I turned $1,500 into $1MILLION playing blackjack – but threw half of it away after making a series of stupid decisions
A gambler who won $1 million in a virtual blackjack challenge has urged people not to fall into the trap of gambling away large sums of money after losing half the money.
Tim Meyers, 31, from New Zealand, turned a risky $1,500 bet into a huge seven-figure sum by playing the popular casino card game online.
Mr Meyers, who has more than a million followers on Instagram, started his blackjack challenge by betting ten cents for each of his followers every day.
Tim Meyers (pictured with his girlfriend), 31, from New Zealand, turned a risky $1,500 bet into a huge seven-figure sum by playing the popular casino card game online
The size of his bets increased as his follower count grew, and on the 50th day of the virtual challenge, Mr. Meyers wagered more than $32,000 per hand for his more than 320,000 followers.
With a lot of luck, the gambler managed to win $1 million on May 4 after placing a bet of $115,000.
But the former blacksmith’s luck had to run out one day and after suffering losses of more than $100,000 per day, he decided to place a final bet of $195,000 on the 90th day of the challenge.
Mr. Meyers lost that bet, leaving him with $500,000.
“There is no secret to winning, but there is a secret to not losing and that’s just not gambling,” he said. news.com.au
Mr. Meyers, who is currently in Calgary, Canada, where he is traveling with his fiancée, said his aggressive gambling style ultimately cost him a lot of money.
The day after placing his last bet, he told his Instagram followers that he would no longer be taking part in the challenge.
Mr Meyers explained that losing $500,000 was difficult to cope with and urged people not to gamble with large sums of money.
“Hiding that up at the end was a stark reality check for myself and also for all the followers,” Mr. Meyers said.
“It’s certainly not something anyone should try to replicate.”
Mr. Meyers said he saw the bright side of the situation — as you would after making $500,000.
He said he will come back after a short break and participate in more online gambling challenges.
The gains Mr. Meyers has made have come in handy.
He has paid for his wedding to his fiancée and has also paid off part of his mortgage on an estate he owns in New Zealand.