Tom Wood
A man from London once sold everything he owned, flew to Las Vegas, and chucked all of his money in the world on a roughly 50/50 roulette bet. Here's a video showing how the whole thing went down.
He picked red, in case you were wondering.
At the time, Ashley Revell was 32-years-old and decided that he wanted to take a chance.
Advert
For many people that means something like applying for a new job, or taking out a loan to start your own business, but for Revell it meant something completely different.
In 2004, he got rid of everything he owned and set off for the gambling capital of the world - Las Vegas - armed with $135,300 and a bet that he had a more than 50 per cent chance of losing.
He stuck it all on red, ready to put himself through hell.
Advert
If he won, he’d double his life savings.
If he lost, he’d be left with nothing but his regrets.
Even in the storied history of the Plaza Hotel and Casino, that’s a big spin of the wheel.
Revell came prepared, bringing a whole film crew along with him.
Advert
In an attempt to bolster his betting pot, Revell even agreed to change his name by deed poll to 'Ashley Blue Square Revell' after a UK-based online gambling site called – you’ve guessed it – Blue Square agreed to put up some dough.
There were some setbacks along the way though, as he’d originally wanted to put the bet down at the Hard Rock Hotel, but they refused to accept the wager.
Luckily, in Las Vegas, you usually don’t have to look too far for someone who will take a bet.
The roulette wheel must have seemed to be turning in slow motion for Revell, but that agony turned to ecstasy when it landed on Red 7.
Advert
That meant that he’d turned the $135,300 into $270,600, as well as gaining a hell of an anecdote to tell.
After winning the bet, Revell used some of the money to start up an online poker website called Poker UTD, although that went out of business in 2012.
The whole thing was filmed for a Sky One documentary that was called Double or Nothing, as well as Revell’s story being featured in an E! special called THS Investigates: Vegas Winners & Losers.
Advert
It's always better to be in the ‘winners’ section of shows like that.
He also provided the inspiration for a show that was created by Simon Cowell, which was called Red or Black?
See if you can work out the premise of that game show for yourselves.
These days, Revell isn't in the public eye quite as much, but he’ll always have the memory of that fateful day in Las Vegas when he gambled everything and won.