Powerful People Of Gambling
The online gambling world is shaped by powerful people who have done a great deal to make casino games as popular as they are now. There is no denying that each of those people had their own motivation and goals. Nonetheless, their efforts made a huge contribution to the emergence and growth of online casinos. Let’s find out more about some of the iconic characters in the global gambling scene.
Kirk Kerkorian
Despite his respectable age, the 97-year-old Kirk Kerkorian still has a say in managing the MGM casino holding that he established many years ago.
With dozens of offline and online casinos under its umbrella, Kerkorian’s gambling empire is one the largest in the whole wide world. As for Kerkorian, his personal fortune is estimated at 4 billion dollars.
Like many future millionaires, Kerkorian was born to a poor family of American farmers. He didn’t even attend school. However, that didn’t stop him from becoming a consummate boxer, pilot, and eventually businessman. One day, Kerkorian said that Las Vegas would become the world’s biggest gambling hub. Well, his prediction turned out to be accurate, to say the least!
Steven Wynn
At the impressive age of 74, Steven Wynn has not the slightest intention to delegate his authority at Wynn Resorts. According to some estimations, his fortune stands at 2.4 billion dollars.
Most of his fortune came from video slots, including those on gambling sites. However, gambling is not the only business that generates money for Wynn. The billionaire also owns fashionable hotels and restaurants.
Unlike Kerkorian, Wynn didn’t build his business from nothing. Wynn’s father owned several bingo clubs and left to his son 350,000 dollars. Wynn did a great job multiplying his father’s fortune. The businessman invested the money in establishing a chain of high-profile land-based casinos with stood out through their flawless service. Needless to say, the investment paid off big time!
Lawrence Ho
In the modern-day Macao, Lawrence Ho is a trademark name. One of the youngest businessmen in the casino industry, Ho is actively involved in developing both online and offline gambling.
Similar to Wynn, Ho inherited the casino empire from his father and managed to grow immensely. His father was a wealthy Chinese businessman who owned several casinos. Ho had already made around 2 billion dollars on his Macao-based casinos. Despite the dwindling number of Chinese gamblers, Ho isn’t complaining. He made a strategic decision to explore business possibilities outside China and invested in the Russian gambling sector.
Famous Footballers In Online Casinos
Professional footballers are just like us, common people. This is why you shouldn’t be surprised if you hear that the favorite pastime of some famous football players is gambling.
For example, it’s a known fact that David Beckham loves casino games but he is reluctant to talk about his hobby. The famous British was spotted in high-profile land-based casinos more than once over the recent years. In addition to being an insanely talented footballer, Beckham is also a smart businessman. He signed promotion contracts with the casinos in Singapore and Macao. Also, he is the face of online and offline casinos owned by Las Vegas Sands.
Some of Beckham’s colleagues share his passion for gambling. Paul Gaskoigne, Tony Adams, and Paul Merson love to make a few online bets in their spare time.
The story with Michael Owen, who gambled away 30,000 pounds, made big waves back in day. Gudjohnsen, Hasselbaink и Grognier, all former players at the Chelsea Football Club, gambled away big amounts of money in London casinos.
Gerard Piqué, a center-back for Barcelona, is crazy about poker. He honed his skills to achieve a high level of proficiency. It was more than once that he won international poker tournaments.
Rumor has it that Teddy Sheringham, a former player at Manchester United, won about half a million pounds in a casino. Although the footballer is known to be a high roller, the win is still pretty amazing!
Another lucky athlete on our list is Wayne Rooney, who won about 70,000 pounds in an online casino. We don’t know how much he lost along the way, though.
Along with casinos, bookies are another guilty pleasure of British footballers. Obviously, the athletes try to keep that secret under covers. The thing is that in Europe bookmaker services are illegal. If a football player is caught read-handed making bets on sporting events, that will put an end to their career. Luckily for footballers, playing in online casinos is not against the law.