Top 5 Most Successful and Famous Australian Gamblers

Australia is one of the major online gambling markets across the world. That's because players in this part of the world are well-known aficionados at the tables. According to number-crunching from the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, gambling revenues for online and land-based casinos had risen to $5.1 billion by 2019. The best Australian players have gone on to make millions at the tables and earn worldwide recognition for their exploits. In this piece, we take a look at five of the most famous Australian gamblers.

Alan Woods

Alan Woods is not only regarded as one of the best in Australian but the world over. Woods, who passed away in Hong Kong in 2008, was an adept mathematician with sharp instinct. The mathematician started dabbling in gambling in the early 1970s. In the 1980s, Woods and a gambling partner moved to Hong Kong and formed a syndicate for horse racing. The team would go on to become one of the best conglomerates in the history of horse racing in the country earning Woods a title as one of the most famous Australian gamblers.

Woods enjoyed dizzying success from his bets thanks to his skills in mathematics. He and his partner came up with an algorithm that would consider tens of variables like form, weather, track, and various other variations to pick the winner. It is estimated that Alan Woods had accumulated a fortune of $670 million at the time of his passing.

Kerry Packer

Kerry Packer got started in gambling after inheriting his expansive family estate. In the 1970s, Packer came into the $100 million fortune after his father's passing. The fortune came from casino and television assets in the country and overseas.

Packer was an expert gambler who would win huge sums betting on cricket and horse racing. It is reported that Packer won over $33 million in a week playing at the MGM Grand Casino instantly making him one of the most famous Australian gamblers. Another one of his famous wins came while playing a high-stakes game of baccarat where he won 20 hands in a row. Packer placed a wager of $155,000 on each hand. He passed away in 2005, having built a fortune of $6.5 billion.

Lloyd Williams

Llyod Williams was an illustrious gambler and one of the most famous Australian gamblers who also had successful property development ventures. The Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex in Melbourne is one of his most famous ventures. Lloyd made a name for himself in horse racing, where he would make money picking out winners and placing substantial wagers. As one of Australia's best racehorse owners, Lloyd Williams is one of the renowned names in Australian horse racing circles. His fortune was estimated to be at $670 million by 2012.

Zeljko Ranogajec

Zeljko Ranogajec is well-known for his exploits in horse racing. Ranogajec likes to keep his affairs under the radar; however, industry insiders estimate that the career-gambler has a turnover of over $1 billion a year from his gambling interests. The player's backstory is the stuff of movies as he quit his job at the Wrest Point Casino to become an advantage gambler, a hugely rewarding move. He is known as one of the best card counters globally and was one of the inductees to the Blackjack Hall of Fame in 2011.

David Walsh

David Walsh is known for the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA). The professional gambler is a trained mathematician and computer scientist. His professional skills have played a great role in his rise to the gambling world's upper echelons placing him among famous Australian gamblers. The pro gambler is best friends with fellow gambler Zeljko Ranogajec. Walsh is famous for his plush lifestyle. The player is reported to be worth $600 million.

Conclusion

Gambling is fun for many players but even more fun for the professionals who make it big. With gambling now thriving on the online front, anyone has the chance to become a high roller.