"Greatest gambler of all time" accused of cheating

Search

Member
Joined
May 22, 2005
Messages
31,627
Tokens
archie_karas-26062.jpg


SAN DIEGO -- A world-famous gambler, high roller and poker player known for the largest and longest documented winning streak in gambling history is being accused of cheating at a Barona Casino blackjack table in July.

Anargyros Karabourniotis, 62, aka Archie Karas, was caught marking cards at a blackjack table by the Barona Gaming Commission in July. He was arrested at his Las Vegas home on Tuesday and will be extradited to San Diego to face charges of burglary, winning by fraudulent means and cheating.
“This defendant’s luck ran out thanks to extraordinary cooperation between several different law enforcement agencies who worked together to investigate and prosecute this case,” San Diego County District of Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said today.
Card marking is when a person puts a subtle, but distinguishable mark on the back of playing cards. A “good mark” will not be apparent to the dealer or others not in the know, but the cheater who knows what to look for will readily be able see the mark.
Karas was caught on surveillance cameras marking cards in an effort to secretly identify the value of each card he was dealt. In doing so, he successfully cheated the casino out of more than $8,000.
Upon receiving the case from the Barona Gaming Commission, the California Department of Justice Bureau of Gambling Control coordinated a multi-agency investigation that allowed them to identify Karas as the perpetrator of this crime. The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office assisted with the arrest and search warrants and will coordinate the extradition. The Nevada Gaming Control Board was instrumental in assisting with the arrest of Karas and the search of his home in Las Vegas.
“We were happy to have assisted with this investigation and the arrest of Mr. Karas,” Enforcement Chief Karl Bennison said. “The Nevada Gaming Control Board has investigated Karas on multiple occasions resulting in four arrests. Karas has been a threat to the gaming industry in many jurisdictions and joint efforts like this show the effectiveness of a consolidated law enforcement effort.”
Karas is best-known for his winning streak from 1992 to 1995 when he turned $50 into $40 million. He went on to gamble away his fortune that same year. He is considered by many to have been the "greatest gambler of all time" and has often been compared to Nick the Greek, another high stakes gambler. Karas claims to have gambled with more money than anyone else in history.
Karas is currently being held in Las Vegas on no bail. An extradition hearing is scheduled in Nevada on Monday, Sept. 30. If convicted of all the charges, Karas faces up to three years in local prison.
San Diego County has 19 federally-recognized Indian tribes and 10 Indian casinos, more than any other county in the United States. Nationwide, industry experts estimate that casinos lose tens of millions of dollars every year in various cheating scams.
 

New member
Joined
Oct 29, 2010
Messages
40,880
Tokens
Bobby Deniro as Ace Rothstein " The only problem is, the guy always guessed right"

I imagine knowing the value of each card face down....is a pretty nice advantage in blackjack.
 

"i had a hundy but i bet a grand"
Joined
Mar 21, 2005
Messages
8,199
Tokens
damn...was certain you were gonna have a pic of Kris Barr being led away in shackles by the feds from one of his 3 homes after not being kept to his 5-0 promise in the nfl last week...
 

New member
Joined
Sep 6, 2009
Messages
891
Tokens
unreal,I've heard this guy has been busted out for some time now.Driving around in a $500.00 car.Sleeping on friends couches.He,s used up all his outs.Now caught marking cards in a casino to make a score......Going to jail might be this guys best option at this point in time.
 

I never ever got beat-I just run out of Money
Joined
Jun 17, 2007
Messages
1,076
Tokens
I can't believe he never committed suicide after losing $40 million back to the casinos. If that would have been me I might have gambled $10-$15 million back at them but that would have been it.

This guy could be so wealthy right now today just by investing all that money conservatively and not even investing aggressive with it.


But he chose to go to war every day with the casinos until he was penny-less ...... just unbelievable.
 

New member
Joined
Dec 25, 2009
Messages
1,520
Tokens
How can casinos lose millions each year and still stay in business? They should be apprehended for stealing, as well.
 

New member
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
260
Tokens
Just treat this like Spygate. Archie would have won that money anyway. Marked cards really had little effect on him winning. He should just have to pay a small misdemeanor fine and let back in the casino. The casinos are just haters. Everyone who says he wins by cheating are just haters. Archie is the best gambler ever, so what if he was in possession of a marked card. You can't prove he did it over and over, and that's why he had a +EV. It wouldn't have changed him winning.
 

New member
Joined
Sep 6, 2009
Messages
891
Tokens

Forum statistics

Threads
1,106,772
Messages
13,438,884
Members
99,338
Latest member
chaicoca816
The RX is the sports betting industry's leading information portal for bonuses, picks, and sportsbook reviews. Find the best deals offered by a sportsbook in your state and browse our free picks section.FacebookTwitterInstagramContact Usforum@therx.com