Anargyros Nicholas Karabourniotis, commonly known as Archie Karas, was a Greek-American gambler, high roller, poker player, and pool shark famous for the largest and longest documented winning streak in casino gambling history, simply known as The Run, when he drove to Las Vegas with $50 in December 1992 and then turned a $10,000 loan into more than $40 million by the beginning of 1995, only to lose it all later that year.
39 Facts About Archie Karas
1.
2.
Archie Karas was born on November 1,1950, in Antypata on the island of Cephalonia, Kingdom of Greece.
3.
Archie Karas grew up in poverty and had to shoot marbles as a teenager to avoid going hungry.
4.
Archie Karas's father, Nickolas, was a construction worker who struggled financially.
5.
Archie Karas ran away from home at the age of 15 after, in a rage, his father threw a shovel at him, barely missing his head.
6.
Archie Karas worked as a waiter on a ship, making $60 a month until the ship arrived at Portland, Oregon.
7.
Archie Karas later moved to Los Angeles and worked in a restaurant that was next to a pool hall.
8.
Archie Karas honed his pool skills and eventually made more money playing pool than he did as a waiter.
9.
In December 1992, Archie Karas had lost all but $50 playing high-stakes poker.
10.
In December 1992, after losing his entire bankroll, Archie Karas drove to Vegas with his car and $50 in his wallet.
11.
Archie Karas paid $20,000 to his backer, who was more than content.
12.
Archie Karas refused to reveal his name for the sake of his opponent's reputation; he simply referred to him as "Mr X".
13.
Archie Karas sat at the Binion's Horseshoe's poker table with 5 of his 7 million dollars in front of him, waiting for any players willing to play for such stakes.
14.
Archie Karas then played Ungar in 7-card stud, which cost Ungar an additional $700,000.
15.
Reese claims that Archie Karas beat him for more money than anyone else he ever played.
16.
Archie Karas continued to beat many top players, from Puggy Pearson to Johnny Moss.
17.
Archie Karas said that Doyle Brunson was the only player able to beat him at Razz during his winning streak.
18.
The poker action for Archie Karas mostly dried up due to his reputation and stakes.
19.
Archie Karas was allowed to make pass line and come bets of up to $300,000, but with no odds.
20.
Jack Binion capped Archie Karas' buy bets on the 4 and 10 at $100,000.
21.
Archie Karas quickly won $920,000 under these conditions; then Binion immediately lowered the limit back to $100,000.
22.
Archie Karas said that he could quickly win $3 million on dice, while it would take days to weeks with poker.
23.
Archie Karas carried a gun with him at all times and would often have his brother and casino security guards escort him.
24.
At one point, Archie Karas won all of the Binion's casino's $5000 chips, the highest denomination at the time.
25.
Archie Karas lost $11 million playing craps and then lost the $2 million he won from Chip Reese back to him.
26.
Archie Karas preferred playing both of them, instead of just Chan, as he felt Chan was the tougher opponent.
27.
Archie Karas won and doubled his money, only to lose it all at dice and baccarat, betting at the highest limits, in just a few days.
28.
Archie Karas then went back to the Horseshoe and won an additional $4 million before losing it all the next day.
29.
Archie Karas went with $1,800 and lost $1,600 until he was down to just $200.
30.
Archie Karas shot dice and ran his $200 into $9,700 and then headed to Las Vegas.
31.
Archie Karas went back to Binion's and won another $300,000 at the Horseshoe and by the third day, had won a total of $980,000 from a low of $200.
32.
Archie Karas stayed in touch with his family by phone, and tried to travel back to Greece at least once per year.
33.
Archie Karas brought his mother, Mariana, to Las Vegas for six-month visits when he was on his winning streak.
34.
Konik wrote an article about Archie Karas which was featured in a book about Las Vegas gamblers called The Man With the $100,000 Breasts.
35.
Archie Karas was interviewed, along with poker player Tony G, by Tiffany Michelle during the 2008 World Series of Poker.
36.
Archie Karas was a featured player on ESPN's coverage of the 2008 WSOP.
37.
Archie Karas was arrested on September 24,2013, after being caught marking cards at a San Diego casino's blackjack table by the Barona Gaming Commission.
38.
Archie Karas was arrested at his Las Vegas home and extradited to San Diego to face charges of burglary, winning by fraudulent means and cheating.
39.
Archie Karas was found guilty and sentenced to three years probation.