In a previous article published on Casinoz, we told you about the most popular urban legends of Las Vegas. The truth of many of them is still under question. It makes them spicy, but still gives a dubious shrug.
But in the gambling capital of the United States there were amazing events witnessed by numerous eyewitnesses. Of course, many of them are connected with casinos. One of the most famous stories is about William Lee Bergstrom called The Suitcase Man.
It took place in the early eighties of the twentieth century in the Horseshoe Casino, owned by Benny Binion. For over thirty years, it acquired all sorts of details probabaly invented by storytellers. After reviewing numerous interpretations of this story, we selected only the most reliable facts repeated in all versions of this story.
So William Lee Bergstrom was a native of Austin, the capital of Texas. For many years he s successfully selled horses there and gained a big fortune. Once he heard that Benny Binion made a rule in his Horseshoe Casino that first bet of a casino customer could be of any size and then used as the maximum limit for that day. Apparently, William was very excited because this proposal intrigued him, and he decided to try his luck.
Bergstrom arrived in Las Vegas and immediately went to the Horseshoe with two suitcases of cash. There was $777,000 there. He bet it all on Don't Pass Line in craps. He threw six shooter which became Point and two shots gave seven points. It meant that Bergstrom won 1:1. He took the money and immediately left the casino. William later explained that he wanted to bet a million dollars right away, but he could not afford it.
There are few people who can resist to challenge the fortune one more time after big win. Bergstrom was not one of them. Some time later he returned to the Horseshoe Casino and bet $590,000. It's hard to say why he chose this amount but it's not important. The main thing is that William won again. Later luck smiled at him twice: first at the bet of $190,000, then $90,000.
Tragic outcome came in 1984. Bergstrom made a bet of one million dollars and as often happens in such cases lost. Three months later he shot himself in one of the hotel rooms on the Las Vegas Strip. They say he was morally crippled after the last loss, though while playing in Horseshoe Casino he won the total of $647,000. But most likely the reason of suicide was not it.
Whatever it was, he went down in history as The Suitcase Man and to this day he is the most famous Las Vegas High Roller.
