Anargyros Nicholas Karabourniotis was a Greek immigrant commonly known as Archie Karas. He is a high roller poker player and the most significant and most extended recorded gambler in casino gambling history. Archie converted a $50 loan in Las Vegas in December 1992 and a $10,000 loan in early 1995 to more than $40 million. But already the following year, he lost it all. He is known to have gambled more money at casinos than any other gambler in history.

Karas gained this high level of wealth by playing a variety of high-quality games at the casino. Unfortunately, he lost all his wealth in 1995, ending his career as a professional gambler. He was also involved in a card marking scandal in San Diego in 2013 and was sentenced to three years probation. He is now 70 years old and is currently in Las Vegas.

Personal Life

Karas was born on November 1, 1950, on the island of Cephalonia in Greece. Archie grows up in poverty, and as a teenager, he has to throw marbles to avoid getting hungry. His father, Nicholas, was a construction worker who fought financially for the family. He decided that he would not be a builder in his father’s footsteps from a young age. So he soon started earning a living by playing marble for money. At the age of 15, he had a violent fight with his father. Archie then packed his bags and headed for the United States. 

On the voyage to Portland, he got a job as a waiter on a ship. Earn $60 per month from there. Arriving in LA, he landed a job at a restaurant, where he first discovered poker and ignited his passion. He lives in Las Vegas, and his family lives in Greece. Karas keeps in touch with his family by phone and tries to visit Greece once a year. When he was on a winning streak in the gambling world, he brought his mother Mariana to Las Vegas on a six-month trip. The story of Karas’s life was recorded by American author Michael Konik in Cigar Aficionado.

After losing $40,000,000, no one saw him in Vegas for five or six months. Many believed that Karas had committed suicide. But Archie Cars was incredibly smart and mentally strong and had a unique sense of money. He was alive and well and returned to Sin City after a few months away from the casino table. In the years that followed, he performed a few more gambling miracles.

Journey to Success

He worked at a restaurant in Los Angeles next to a bowling alley and a pool hall. There he respected his pool skills and made more money through pool play than working as a waiter. When the pool weakened his prey, he went to play poker at the Locker Angels card house. From here, he broke up a few times and returned to become a millionaire. Later, he became a dazzling poker player and raised the bankroll to $2,000,000.

Karas soon embarked on a journey from pool halls to underground poker and raised more than $2 million in months. But he lost his money in the high-partner game. He moved to Las Vegas with a dream of a big win with only $50 in his name. He then changed his name to Archie Karas. Lacking funds, he borrowed $10,000 from one of the gamblers. The next few hours later, he was able to return that. Using that money in just six months, he turned it into $18 million. He continues to build banks from that win and some of the world’s most famous players invite him to play with them. 

From 1992 to 1995, Archie made a lot of money. His winning streak is dubbed “The Run”. His winning streak history is the most extended history of gambling. He always kept most of the money of his victory on him. He also hides some cash in his car. Ask him to escort the casino security to ensure his safety. This “The Run” sign later made it difficult for him to find new poker opponents. As a result, he tried different games. It took him almost three years to eradicate poverty and become a millionaire.

Beginning of the End

Archie’s “The Run” sign made it challenging to find new poker opponents. So he decided to give up poker and try other games, which started to take him downhill. In just one month, he lost most of his wins. He decided to play single backgammon with a loss of $ 11 million in the Craps game. There, too, he lost $17 million in less than 48 hours.

In 1992 he lost everything except $50 playing high-stakes poker. Reconsidering his situation, he decided to go to Las Vegas in search of the big games. He moved to Las Vegas with 50 and turned a 10,000 loan into a $1.6 million player and pool. But in December, after losing the entire bankroll, he left for Vegas with $50 in his car and wallet. Arriving at The Mirage, Karas recognizes a poker player on the Los Angeles scene and pays him $10,000. He later returned $20,000 to her.

His two-and-a-half-year winning streak came to an end in 1995 after losing most of his money in three weeks. He lost 11 million in dice and $2 million taken from Chip Reese. To make up for this loss, he switched back to baccarat and lost another $17 million for a total of $30 million. He returned to Greece with an estimated 12 million left. Back in Las Vegas, he went back to Horseshoe. He played dice and played baccarat for $300,000 per bet and lost everything in less than a month.

Convicted of cheating 

On September 24, 2013, the Barona Gaming Commission arrested Archie after identifying a card on a blackjack table at the San Diego Casino. The incident happened in July when surveillance cameras filmed karas at the casino. The fact was that Archie was marking the back of his cards with a dye inserted into a hollowed-out gambling chip.

Later that day, he would tastefully swipe over the cards he wanted to be marked. Police arrive at Archie’s home to arrest him, and they find empty-out casino chips confirming previous allegations. The Nevada Gaming Control Board arrested him four times by Nevada Gaming Control Board in 1988, 1992, 1996, and 2007 on fraud charges. However, he was never sentenced to prison. He spent 73 days in jail before being the last release on bail. The Greek pleaded guilty to the charges and was later given three-year probation.

He was fined about $ 7,000 for the incident. The Nevada Gaming Commission unanimously votes Karas as the 33rd person on Nevada’s “Black Book.” This is officially known as the list of people who have been left out of Nevada. The miracle of Karas in the city of sin Karas is a tragic consequence of this gambling story. He has to go to other states or countries to play the pit game, but it is probably better for him to get involved in this game. Archie often said that his biggest strength was Texas Hold ’em.