From rags to riches: people who have become rich by gambling

Something that I have always loved about the gambling world is hearing those “Cinderella” stories in which a common person wins a staggering amount of money and goes from rags to riches.

The most recent story of someone going from poor to rich in online gambling happened to a man in Vancouver, Washington only two weeks ago. Neil Sullivan could not believe his luck when he found out he was holding the winning ticket for $6.8 million in the Washington State Lottery Lotto jackpot. I bet that was a good day for Mr. Sullivan.

However, hitting the jackpot, winning the lottery or winning a tournament has always worked as a way to make common people into rich people. For example, in 2008 a Danish poker player, Peter Eastgate, walked out of the World Series of Poker crowned Champion and with over $9 million in his bank account. Last year, Joe Cada went home with over $8 million after winning the WSOP.

A famous story in the poker world was when, now poker pro, Annette Obrestad won a freeroll that led her to buy into a $9 online tournament in which she won almost $500,000 at the early age of 15.

It was even more remarkable when a man in Ashville won the incredible sum of $141.4 million. Frank Griffin, a retired firefighter, hit the PowerBall Jackpot this past February. It was a pleasant surprise for the man and his wife and he is the third person to hit this jackpot in North Carolina since it started in 2006.

Online casino gamblers have also ran lucky when hitting the jackpot. Many players walk away with approximately $1 million every time the jackpot is hit at an online casino. Of course some have better jackpot than others, but it is always a good day when an amateur players hits it and takes some real money home.

I believe the reason to why these stories are so nice to hear is that it makes us think that, maybe, someday one of us could become the lucky person to win millions of dollars in a slot machine spin. For now, I will keep reading “Cinderella” stories until my lucky day comes.