#9 Terrance Watanabe
Known as “the biggest whale” in Las Vegas history, Terrance Watanabe made fast work of his
multi-million-dollar wealth gambling and drinking in casinos. After selling his father’s company,
of which he had made his fortune, Terrance made a name for himself amongst casinos as a lavish
spender. In 2007, his betting spree peaked and he went on a record-breaking losing streak,
gambling away 825 million dollars. Just one year in, he netted a loss of $204 million across The
Rio and Caesars casinos and fled the city broke in 2008 with an unpaid bill of $15 million.
His total spending amassed to an astounding 5.6% of the casino company’s total revenue that year.
Caesars ultimately sued and pressed felony charges against Terrance for his unpaid bill, which was
settled out of court with Terrance agreeing to pay back $100,000 of the $15 million owed. Later,
Caesars was fined $225,000 for not appropriately taking action and even encouraging Terrance’s
multiple addictions. Reports suggest that they had given Terrance thousands in incentives,
let him play intoxicated, and even plied him with painkillers to keep him at the table.
His tale is a cautionary one. Despite living like a king for a few years, Terrance had to resort to
setting up a GoFundMe in 2017 for a life-saving surgical procedure that he could no longer afford.
#8 Andros Townsend Andros Townsend is a professional football player
in the English Premier League who played for the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and now Crystal Palace.
Near the beginning of his career, before he had truly established himself as a player,
Townsend developed a worrying gambling habit. As he was being bounced between teams on loans,
he turned to betting apps as a way of passing time out of boredom. The
pastime quickly spiraled out of control and led to him losing over $64,000
in a single bet the night before a playoff game in 2012. At the height of his addiction, while on
loan to Birmingham, Townsend admitted that when he arrived, he couldn’t even afford the hotel
parking lot costs to sleep in his car. The lowest point of his career came soon after when in 2013,
he was charged by The Football Association on 76 counts of gambling charges. He received a
4-month ban, a $25,000 fine, and court-ordered counseling. Rather than ruining his career,
he was caught and forced into therapy. This was a pivotal turning point in his life; he went on
to make 13 appearances for the English national squad, scoring 3 goals. In 2019, Townsend became
outspoken about his history with gambling and its persistence in the football industry,
claiming that in every dressing room he’s been in, there’s “been a player with a gambling addiction.”
#7 Craig Walding
What started as the occasional bet on a sports match for Craig Walding turned into a full-fledged
gambling addiction in March of 2020 after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Taking his
love of sports to the next level, the 27-year-old native of Whitchurch, England accrued a debt
of over $55,000 in a month; having lost almost $30,000 in one night alone. Living by himself and
cut off from his support systems during the nationwide lockdowns, Craig became attached to his
screen. His addiction--like an avalanche--quickly took over his life and all his savings. He lost
everything and--chasing the losses--he kept gambling, borrowing money, and getting even more
into debt. At his lowest point, Craig admitted he considered taking his own life but instead,
turned to family & friends. They were able to help get him the help he needed,
and Craig then started the journey of recovering from his harrowing addiction and sizeable debt.
#6 Koen Everink 42-year-old businessman Koen Everink
made his millions as the founder and director of the travel company Eliza was here. In 2016,
he was found dead in his home by his six-year-old daughter, who’d heard his screams. It appeared as
if he’d been stabbed to death, and following the money, police quickly found a suspect.
They arrested Mark de Jong, who at the time was the head coach to top tennis player Robin Haase.
De Jong had borrowed thousands of euros from Everink to fuel his gambling addiction and
the judge found him guilty of murder. He was also charged for the theft of one of Everink’s
valuable watches and was sentenced to 18 years in prison. During his trial, it was made explicitly
clear that De Jong knew Everink’s daughter was close by in another room. De Jong denied the
murder charge and attempted to appeal his case to the Supreme Court, who vehemently dismissed it.
#5 Justyn Larcombe In just 3 years’ time, Justyn Larcombe,
from Britain, went from having a beautiful wife, 2 kids, and a home in Tunbridge Wells,
to living in Kent with his mother. In 2009, the ex-military major placed a small bet of
$7 on a rugby match, but the thrill soon caught on and spiraled into a full-on addiction. Placing
high-stake bets of up to $7,000 on various sites, Larcombe squandered over a million dollars and
racked up a debt of almost $140,000. After using up his savings, his family’s money, and the equity
of their house, Larcombe was still convinced he could win and charged his company’s credit cards
until he was caught and fired. Upon losing his six-figure city job, the rest soon followed.
In 2012, his wife discovered the extent of his actions and left him, taking their 2 sons with
her. That was the last of their house, fancy cars, and lush vacations. A day before he was due to be
evicted, his mother came to his rescue and took him back to Kent. Larcombe eventually paid off
his debts and reunited with his wife, but will never forget losing $24,000 on a single bet.
#3 Ryan Myers 27-year-old gambling addict and carpenter Ryan
Myers had been secretly gambling away thousands of dollars for years before taking his own life
in 2014. Myers seemed happy and normal during a recent vacation with family, but 2 days prior to
his death he posted a cryptic message on Facebook apologizing for “letting people down.” His family
put the pieces together after his death and realized how much trouble he had been in. At least
3 times, under his fiancé’s nose, Ryan scrambled and borrowed to pay bills after squandering
all his wages. But Ryan knew he was addicted. Going through his emails, his family discovered an
inbox riddled with promotional ads, but also clear signs he was trying to get out. Ryan had emailed
several gambling sites in an attempt to “self-exclude” from them, in which addicts can
request to be banned from gambling for a period of time. He had also reached out to a recovered
addict named James Petherick, who had documented his own struggles on YouTube. In one message,
Ryan admitted to James that the constant barrage of ads and promotional betting offers was making
it next to impossible to resist the urge to gamble. Despite his efforts, it all became
too much when lost nearly $700 on a fixed-odd betting terminal. Years after his death, Ryan’s
email account still received adverts and offers of free bets, encouraging him to come back and play.
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#2 David Bradford
Harboring a hidden gambling addiction, David Bradford’s wife and three children
weren’t aware of his indiscretions until he was sent to jail on his wife’s birthday, April 11th,
2014. David had spent years living this double life and had racked up a debt of over $696,000.
At that point, he had stolen almost $70,000 from his employer, taken out several loans,
and re-mortgaged his house. The lies to his family went as far as pretending to be a witness at his
own trial, but upon sentencing and conviction, the ruse was up. A phone call to his family home
from a solicitor informed them that David had been jailed for fraud; thus, the web of lives
unraveled. In the end, he lost his $100,000-a-year job as a finance controller and was put behind
bars for 8 months. David admitted that until the judge told him he had a problem, he never thought
he was addicted. Instead, David remembers thinking that he was just bad with money and even placed a
bet on the day of his court case. David sought help while in jail, and despite struggling to
find work after his release, created an app to help others addicted to gambling. Faced with a
mountain of debt, David and his wife will likely be paying it off for the rest of their lives.
#1 Jalal Uddin
Gambling addict and father-of-three, Jalal Uddin often fought with his wife, Asma Begum,
about money. The couple had been married since 2007 and lived together in a flat in East London.
To his wife, Uddin was known for always asking for money, and to his local bookkeepers, he was known
to get very angry when he lost. On January 11th, 2019, after being asked to withdraw 200 pounds
from Begum’s account for family expenses, Uddin returned with no money or food,
having gambled it all away. The ensuing fight between the couple turned violent.
Uddin stabbed his wife in the face, head, & neck upwards of 60 times, then left her to die.
Her left hand had been left practically amputated at the wrist, and a trained pathologist struggled
to accurately count the sheer number of stab wounds. Begum was found by concerned relatives
and pronounced dead at the scene. Hours later, Uddin turned himself in, telling police “my wife
hurt me”. In court, Uddin claimed Begum came at him with the knife first, but doesn’t remember
what happened next or why his bloodied shirt ended up in the bath. Throughout the trial, he denied
the murder charge, but the judge ultimately found him guilty and sentenced him to life in prison.
Thanks for watching! Would you rather have $100,000 dollars to spend at a casino
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