Another name to add to the list of mega whales?

A few weeks back we wrote a post about the whale’s whales.  Gamblers with the combined deep pockets and gambling appetite to put them in a league of their own on the blackjack and baccarat tables in high rollers’ rooms.  Kerry Packer, The Sultan of Brunei and Adnan Khashoggi seemed to be the undisputed gambling heavyweights according to published reports.

Their may well be another name to add to this list.

According to a report the BBC’s website today, a well known Russian billionaire with a love of Premier League football (Chelsea in particular) and very, very big boats today settled a libel case in the High Court with Italian newspaper La Repubblica.  La Repubblica had reported last May that said billionaire had a gambling problem that had seen him part with a half million Euro yacht to settle a debt, been a contributing factor in a split with his long term partner, and also involved playing online.

Now given this individual is quick on the trigger when it comes to libel actions, and he probably has an all-star legal team every bit as expensive and talented as his football team, I’m loath to name names.  But just in case the Russian billionaire, Premier League football clues didn’t give it away for you, here are a couple more:

– his first name is what you might call someone from Rome

– his surname starts with an ‘A’ and rhymes with sandwich

Still don’t get it? OK, one last clue.

He is currently building a yacht that will cost US$1.2 billion, is 560ft long, and comes complete with with missile defense and intruder detection systems and an anti-paparazzi system that detects digital cameras and blinds them with laser bursts. It’s the largest and most expensive private yacht ever built.

If you still don’t know who I’m talking about check the BBC page here.

Now a couple of observations.  Everything in life is relative and I’d argue that a man who loses a half million Euro yacht in a bet doesn’t have a gambling problem when he gets around in $1.2 billion dollar yachts.  I once lost a $30 ebay purchased bicycle when I bet someone I could hold a wheelie for more than 10 metres and don’t consider myself to be a problem gambler.   Relatively speaking, his loss is no more fiscally damaging than mine was and is therefore hardly evidence of compulsive gambling behaviour.

Maybe losing just the one yacht in a poker game is responsible gambling when you’re a billionaire?

So I reckon La Repubblica’s claims are most likely a gross exaggeration….

HOWEVER

If a man who gets around in $1.2 billion yachts , and who was worth $23 billion in 2008 (according to Forbes) does in fact have a gambling problem, then surely he must be one of the biggest gamblers in the history of the world?

Maybe the Eclipse will some day be part of the biggest poker pot the world has ever seen!