History is filled with examples of individuals who were either very good or very bad at gambling. However a few stand of these gamblers stand  out as success stories simply because the odds are very low of anyone becoming a millionaire as a result of gambling in a UK casino. Apparently the odds are even lower of anyone profiting as the result of gambling and then being able to actually hold on to the money activities.

John Montegu, the Earl of Sandwich, is a name that is practically synonymous with the words “gambling problem.” His addiction to gambling was first noted in 1762 when he gambled straight for 24 hours straight without eating or relieving. The sandwich was invented (and also named after him) so that he could sit at a bingo online gaming table and eat while still placing non-stop wagers.

Another tortured gambler was Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky. He won as much as he lost and spent most of his life at the tables. He wrote his famous work "The Gambler" in 1866 hoping that the revenues would help pay his gambling debts.

In the New World, one of the Wild West’s most wicked gamblers was “Doc” Holliday, a ruthless killer and sore loser who was not beyond firing off a few shots if he was losing. A similar American personality was “Wild Bill” Hickok who shot in the back of the head by an assassin while playing online bingo game poker. At the time he was holding a pair of Aces and a pair of eights and this hand has been known as the “Dead Man’s Hand” ever since.

The man who was known as the “gambler’s gambler” was Benny Binion. Born in 1904 he gave up a life as a conman and moved to Vegas. He opened his own casino and in the 1970s bought and held the first World Series of Poker tournaments which are of course now the largest and most respected Poker Tournament in the world. The World Series of Poker tournament has created its own superstars including the notorious Johnny Chan whose nickname is “The Great Wall of China.”

Dan Mahowney, a banker from Toronto Canada became infamous after he embezzled money from his employer and then used it to win, and then subsequently lose millions in a Las Vegas casino.

There have been very few high stakes gamblers who have actually made it and managed to keep their money. One was Kerry Packer, a high stakes gambler that won $26 million playing blackjack at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Another is Archie Karas who borrow $10,000 and turned it into a $17 dollar fortune.

Perhaps one of the most famous amateur players who made the big time the improbably named Chris Moneymaker, an amateur player who walked away with a cool $2 million and the championship after lasting out all comers in the 2003 World Series of Poker at Binion's Horseshoe. This was within one year of learning how to play poker online.