One of the most noted intense streaks in casino gaming occurred in 1873 at the legendary Beaux-Arts Casino in Monte Carlo, Monaco, when Joseph Jagger went in the casino on July seventh and started placing bets on 9 particular numbers on the roulette wheel. In a short time, The lucky player had won approximately half a million francs.
While this was impressive in itself, Jagger continued for 3 days, until finally he worked the total win to about 2 million francs, while other players copying his bets to take advantage of the streak.
However, as Monte Carlo casino personnel quickly discovered, Jagger’s amazing streak was due to further than just great fortune. Joseph Jagger had worked for years on a theory that some roulette wheels were biased due to the scale of the wheel. He had sent high level scouts to archive the outcomes of the wheel spins and had found a particular bias on a certain wheel towards the nine numbers he was playing.
Casino personnel moved the broken wheel, but after a short losing streak, Jagger realized what had happened. Armed along this new knowledge, he hunted for his old wheel. He managed to discover it and collected even more wins.
Eventually, the casino made some changes on the wheel itself, and Joseph Jagger’s amazing streak was finally over. He went home along his millions of francs and an anecdote that made him a legend as a “Man who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo.”
