Tales of the Online Casino: The $35m Record Roulette Win

Courage, crassness and all-out chicanery is all it takes to break the bank.  That is how the most audacious fraudster of his time brought Monte Carlo Casino to its knees.  Did Charles De Ville Wells have a roulette strategy or betting system in-play?  That is for you to find out!

How to Break the Bank 12 Times in Under 24 Hours

How does one man win 23 consecutive spins of the roulette wheel?  Let alone break the bank 12 times in less than 24 hours?  With great difficulty, one would expect.  Had Charles De Ville Wells been gambling at a dilapidated sawdust joint in Downtown Vegas, the antics would be all the more believable… but, the feted gambling destination of emperors and kings?  Hardly!

A Winning System for the Online Casino?

Whatever his secret, one thing is for sure.  It was not sleight of hand or a biased roulette wheel that delivered the largest ever roulette win in history.  What was it – and can the system be carried over to an online casino, like Springbok Casino?

Before we reveal how Wells pulled off the greatest gambling stunt in living memory, let’s take a closer look at the man, himself.

Who was Charles De Ville Wells?

Charles was the youngest son of the eminent British poet, Charles Jeremiah Wells.  In his youth, the elder Wells hobnobbed with legendary wordsmiths, John Keats and John Hamilton Reynolds.

Despite his excellent education and refined upbringing, Charles junior proved to be a bit of a rogue.  He was also a brilliant engineer.  He invented all sorts of devices, from speed regulators for ships’ propellors to musical skipping ropes… and that is when things started going awry.

An Engineer and a Fraud

Despite selling many of his more intriguing patents for several thousand pounds – a small fortune in those days – Wells began setting up the first of many dodgy schemes.  His plan was to ‘build’ a railway in France with investors’ funds.  He disappeared with the monies instead.

Wells was tried by a Parisian court and convicted in absentia.  Over in jolly old England, he was up to his old tricks again.  The convicted felon convinced a host of Englishmen to invest in his clever inventions… which really did not exist at all.

What did Wells do with his ill-gotten gains?  He popped across to France and headed directly for the fabled Casino de Monte Carlo!

Taming the Roulette Wheel at the Casino de Monte Carlo

We do not know how he did it… but Wells promptly won 23 out of 30 spins at the roulette table.  He scooped up all the cash reserves at the table, and in doing so, ‘broke the bank’.

What we do know is he consistently increased his stake, until he was playing at the table limit.  By the end of the day, Charles De Ville Wells had won one million French Francs.  He bust the bank six times!

Read about Positive Progression Betting Systems at Springbok Casino

What Charles did sounds remarkably similar to the positive progression betting techniques that are routinely employed at the online casino.  At Springbok Casino, we feature articles on both negative and positive progression systems.

If you want to learn more about the most popular roulette betting methods, head over to the Roulette Betting Tips page now for clear and concise help on ways to up our game – and your winnings.

A Straight Up Bet on Number 5… and Let It Ride!

Now, how did Wells double his money?  The very next day he returned to the casino.  This time he bet on the number 5 and let the bet ride.  Despite the fact the casino had examined the wheel, questioned the croupier and watched Wells’ every move, he managed to emulate his feat of the previous day… but in just half an hour!

Cash Winnings of the Equivalent of R508.3 Million

All in all, Wells banked 2 million French Francs in less than two days in 1891.  When you take inflation into account, that amounts to a sum of more than $35 million dollars at today’s conversion rate.  In the context of Springbok Online Casino, that is the equivalent of just over R508.3 million in real money winnings!

How Did Wells Win So Much Money?

How did Wells pull it off?  With his track record, the odds are it was more a heist than an extended hot streak.  What we do know is he increased his stake every time his number came in.  We also know betting systems have no impact whatsoever on the actual house edge – at the Casino de Monte Carlo or an online casino.

Could it have been a Special Device?

Did Wells design a device that somehow skewed the results in his favour?  It is quite possible, especially considering his method on the second day.  As you no doubt remember, he played exactly the same number… and it won every time.

The only problem with this theory is after a suitable hiatus, Charles De Ville Wells did return to Casino de Monte Carlo.  At this point he was a very rich man.  He played roulette at the same table.  Whether he adopted the same betting methods, nobody knows.

On this occasion, Wells apparently lost around 100,000 French Francs.  If he had relied on a device, surely he would have used it again? If it wasn’t his betting technique or some kind of gadget, then there is really only one other possibility.

In This Case It May Be ‘Fortune Favours the Brave’!

Dare we say that the seasoned swindler who conned hundreds of people out of their money must have simply been incredibly lucky!  As they say in the classics; ‘Fortune Favours the Brave’.

Charles De Ville Wells was many things – innovator, inveterate gambler, convict and fraud.  He was also brave in a kind of weird sense of the word.  Perhaps ‘audacious’ is a better linguistic choice.  Wells may not have covered himself in glory – but his astonishing track record at the casino has left a legacy all of its own…

Play Roulette at Springbok Casino, Set a Record of Your Own

Will Wells’ record win ever be broken?  It is hard to imagine anyone winning more than R500 million playing roulette – be it at a lavish gambling hall or an online casino.  Why not see how much you can win playing roulette online at Springbok Casino?

Who knows, you may be able to set the record at the online casino… by using the number 5 as a fortuitous starting point!