Zeljko Ranogajec is a professional gambler from Australia, with an annual, global betting turnover that is claimed to be over $1 billion.
Contents |
Ranogajec was born in Hobart, Australia, in a family of Croatian immigrants[1]. He was a Commerce and Law student of the University of Tasmania, studying tax, finance and banking, when he began card counting in Blackjack at the Wrest Point Casino, where he later also worked as a part-time employee[2]. While working there, Ranogajec met his future wife and business partner, Shelley Wilson, who was a full-time employee[2]. He subsequently relocated to the mainland in New South Wales where he transferred his studies to the University of NSW in Sydney from which he eventually dropped out of to concentrate fully on advantage gambling.
While he was playing blackjack, and according to professional blackjack players[3], Ranogajec was "one of the most prolific and innovative advantage players of all time". His starting bankroll was allegedly "a few hundred dollars", through which he won "millions".
Eventually, Ranogajec was banned from most casinos in Australia, starting with Wrest Point, the Jupiters Casino on the Gold Coast, and then, after he moved overseas, in the United States as well[2]. Ranogajec, by that time, was already moving to other areas of advantage play, in any area of gambling where an advantage could be identified.
In 2011, Ranogajec was inducted into the Blackjack Hall of Fame[3].
In 1994, Ranogajec reportedly won a $7.5 million Keno jackpot at the leisure and entertainment complex North Ryde RSL Club, of New South Wales, after reportedly [4] betting "significantly more than $7.5 million" to win it but coming out ahead on account of the additional, smaller prizes awarded along the way to the jackpot.
Ranogajec, according to insider accounts[4], deployed, for his horse betting activities, a strategy combined of specific factors: identifying betting opportunities with as high liquidity as possible, meaning betting pools with significant money being bet by the regular gambling public; deploying a "highly sophisticated betting system"; identifying small margins, on which he bets significant amounts of money; and, importantly, closing deals with bookmakers, including industry leader TabCorp, for significant rebates on his bets. The latter has created controversy in the horse betting world, with many punters complaining about the alleged deal[5]. A TabCorp spokesman stated, in response to the media reports, that the corporation "investigated the incidents" and found "no evidence of illegal activity", but reminded the betting public that "the offering of tote-odds betting products by corporate bookmakers has inherent risks of pool manipulation [by large bettors]."[5]
Ranogajec reportedly accounts for 6-8% of Australian bookmaker TabCorp’s $10 billion annual revenue[6].
Ranogajec has gradually organised an extensive network of spotters, analysts, bettors and administrators, directing activities from office space he is allegedly occupying in the Fox Sports building at 235 Pyrmont Street[7], in Sydney's inner suburb of Pyrmont[8]. Gambling insiders claim that he employs directly or indirectly between 30 to more than 100 staff "just to analyse form"[8].
By most accounts, Ranogajec is secretive and does not give interviews[2]. According to some reports, there could be some intentional confusion as to his real name, whereby he'd be using his wife's surname, registering as John Wilson for investment or gambling endeavors[2], .
The secrecy extends to his exact wealth, on which only speculations are being made, as he has never been mentioned in a "Richest Australians" list. A reporter claims that he was able to contact a relative of Ranogajec from his father's side, who asked not to be named, and who told him that Ranogajec is a "multi-billionaire"[4]. The reporter ostensibly met Ranogajec in person, while the latter was in Mosman, and asked him if he was indeed the world's biggest punter. Ranogajec supposedly replied "I believe that's absolutely untrue" and assured the reporter that all the talk about the magnitude of his betting and wealth is "all just a big exaggeration"[4].