Posted on: September 16, 2024, 06:59h.
Last updated on: September 16, 2024, 06:59h.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) CEO Dana White’s betting habits and stories are widely known in Las Vegas and beyond, but that legend appears to be growing as he recently acknowledged taking Caesars Palace for a big chunk of change earlier this year.
On a recent episode of the “Full Send” podcast, the UFC boss estimated that between January and March, he won $26 million to $27 million playing baccarat at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip.
Caesars Palace…I clipped these guys for $1 million a night from, like, the first week of January all the way into March,” said White. “I beat these guys for like $26 million, $27 million.”
He added “Caesars is gangster” and is the place to play for high-level gamblers.
Caesars allows White to play $350,000 a hand — a limit extended to him and a small amount of other well-heeled clients. At that level, winning $1 million or more in a night is plausible. It’s also feasible that a bettor could lose substantial sums and White acknowledged there are nights when a bettor can get “wrecked” betting well into six figures per hand.
White Is a Longtime Caesars Fan
White’s methodology, which he reiterated on the “Full Send” podcast, is possibly irksome to some casino operators. If he wins three hands in a row, he takes his winnings and leaves.
That makes for a $1 million+ night for him and a loss of the same amount for the casino that he “victimized.” As a result, many Las Vegas casinos refuse to take White’s action and that’s why he’s long been devoted to Caesars and MGM Resorts International’s Bellagio. On the podcast, he said Caesars will allow him to bet $350,000 per hand while Bellagio will go as high as $400,000.
White, known for his outspoken demeanor, has previously levied criticism against some Las Vegas casinos for refusing to allow him to bet there. In another recent podcast, he called Wynn Las Vegas “a bunch of (slur referencing a female body part)” for not allowing him to wager there at his preferred limits.
Off the Strip, White is known to frequent Red Rock Resort in Summerlin, though he told “Full Send” he plays there at much lower limits because he’s that venue’s only client with the ability to play deep six figures per hand. Red Rock Resorts (NASDAQ:RRR) is controlled by Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, who were early UFC Investors.
White Still Wants to Play $1 Million a Hand
Despite the fact that his biggest losing night was $8 million, White reiterated his longstanding goal of eventually betting a $1 million per hand.
“That’s my goal. That’s my goal in life before I die,” said White on the podcast.
He said under that dream scenario, he’d want a casino to extend to him $30 million in credit so he can play $1 million a hand, but he acknowledged no gaming venue anywhere in the world is likely to indulge him.
