Back in July 2011, news was circulating about billionaire Andy Beal losing a huge chunk of his money playing poker. While Beal was well-known for having his fair share of wins and losses, this particular period was where he was losing more than winning. He reportedly lost around $50 million in just three poker games at a time players were putting buy-ins up to $1 million.
According to the New York Post, these high-stakes poker games also saw participation from Spiderman actor Toby Maguire and another billionaire called Alec Gores. However, Beal’s representatives denied that the amount was as high as $50 million and stated, “The amounts stated in your email to us concerning Mr. Beal are inaccurate. Beyond that, Mr. Beal has no further comment.”
Born as Daniel Andrew Beal on 29th November 1952, he is an American banker, businessman, and investor. He is the founder and chairman of Beal Bank and Beal Bank USA. He has an estimated net worth of $9.49 billion as of December 2021, according to Bloomberg Billionaire Index. He is also self-taught in number theory in mathematics.
Beal has been an active presence in the poker industry since 2001. In between 2001 to 2004, he visited Las Vegas and participated in high-stakes poker games against poker pros. Some of these games included $100,000 to $200,000 buy-ins in Texas Hold’em.
At the Las Vegas Bellagio on 13th May 2004, Beal won one of the largest single hands in poker history—$11.7 million. These games are also recorded in a book called ‘The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King: Inside the Richest Poker Game of All Time’ by Michael Craig.
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He even once lost $16.6 million to poker legend Phil Ivey. This was in 2006 when he won around $13.6 million from the Corporation during daily poker sessions between 12th to 15th February. After this, the games resumed from 21st to 23rd February of the same year. Ivey was representing the Corporation and played against Beal with limits of $30,000/$60,000 and $50,000/$100,000. Beal eventually lost to Ivey in just three days.
Nowadays, it seems that poker has taken a back seat in Beal’s life as he’s no longer as active on the felts as before.
For more interesting stories in the poker world, keep reading Gutshot Magazine. If you’re on social media, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Telegram.
Donna Amo was a writer at Gutshot Magazine. She is a graduate from Sophia College of Women, Mumbai with a degree in English Literature. When this October born foodie is not writing content or poetry, she spends her time laughing at memes or watching series. Based out of Mizoram, she is drawn to all things nature and has a soft spot for puppies.
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