Do read the story of the man who lost $200 million in Las Vegas. We’re not telling you this story to keep you from a fun night of gambling.
It is also a reminder that the world of gambling can be very volatile.
Big fish in the gambling world
In the gambling world there are people who regularly take a gamble and then immediately bet very large amounts. This way casinos can get pretty rich off a limited number of players. These players are also known as “whales”. Once you have them in your casino you have made a good catch. In order to retain these players casinos often give them extra casino bonuses and all sorts of perks which really include extravagant things like expensive bottles of wine, a private jet or a limousine. This may seem very expensive but it brings even more to the casino itself because it allows them to attract the mega gamblers.
The story of Terrance Watanabe
One story we don’t want to keep from you is that of Terrance Watanabe. This American man inherited his father’s business empire, the Oriental Trading Company, at an early age. In the year 2000 he sold his share and resigned as director and then became known mainly as a philanthropist but also as the one who in the entire history of the casino has lost the most money ever. Not exactly the nicest reputation to have of course.
How did it come to this?
Watanabe managed to lose more than $200 million within a year. This is an amount that the average American does not even manage to earn in his entire life by working, so you get an impression of how much this is. There is in fact only one reason why Watanabe managed to lose so much: he bet so much money at once that it all blew up, but then again he is addicted to gambling. There are even casinos that protected him from losing more money but to no avail so the losses have become immense.
What is Watanabe doing nowadays?
Today Watanabe lives with large debts that need to be paid back to the casinos. He lives without insurance, is sick and cannot pay for the necessary treatments. He asks for money from people he doesn’t even know in order to live like this and would like to be forgiven for his actions. So this is the story of a man who was able to sink so far that he went from being a celebrated businessman and philanthropist with really a particularly generous income to someone with absolutely nothing.
It’s hard to get rid of an addiction
Sad story, it certainly is. But he is not the only one who got himself into such trouble by gambling. He is the one who has lost the most money, but that is of course a dubious honor. If you are addicted to something, such as smoking, drinking or gambling, it is very difficult to stop. People who are addicted to something can’t do it, or only with the greatest difficulty. This, of course, also applies to Watanabe. Therefore, don’t judge him too quickly and try to understand that he had no other choice, no matter how bad it was.
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Keep the game fun and entertaining
After reading his story, do you think you’ll never gamble? Then realize that not everyone will get addicted to it right away and that there is nothing wrong with a nice evening out at, say, the Holland Casino. For many people it can be very relaxing to get away from it all and the excitement of the game is actually healthy if you keep yourself in check and keep it fun. If you know in advance what you want to spend and what you can spend and don’t go over the limit, there is little to worry about. Should you win, always nice but losing a little is not even bad. After all, if you go somewhere or want to buy something, this also costs you money.
Much lower stakes
Therefore, keep in mind that the average gambler will not spend nearly as much money as Watanabe. First, because he or she does not have it, and second, because such wagers are pretty crazy and most people will not risk wagering such amounts of money. It is not possible for ordinary people to do this let alone do it. If you are an addict, however, you just keep going and going and going and going and going and going, as was the case with Watanabe.