Las Vegas - A British man who sold all his possessions, including his clothes, stood in a rented tuxedo on Sunday surrounded by family and friends and bet everything on a single spin of the roulette wheel.
He won't go home empty-handed.
Ashley Revell, a 32-year-old Londoner, sold all his possessions in March, took $135 300 (about R940 000) to the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas, did some low stakes gambling and then placed everything he had left on "Red".
'It couldn't happen to a nicer guy'
The wheel was spun, a crowd of supporters including his Mum and Dad from London went wild, the ball bobbled over the slots and landed on Red 7 - and Revell walked away with $270 600.
"It all happened so quickly, it was spinning before I knew it," Revell said, adding he did not intend to try to double it again. He gave a $600 tip to the croupier and plans to party - and buy some clothes.
"It's really down to my friends and family and Mum and Dad," he told Reuters Television. "I knew even if I lost I'd always have a home to go to."
"I'm still against it," said his Dad. "He shouldn't have done it. He's a naughty boy. I tell my kids they shouldn't gamble. I've got four others and they're all going to want to go the same way."
"It's just brilliant," said Ashley Hames, a friend from London in Las Vegas for the occasion. "He's put his neck on the line and got away with it. It's absolutely great."
"It bobbled for a second and I just thought, 'Oh no, it's not going to do it,'" said another friend, James Frederick. "But it did and I'm made up for him. It couldn't happen to a nicer guy."
Asked if he wanted to try his luck again, Revell said: "No that's it for me. I think he'd like me to do it again, but no that's it," gesturing to a casino host. "I don't want to ride my luck," he said as the champagne began to flow.
This week, the gambling spirits had seemed against him. He put in a week gambling about $3 000 in a bid to raise his pot.
By Wednesday, he was down $1 000.
Revell, recently a professional gambler, said he decided to take a big plunge while he was still young and had raised the stakes as high as possible, including selling his clothes.
"I like to do things properly," he said.
Revell said he had planned to have a friend videotape his bet-it-all spin, but Britain's Sky One television decided it was worth a short reality series, called Double Or Nothing.
Sky will not pay him, he says, but a crew from Dai4 Films has followed his preparations and covered the spin at the Plaza Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. It also plans to follow him for a month afterward.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=29&art_id=qw1081774261188B211&set_id=1
He won't go home empty-handed.
Ashley Revell, a 32-year-old Londoner, sold all his possessions in March, took $135 300 (about R940 000) to the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas, did some low stakes gambling and then placed everything he had left on "Red".
'It couldn't happen to a nicer guy'
The wheel was spun, a crowd of supporters including his Mum and Dad from London went wild, the ball bobbled over the slots and landed on Red 7 - and Revell walked away with $270 600.
"It all happened so quickly, it was spinning before I knew it," Revell said, adding he did not intend to try to double it again. He gave a $600 tip to the croupier and plans to party - and buy some clothes.
"It's really down to my friends and family and Mum and Dad," he told Reuters Television. "I knew even if I lost I'd always have a home to go to."
"I'm still against it," said his Dad. "He shouldn't have done it. He's a naughty boy. I tell my kids they shouldn't gamble. I've got four others and they're all going to want to go the same way."
"It's just brilliant," said Ashley Hames, a friend from London in Las Vegas for the occasion. "He's put his neck on the line and got away with it. It's absolutely great."
"It bobbled for a second and I just thought, 'Oh no, it's not going to do it,'" said another friend, James Frederick. "But it did and I'm made up for him. It couldn't happen to a nicer guy."
Asked if he wanted to try his luck again, Revell said: "No that's it for me. I think he'd like me to do it again, but no that's it," gesturing to a casino host. "I don't want to ride my luck," he said as the champagne began to flow.
This week, the gambling spirits had seemed against him. He put in a week gambling about $3 000 in a bid to raise his pot.
By Wednesday, he was down $1 000.
Revell, recently a professional gambler, said he decided to take a big plunge while he was still young and had raised the stakes as high as possible, including selling his clothes.
"I like to do things properly," he said.
Revell said he had planned to have a friend videotape his bet-it-all spin, but Britain's Sky One television decided it was worth a short reality series, called Double Or Nothing.
Sky will not pay him, he says, but a crew from Dai4 Films has followed his preparations and covered the spin at the Plaza Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. It also plans to follow him for a month afterward.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=29&art_id=qw1081774261188B211&set_id=1
