We show you how the richest gambling billionaires affect the gambling industry and the world economy as a whole. We’ve analysed the numbers and investigated the stories of the top gambling titans and how they innovated the game.
Top Casino Moguls And Their Empires

Table of contents
- Meet the 13 Billionaires of the Gambling World
- How Much Money Can a Casino Make?
- 7 Casino Owners Who Made Their Fortunes as Billionaires
- Miriam Adelson
- Denise Coates
- James Packer
- Pansy Ho
- Steve and Elaine Wynn
- Tilman Fertitta
- Mark Scheinberg
- The Only Billionaire Gambler: Bill Benter
- The Most Successful Gambler in Ireland’s History: Noel Furlong
- 7 Rich Gamblers Who Haven’t Made It to Billionaire Status
- Is It Possible to Earn a Living Through Gambling?
Meet the 13 Billionaires of the Gambling World
How Much Money Can a Casino Make?
Casinos can be a very profitable business if managed correctly, as our 13 billionaires from gambling prove with their land-based and online operations. Not all casino owners are billionaires, and getting a casino business rolling is no easy task. The lion’s share in the industry is reserved to high-end casinos like those in Las Vegas or Macau. However, those who operate legally and provide a top-level service still have a great potential for success in the industry. Some of the listed casino owners are linked with top ireland casinos that we recommend ourselves, for example PokerStars Casino. The revenue of casinos is mainly derived from the house edge, defined as a percentage of the amount which casinos earn from each game.
What are the most profitable games for casino owners?
Land-based slots are the most profitable games for casino owners, with a house edge of up to 20%. The edge for other games varies between 0.4% to 20%. Online slots sites tend to have better payouts, and a house edge of up to 5%, because an online platform can derive its profits from a diverse game catalogue and doesn’t need to pay for rent, electricity, waiters and other land-based expenses. For players, Blackjack is the most profitable casino game. It’s known for its lowest casino advantage, which ranges between 0.4% and 1.5% depending on strategy and the variant you play.
The highest-grossing casino
Founded by Sheldon Adelson and now owned by Miriam Adelson, Las Vegas Sands is the world’s top casino, with total revenue of $13.74 billion.
7 Casino Owners Who Made Their Fortunes as Billionaires
Let’s go deeper into the lives and careers of the most successful billionaires from gambling.
Miriam Adelson

Source: i24news.tv
Miriam Adelson: the wealthiest of Las Vegas casino owners
Miriam Adelson, the widow of casino kingmaker Sheldon Adelson, became the owner of the world’s largest casino Las Vegas Sands when he died in January 2021. She is one of the top billionaires in gambling, with a net worth of $27.5 billion.
Sheldon Reveals his wealth and legacy
Denise Coates

Source: ft.com
Denise Coates: highest-paid boss in Britain
The highest-paid casino owner in the gambling industry, Denise Coates, has an approximate salary of $508 million per year. She launched bet365 in 2001. The betting site gave her the renown of a pioneer investor in the potential of online gambling. The investment paid off and in 2016, bet365 became one of the world’s biggest and highest-grossing online casinos.
Topping the Sunday Times’ tax list
At the beginning of her journey in the industry, Denise Coates couldn’t find any venture capitalist to invest in her project. She started her website with the help of a loan of £15 million from the Royal Bank of Scotland. Now she stands at the top of the Sunday Times tax list for the third consecutive year. In January 2022, her family paid approximately $550 million as tax.
James Packer

Source: bbc.com
James Packer, one of the richest Australians
James Packer, son of media mogul Kerry Packer, is Australia’s richest casino owner and investor. Although he is a media person, he amassed most wealth from the casino industry, especially from Crown Resorts. His Crown Resorts in Melbourne and Perth had approximately 31 million visits in 2016, although a third of its revenue was generated in Asian countries.
A real example of humanity
Pansy Ho

Source: celebritynetworth.com
Pansy Ho: The Richest of Macau Casino Owners
The daughter of Stanley Ho, the undisputed king of China’s gambling Mecca, Pansy Ho followed in her father’s footsteps and is now the richest casino owner in Macau. Presently, Pansy Ho owns the most profitable casinos in Macau and holds major shares in MGM China and SJM Holdings. She also owns Shun Tak Holdings, a company in Hong Kong with core business interests ranging from shipping, real estate, hospitality, and investments.
Steve and Elaine Wynn

Source: wsj.com
Casino moguls Steve and Elaine Wynn
Steve and Elaine Wynn founded the Mirage Resorts, which was eventually acquired by MGM Grand and Wynn Resorts. Their combined net worth is $5.5 billion. Wynn Resorts operates many luxury hotels and casinos across the US.
Elaine Wynn testifies against Steve Wynn
Tilman Fertitta

Source: tmc.edu
Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta, the top iGaming operator in New Jersey
Tilman Fertitta, the owner of Landry’s Inc., a chain of 600 hotels, restaurants, and casinos, is an American billionaire businessman and one of the most successful casino owners. He entered the casino industry after taking over Golden Nugget casinos in 2005. He received the top iGaming operator of the year award for four consecutive years.
‘Don’t follow your passion’
Mark Scheinberg

Source: highstakesdb.com
Mark Scheinberg, the richest person on the Isle of Man
Mark Scheinberg is the co-founder and former CEO of PokerStars, one of the world’s largest online platforms for poker and online gambling, controlling two-thirds of the online poker market. Scheinberg sold PokerStars to Amaya Gaming for $4.9 billion in 2014, and he pocketed 75% of the deal, approximately $3 billion.
PokerStars hosted the biggest online poker tournament in 2000
PokerStars hosted the first largest tournament with 149,196 participants in 2000. In 2001, the number of participants increased to 200,000 and in 2013, it reached 225,000.
The Only Billionaire Gambler: Bill Benter

Source: sportmagazine.it
Who is Bill Benter?
Bill Benter is an American billionaire gambler known as ‘the man who broke the horse racing code’. His mathematics skills aided him in developing his own analysis model, popularly known as Benter’s model, that he would successfully use for horse racing predictions and value betting. Gamblers today still use this model for horse betting.
Bill Benter’s Professional Gambling Journey
The Most Successful Gambler in Ireland’s History: Noel Furlong

Source: racingpost.com
Notable facts of his life
- Noel Furlong is a notable poker player
- He won a $1 million prize in the 1999 World Series of Poker
- Noel started playing poker in 1984, and he soon became a familiar face in several poker tournaments
- Noel won the Irish Poker Open, the largest tournament after WSOP, in 1987 and 1989
- He also amassed wealth (approximately $1.5 million) from horse betting
- Professionally, he was a manufacturer and distributor of carpets
7 Rich Gamblers Who Haven’t Made It to Billionaire Status
How Much Do Professional Gamblers Make?
A professional gambler’s salary varies along with their luck, so we can’t give an exact average. The values are different from country to country and from city to city. Still, according to our estimates, the yearly payout of a professional gambler ranges between $29,000 and $61,000. The gamblers presented here have crossed this number big time.
Is It Possible to Earn a Living Through Gambling?
The gambling industry is popular for its sudden ups and downs, and not everyone can make money from it. To be successful, you must at all times be aware of your odds and the risks involved. The most successful gamblers possess:
- A proper mindset
- Patience
- Discipline
- Great analytical and mathematical skills
Can You Join the Group of Billionaires from Gambling?
A professional approach to gambling is essential to becoming successful. Gamblers like Bill Benter with a strong vision and intelligence attained billionaire status not only for his intelligence, but sizable investments as well. For most people, these investments are impossible, so it would be better if you kept your interest in gambling for only entertainment purposes.
Meet Our Experts

Author
Adela Mariuta
Author & Editor

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