High roller

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This article is about the gambling term. For other uses, see High roller (disambiguation).

A high roller, also referred to as a whale in the casino industry, is a gambler that wagers large amounts of money. Because of potential windfall these high sums can bring to the casinos, high rollers often receive increasingly lavish "perks" from casinos to lure them onto the gambling floors, such as free private jet transfers, free limousine use and free use of the casinos best suites.

These players often have tables with very high table limits that can shut out almost all other players, allowing the whale exclusive use of a table.

High rollers are said to provide only a small fraction of casino "action." John Eidsmoe, in his book Legalized Gambling: America's Bad Bet, claims that it is actually gamblers from the lower and lower-middle classes in the United States that provide much of the gambling money. "The occasional wealthly 'high roller' does indeed exist, but he is the exception, not the standard. The fact that more than 50% of Nevada's gambling income comes from slot machines as opposed to the card tables should be an indication high rollers are not the main source of revenue."^[1]

While high rollers may not provide a significant portion of the revenues in the Casino Industry as a whole as stated above, for the casinos who go after them, they have a major effect on their yearly revenue streams. There are also significant costs associated with attracting the highest stakes gamblers, therefore if a casino takes this chance and the whale wins, it can cause major financial problems for the casino. On the reverse side if the casino's investment pays off and the high roller loses on his visit, the casino can experience significant revenue gains for the year. <Whale Hunt in the Desert by Deke Castleman>