, for nineteen years, he finally decided that he will never work and become a professional player.
Ups and downs of Karas
Over the next two decades, Archie Karas was constantly playing poker and pool. He became a millionaire many times and each time lost all the money. In late 1992, he lost a lot in poker. Left with fifty dollars in his pocket, he decided to go to Las Vegas to win back there for large bets.
The Run
What happened to him after is known in history as the Run gambling. One of the meanings of the word "run" in English is "run of luck". So, if in any English-language article or book devoted to gambling, you will see the word with a capital letter and the definite article, you must know, it is an interval during which Archie Karas won over forty million dollars.
So, in Las Vegas Archie he came with fifty dollars. There he found a friend who lent him ten thousand. Karasu took only two hours of play in poker blinds at $200 / $400 to increase the amount of twenty thousand. He returned throwing as much, and with the rest of "dozens" again won.
Archie first heard about a certain businessman who loved to play pool for large bets. They met and played a few games of five thousand. Needless to say that luck was on the side of Karas. Businessman was very persistent, so their pool marathon lasted more than two and a half months. Bets , of course, grew up as an opponent of Archie needed to recoup. It all ended so that Karas again became a millionaire by winning the opponent about $1.1 million.
Later they switched to poker where the Karas enemy was well versed. But he could not compete with Archie, and he broke up with another three million dollars. After that he finally realized that it was time to stop.
Next in line there were some of the best poker players. Archie settled in the legendary casino Binion's Horseshoe with several million dollars and was ready to take a call from anyone. Soon there were opponents. Stu Ungar , Chip Reese , Johnny Moss, Doyle Brunson , Puggy Rierson took turns, but nobody could win Archie Karas. In total, he won about seventeen million in six months.
Defeated Chip Reese told him: "God gave you more eggs. You're too good".
Eventually poker could not give Arch the desired dose of epinephrine. At Horseshoe Casino, he played on the largest bets in Las Vegas , and often in craps. It got to the point that he put a hundred thousand for one round.
I must say, to a certain time in this game, he got very lucky. For example, once he won more than four million a game. Then all five thousandth chips available at the casino moved to him.
By the end of the fortunate period for Archie, he had more than forty million. He spent a few million in the car and never left a gun. He was often accompanied by his brother or hired guards.
logical end
The Run period ended predictably. Archie lost the first eleven millions in craps. Even Chip Reese helped him with a couple of millions. Then he decided to try his luck in baccarat, it cost him seventeen million. Karas went to rest in his native Greece, and then returned to Horseshoe Casino to get even, but he left more than ten million at the tables for craps. The remaining money were lost in other games.
We don't know if this is true or not, but they say that the only major purchase he did was a forty million car.
But that was not the end of the amazing wins of Archie Karas. A few years later he won forty thousand millions in the Desert Inn Casino. With this amount he came into his favorite Horseshoe Casino and won another four million. But the next day his five million were in the casinos.
It is known that later he also managed to increase the bankroll with two hundred dollars to nearly one million. He even walked away with the money.
Contemporary activities of Archie Karas
Archie currently lives in Las Vegas and continues to play poker for large bets. He takes part in a series of tournaments of World Series of Poker, but at the time of writing he did not win any of them, although he was at the final table.
Once a year, Karas goes to Greece to visit his family. It is mentioned in various books on gambling. Several TV programs and many articles are devoted to him. He is an often guest on the television.
Philosophy of Karas
By the way, Archie , talking about his past, does not show any signs of regret that he could not stop in time. Perhaps his attitude toward money seems strange to you, but he is clearly explained his outlook in the interview:
"You have to understand something. Money means nothing to me. I do not appreciate it. I have everything I could ever wish for. Everything. Money can not buy what I need: health, freedom, love, happiness. I do not care about money, so I have no fear. I do not care if I lose it".
If this is true, we can only admire Archie Karas.