The world of poker and gambling lost a legendary figure in September with the passing of Archie “the Greek” Karas, who went on one of the most unlikely Las Vegas gambling runs in 1995.
The epic run started with his last $50 and a $10,000 loan from a Las Vegas friend. Karas, who passed away at age 73, eventually gambled that up to $40 million and finally lost it all. He lived the reality of the tale that a poker gambler could show up in Vegas, gamble and leave with millions of dollars.
“Some consider him a hopeless degenerate,” author Michael Konik notes of Karas in his book The Main With the $10,000 Beats and Other Gambling Stories. “Some think he’s a hero. Others think he’s insane.”
The Early Life of Archie Karas: From Poverty to Poker Hustler
Karas was born on Nov. 1, 1950, on the Greek island of Cephalonia. Even from an early age, gambling was a regular part of life. His family struggled financially, and Karas shot marbles to earn cash to buy food.
By age 15, Karas had struck out on his own and took a job working on a ship, earning $60 a month. He eventually landed in the U.S. at age 17, and Los Angeles became his new home. He took a job waiting tables at a restaurant with a bowling alley next door that also housed billiards tables.
In his free time, “the Greek” could be found in the bowling centre hustling pool and separating players from their money. When his skills at the billiards table proved to be more lucrative, Karas left the restaurant job behind.
When his pool hustling action thinned, Texas Holdem poker became his game of choice, and Karas was a regular at card rooms around L.A. That included becoming wealthy at times and then losing it all at other times.
His boom-or-bust mentality may have come from his early life. According to Karas, money doesn’t mean that much when you’ve lived through poverty.
“I’ve been a millionaire over 50 times and dead broke more than I can count,” he told Konik. “Probably a thousand times in my life. But I sleep the same whether I have $10 or $10 million in my pocket.”
By 1992, Karas’s winnings were almost gone, and he was down to his last 50 bucks. He hopped in his car and headed to Las Vegas, seeking a change in luck. Stories. After borrowing $10,000 from a friend, he created one of history's most powerful and memorable poker stories.
Archie Karas’s $40 Million Run: The Greatest Streak in Gambling History
Most players dream of visiting Las Vegas and finding a massive streak of luck after hitting the best places where to play poker in Vegas. They hope to rack up win after win after win, hammering the casinos and putting big bucks in their pockets. However, most return to the airport as losers, with the rare player leaving with a bit of winnings. But striking it rich for millions of dollars is mostly a fantasy.
Archie Karas proved that it is possible but extremely unlikely. He rolled into town and set about turning his luck around.
“Archie knew his dearth of capital wouldn’t prevent him from making a score,” Konik noted of the gambler. “No hole was too big for him to climb out of.”
At the Mirage poker room, one of the top spots for card players at the time, a friend loaned him $10,000, and Karas was soon playing $200/$400 razz. He doubled that in a few hours and proceeded to go what has become known as “The Run.”
- Karas next headed to another casino and won a few million bucks playing high-stakes pool.
- His opponent later wanted to head to the poker table and the Greek won another $1 million.
- That was followed by two weeks of heads-up high-stakes poker matches against Chip Reese and Doyle Brunson. With blinds as high as $8,000/$16,000, according to reports, he won another $2 million.
What set Karas’s run apart from many lucky streaks in poker history is that much of it was documented on television and in other media reports.
For example, the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper reported his winnings at the pool table. Other gamblers also attested to and documented his other winnings.
After the poker action, Karas was off to the Horseshoe for craps – playing as high as $100,000 per roll in the spring and summer of 1993.
By the end of his fantastic run, Karas was up to $40 million.
Archie Karas’s Downfall: How He Lost $40 Million in Three Weeks
As most gamblers know, all streaks of luck end at some point. And that also goes for Karas. In 1995, he lost a significant chunk of his winnings in three weeks.
The luck at the craps table turned, and he shed several million dollars and then lost more to Reese at the poker table. He haemorrhaged even more – as much as $30 million – by playing high-stakes baccarat. As much as he couldn’t seem to lose earlier, Karas no longer seemed able to win.
Eventually, he siphoned away his last million bucks at the craps tables after some heads-up poker matches against Johnny Chan and Lyle Berman in Los Angeles. The eight-figure losses never seemed to phase Karas.
"You've got to understand something,” he told Cigar Aficionado magazine in 2008. “Money means nothing to me. I don't value it. I've had all the material things I could ever want. Everything.
"The things I want money can't buy: health, freedom, love, happiness. I don't care about money, so I have no fear. I don't care if I lose it."
The Legacy of Archie Karas: Legend, Controversy, and the Dream of Millions
Karas’s passing produced headlines around the world. His Las Vegas journey and story of winning millions only to see it all disappear captured the imagination of many. While ordinary people would never wager such high sums, most gamblers could connect with that dream of going on an epic run at the cash games and casino tables.
However, not all of Karas’s life in casinos is remembered on the up and up. Konik noted that the Greek was also alleged to be a cheater, with casino security agencies labelling him as a dice cheat and card marker.
But ironically, his streak at the tables was deemed fair play. Casino security and surveillance video kept a close eye on the famed gambler when playing at such high stakes.
Years after the streak, Karas took another hit to his reputation in 2013 when he was found guilty of cheating at blackjack in a San Diego casino. The staff alleged he was again marking cards, and he was banned from all Nevada casinos and included in the state’s “black book” of excluded players.
Looking at his unique life in poker and gambling, most players probably can’t relate to gambling for such huge stakes. For Karas, this life was the norm.
“The reason you or I will never win several million dollars gambling is because we are rational, reasonable people,” Konik writes.
“We’d never get to the lofty point where millions of dollars are on the line because we would quit as soon as we won $50,000 or $20,000 or even $10,000. Archie Karas doesn’t know the word quit.”
