Every roulette player dreams of hitting a massive, larger than life jackpot that will propel them to worldwide fame, and give them all the money they’ve ever dreamed of. For most gamblers, this remains a dream, and they have to settle for smaller, but still respectable victories. Throughout the course of history, there indeed have been some extremely lucky players that walked away with eye-catching jackpots that are talked about to this day. In this article, we’ll take a look at five of the most notable roulette jackpots in history.
Charles Wells- 2 million francs- 1891
Charles Wells was otherwise a fraudster and scamster with a reputation for creating grand schemes that he used to take large sums of money from the public, but on two fateful nights in Monte Carlo, he etched his name in history. Wells, thanks to pure luck, won 23 out of 30 consecutive spins and took home over a million francs, breaking the bank in the process. He managed to repeat his achievement on another visit to Monte Carlo, taking another million. Charles died in Paris over thirty years later, and it is unclear what exactly he did with his winnings.
Pedro Grendene Bartelle- 3.5 million pounds- 2014
Nephew of an extremely wealthy Brazilian businessman, Pedro Grendene Bartelle won 3.5 million pounds off a single bet that he placed on the number 32. This spin, which came in the Hotel Conrad in Uruguay, was filmed and went viral on the internet instantly. The net worth of the Bartelle family is already in the billions, so this wild amount wasn’t as wild for Pedro as it would’ve been for the average gambler, but it’s still one of the largest victories in documented roulette history.
Mike Ashley- 1.3 million pounds- 2008
British businessman Mike Ashley is quite a polarizing figure, depending on where your allegiances lie. The man is the owner of the world famous football club Newcastle United, as well as the SportsDirect chain of sporting goods. On one day in London, Ashley walked away with over a million pounds in winnings courtesy of a complete bet on his lucky number 17. It must be noted that Ashley’s original wager was nearly half a million pounds on its own, which is by no means a small, meek amount. We can presume that Ashley used the money to either fund his businesses, or pamper himself with a new luxury toy.
Ashley Revell- $270,000- 2004
The most ambitious, or stupid bet of all time, depending on which way you want to look at it. An American man named Ashley Revell decided to sell every valuable item he had, and decided to wager all of his life savings on a single bet in Las Vegas. Revell’s betting amount totaled to $135,000 and he chose to bet it all on red. Thankfully for him, the bet came through and he walked home with exactly double the money he came in with.
Sir Sean Connery- $27,000- 1963
This victory is perhaps not as massive as the other ones we’ll discuss, but its recipient is one of the greatest actors in Hollywood history. The recently deceased face of James Bond once won $27,000 in Italy in the most remarkable of ways. Connery bet twice on the number 17 to no avail, but then bet on it thrice again, and won all three times! The odds on hitting the same number thrice in a row are quite slim, as you’d imagine. There’s no point in wondering where the money went, as Sir Sean Connery went on to become one of the most recognized figures in modern cinema.
Wins in Online Roulette?
It’s much harder to document and keep track of wins in online roulette due to the degree of secrecy and anonymity that comes with playing roulette online, but that doesn’t mean that there are no massive jackpots earned by online gamblers. There have been numerous unconfirmed reports of online roulette players hitting the Bullseye. Game providers are constantly evolving and finding more ways to appeal to customers with greater jackpots, so it’s only a matter of time before we hear of a roulette jackpot in the millions.
