Despite the old tourism slogan, things that happen in Vegas never stay there for long. Especially crazy cool and interesting stories like these. Las Vegas aint called Sin City for no reason, pal. Most people who visit the world gambling capital probably come away with some kind of crazy story – but what are some of the most sublime, ridiculous, stupid and incredible stories from Las Vegas’ recent past?
This article will discuss four such examples, across a range of themes from two unlikely winners of life changing gambling prizes, to an achievement you might not expect from Sin City, and a story you very much would. These are four cool things that sound incredible, but really happened in Las Vegas.
Amateur Poker Player Turns $40 Online into a $2.5M Payday at the World Series of Poker
In 2003, Chris Moneymaker (yes, really) was an accountant working in Tennessee, when he won a $40 online poker tournament, which bought him a $650 online qualifier for the $10,000 World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas. He almost opted to swap the $650 ticket for cash, but instead won the tournament and booked his ticket to Las Vegas – where he went on to win it all for $2.5 million.
Moneymaker’s remarkable victory occurred in the early days of online gambling. Today, platforms like the betway app have changed the way online gambling works, with everything from sports betting to video poker to live blackjack all in one place.
The recreational online player beat dozens of high stakes professional on his way to the Main Event title, including knocking out legend Phil Ivey into 10th place. His heads up game against Sam Farha swung on a gutsy bluff with King high, but his pro opponent folded a pair of nines to end up very short stacked. The rest was history. Moneymaker’s big win sparked a huge boom in interest in online poker that lasted for at least half a decade in the US and it remains one of Las Vegas’ craziest ever gambling stories.
Las Vegas is Quietly One of the World’s Best Water Recyclers
Here’s one you might not know, from looking at the city’s lush green golf courses and spectacular fountains at least. Despite being a luxurious oasis in the otherwise very dry and relatively barren Mojave Desert, or maybe because of it, Las Vegas is actually a world leader in water conservation and recycling.
The city recycles almost 99% of the water that it uses, cleaning it and sending it back to Lake Mead reservoir. Despite ever increasing tourism and urban sprawl (until 2025 at least) Las Vegas has not even nearly used up its state allocation of water supplies once in the last 20 years. Which is good, because Lake Mead is not as healthy as it once was, and the projections for the Colorado River’s supply aren’t great. Meaning many in the region will look to Las Vegas as a model to preserve all the water it can get in the next few years.
World War II Veteran Hits Two Life Changing Jackpots on the Las Vegas Strip
Elmer Sherwin’s first massive jackpot win happened in 1989, at the opening night of the Mirage Las Vegas casino resort. Sherwin, then 76, hit fot $4.6 million on a Megabucks slot machine after spending roughly 90 minutes and $100.
16 years later in 2005, Sherwin was back at the Megabucks machines. This time in the Cannery Casino in North Las Vegas. The then 92-year-old hit a $21 million jackpot, which was the largest in Las Vegas history at the time. Being advanced in age, Sherwin donated away much of the massive windfall to family, friends and local charities, before he died in 2007 at the age of 93.
Hitting one life changing gambling jackpot would most probably be good enough for almost anyone. But throughout history, there are a few very lucky people who hit massive wins twice. Elmer Sherwin, Nevada native, World War II veteran and philanthropist, was one of them.
The Judge’s Son and the $1.5 Million Casino Chip Heist
This dramatic Las Vegas story sounds like something straight out of a casino heist movie – but it really happened. The year was 2010, and after running up gambling and drug debts, young Anthony Carleo, the son of local Nevada judge George Assad, put on a motorcycle helmet and drove his motorbike to the Bellagio casino.
He parked it illegally right outside the entrance, walked in, stole $1.5 million worth of casino chips and ran right out, onto his bike and away into the night. The case sparked much media attention, and for a while the culprit was infamously known as The Bellagio Bandit.
However, Carleo was arrested seven weeks later after drunkenly trying to sell the chips to an undercover police officer. That arrest also connected him to a theft of $19,000 in cash from the Suncoast Casino in north Las Vegas just days earlier. He ended up sentenced to nine years in prison. His father was voted off as a municipal court judge, but did eventually return to prominence as a member of the Nevada Gaming Control Board.