If you believe in gambling and its power to turn middle class men with many dreams to fulfill into true billionaire tycoons, you must believe in the power of roulette to accomplish that task. A game of pure chance where it is difficult to predict where the ball, adored by millions of players, will fall. Some have attempted historical tricks to make the oval a manageable discipline, and it hasn’t always come to nothing. But there are times when all this is not necessary because luck just smiles at you.
This is what happened to a man who is increasingly known as Mike Ashley. And it’s not just because of the game that he’s known, but because he’s closely connected to the world of football. This guy is the owner of Newcastle United of the English Premier League and also owns the UK’s largest sporting goods retailer. His net worth is estimated to be around £1,970million, although it has exceeded £2,000million in previous years. Surely some will wonder what such a guy has to do with roulette, but his story is surprising.
Ashley was surprised from childhood and seemed like a normal boy. At the age of 16 he left school and focused on his passion and his childhood sport, squash. However, an unfortunate injury prevented him from continuing his career at the county level. Nevertheless, he found a solution that would be valid for his professional future and his future linked to the world of sports. At the age of 18 he opened a sports shop Thanks to a loan he asked his family for, he was able to ski. Business soon took off and boomed.
After receiving private funding, he opened more shops in different parts of the English geography, creating a veritable empire. Sports Direct, or Frasers Group as it’s now known, is one of the most powerful industries in retail. A real achievement that Mike did not want to settle for, because elite sport had to have an important relationship with him at all costs. In 2008 he bought shares in Newcastle United and acquired more than 40% of the club in his hands. He gradually gained more and more power until he took over 100% of the company for a total value of £134m.
He was also present in Scottish football, will carry a lot of weight with the Rangers. Things were different there and the fans of the team turned on him after several decisions that were more in line with economic than sporting interests. Eventually he gave up his capital in favor of a new company set up by the fans themselves to make this great Scottish club their own and retired. The guy who preferred to carry his mobile phone in a plastic bag rather than his pocket or holdall focused on investing in Newcastle and the casinos. Because yes, he is a renowned player. And not just any player.
Although she doesn’t do it for a living, Ashley often visits UK casinos and bets on her favorite lucky numbers. AND he is 17as he wanted to demonstrate in 2008. After buying the club, nicknamed “The Magpies”, one day he decided to go and go to London FiftyLondon Casino to spend a while having fun and betting. It’s the eccentricities that billionaires have and can afford given the size of their checking accounts. That afternoon he decided to play roulette and bet on 17, and he did so until his number came up.
Interestingly, he hadn’t wasted much money at the table, so Mike surrounded the 17 of the bets and focused on the looks of this character. He bet straight on the number 17, one of the riskiest bets in strategy in this game and Enter pounds in all even bets on the pitch where 17 has been entered. That is, he bet on black, he bet on odd and he bet on any number from 1 to 18. Together he amassed the stake of £480,000 and the ball decided it was going to be his lucky afternoon. Awarded £1.3million in front of an arcade who applauded and cheered him as he left.
The tycoon came out with a spectacular sum of money after just 15 minutes of play. A few more zeros to add to his immense fortune, the fortune of one of Britain’s 100 richest men. European roulette will always be remembered by him because it allowed him to achieve it, even if it was rather succinct in words. Almost ironically, when Ashley saw her bet won, she said, “I think this will help, thanks a lot.”
17 is his number and he shows it every weekend by celebrating his team’s goals with fans in the stands while wearing a jersey with those numbers on the back. Of course he does it less and more each time after being relegated to the second tier of English football. He is currently negotiating to buy the club with an investment fund from Saudi Arabia and another major company from the US who have made an offer. Names of highly regarded footballers at European level are popping up in their pools for the next transfer market, although there are also bureaucratic issues with this move they want to make.
Perhaps Ashley’s golden retirement in the future can be to hit the casino like she did on that lucky afternoon, although it will be difficult for her to repeat a feat of this magnitude.
