Richard Jarecki
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Richard Wilhelm Jarecki (December 1, 1931 – July 25, 2018) was a German-born American physician who won more than $1 million from a string of European casinos after cracking a pattern in
roulette Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...
wheels.


Early life and education

Jarecki was born on December 1, 1931, in
Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, now the city of
Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...
in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, the son of Gerda (Kunstmann) and Dr. Max Jarecki, a dermatologist.Slotnik, Daniel E
"Richard Jarecki, Doctor Who Conquered Roulette, Dies at 86"
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', August 8, 2018. Accessed August 12, 2018. "He grew up in Asbury Park, N.J., where he graduated from high school and then studied at Duke University before returning to Germany to earn his medical degree at the University of Heidelberg in 1958."
He escaped
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
with his Jewish family and emigrated to the United States in the late 1930s. He was raised in
Asbury Park, New Jersey Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 15,188
and attended
Asbury Park High School Asbury Park High School is a comprehensive high school, comprehensive, four-year community state school, public Secondary education in the United States, high school serving students in ninth grade, ninth through twelfth grades. It is in a land ...
. He attended
Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
and earned a medical degree at
Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...
in his native Germany. He married Carol Fuhse, a nursing student at Jersey Shore Medical Center, while he was completing his residency there. The couple moved to Germany where he continued his studies at the University of Heidelberg and began gambling at casinos.


Gambling

In the 1960s and 1970s, Jarecki started visiting casinos across Europe and began working with his wife Carol and others to keep track of tens of thousands of spins of roulette wheels, often over the course of a month. After analyzing the results, Jarecki was able to determine that some wheels had a subtle bias that made it more likely to land on certain numbers due to imperfections and wear, though he created a cover story that he had used a computer at the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
to crack the games. He preferred to target European casinos, as they used wheels with 37 numbers (unlike the 38-slot wheels prevalent in the United States) and the casinos there were less likely than their American counterparts to cut off a gambler on a winning streak. On occasion, casinos attempted to ban Jarecki from gambling on their premises."San Remo Casino Ends Ban on Roulette Winner"
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', February 9, 1969. Accessed August 12, 2018.
After several profitable streaks at the
Sanremo Casino Sanremo Casino, officially named is a gambling and entertainment complex located in Sanremo, on the Italian Riviera. History The Casino's building was designed by French architect Eugène Ferret, opening 12 January 1905. Seven different projec ...
in the late 1960s, its managing director described him as "a menace to every casino in Europe" and hoped that Jarecki "never returned to my casino". Even when wheels were changed, Jarecki was able to recognize the unique characteristics of each wheel by sight. The casinos finally caught on to Jarecki's methods and began switching roulette wheels more frequently and worked with manufacturers to make wheels with finer tolerances that were less likely to have the types of imperfections that could lead to exploitable circumstances for Jarecki.


Later life and death

After winning more than $1.2 million using his technique, he returned to the United States in the mid-1970s to become a commodities trader trading in gold and silver, as well as dabbling in
blackjack Blackjack (formerly Black Jack and Vingt-Un) is a casino banking game. The most widely played casino banking game in the world, it uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as Twenty-One. This fami ...
and roulette in casinos in
Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.
and
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
. A resident of
Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
,
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
, for more than 20 years, Jarecki died there of
pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
at the age of 86 on July 25, 2018. He was survived by his wife, as well as by two daughters, a son and six grandchildren. His brother,
Henry Jarecki Henry George Jarecki (born April 15, 1933) is a German-born American academic, psychiatrist, entrepreneur, .html" ;"title="/sup>">/sup> producer and philanthropist. Early life and career Henry Jarecki was born into a German-Jewish family in S ...
, was a physician who became a billionaire trading commodities.


References


External links


The professor who beat roulette. How a renowned researcher beat the odds, stumped casino owners around the world, and walked away with a fortune. By Zachary Crockett May 11, 2019 The Hustle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jarecki, William H. 1931 births 2018 deaths American gamblers American physicians Asbury Park High School alumni Deaths from pneumonia in the Philippines Heidelberg University alumni Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States People from Asbury Park, New Jersey People from Manila