- Terry Rogers
Terry "Red Menace" Rogers was an Irish bookmaker, credited with introducing hold'em poker to Europe, alongside "Gentleman" Liam Flood. He earned his nickname from his bright red hair. Rogers was born into a family of bookmakers. As a teenager, he was laying odds at dog races. He went on to become a pivotal person behind Irish horseracing in the 1960s. Rogers regularly attended the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- Frank Rosenthal
Frank Lawrence 'Lefty' Rosenthal is a renowned sports handicapper and a former Las Vegas casino executive. He was born of Swedish parentage on June 12, 1929, in Chicago, Illinois, a recognized center of Scandinavian-Lutheran immigration to the United States at that time, and was later adopted by a Jewish family. He had numerous arrests and indictments for gambling crimes, including bribing players to fix games. A pioneer of modern gambling, he secretly ran the Stardust, …
- Simon Beasley
Simon Beasley (born July 26, 1956) is a former Australian rules footballer with the Footscray Football Club. Beasley was a prominent full-forward who played 154 games for the Bulldogs, kicking 575 goals. In 1985, he took out the Coleman Medal with 105 goals. Beasley was recruited from Swan Districts in the WAFL in 1982, and moved to Melbourne to pursue his career as a stockbroker. He retired from football in 1989 due to knee and back injuries.
- Nigel Payne
Nigel Payne (born March 1960) is the former Group Chief Executive and current Executive Director of Sportingbet Plc, which operates a network of bookingmaking websites, as well as the Paradise Poker online poker room. A native of the United Kingdom, Payne has long been an outspoken critic of bans on online gambling; he appears regularly on news programs such as 60 minutes. He is an ardent supporter of legalization and regulation of the industry.
- Liam Flood
"The Gentleman" Liam Flood is an Irish bookmaker and poker player. Together with Terry Rogers, Flood is credited with introducing Texas hold 'em to Europe. He was a finalist in series 1 and 2 of the famous Late Night Poker television series and went on to be the floorman for the Celebrity Poker Club spin-off. In 1997, he had an 11th place finish in the pot-limit hold-em tournament at the World Series of Poker, an event won by Phil Hellmuth and featuring Tom McEvoy, …
- Neil Channing
Neil Andrew "Bad Beat" Channing (born 9 December 1967 in Reading, Berkshire) is an English professional poker player and author based in Battersea, London. Channing finished in the prize money for the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Main Event in both 2004 and 2005. In the 2005 World Speed Poker Open, Channing outlasted both Korosh Nejad and Michael Greco in his heat before finishing on the bubble in his semi-final event.
- Steve Brodie
Steve Brodie was an American bookmaker from Brooklyn who claimed to have jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge and survived on July 23, 1886. The newspaper reports at the time gave Brodie lots of publicity, and the New York City tavern he opened shortly afterward was a success. It was subsequently determined that Brodie had probably not actually jumped, but instead used a dummy he had hidden in the area.
- Barney Eastwood
Barney Eastwood (b. 1922, Cookstown, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland) is an Irish boxing promoter and bookmaker. Eastwood was introduce to boxing through the weekly boxing tournaments at the nearby US air base and by the tutilage of a school teacher of his from County Cork. At 19 years of age Eastwood was married, to his wife Frances, and was living in Carrickfergus running a pub and assist in the running of a local boxing club.
- Robert Angleton
Robert Nicholas Angleton (born 1948) is an infamous bookmaker in Houston, Texas.
- Matt Winn
Colonel Martin J. "Matt" Winn (1861 - October 6, 1949) was a prominent personality in American thoroughbred horse racing history and president of Churchill Downs racetrack, home to the Kentucky Derby race that he made famous. A Louisville, Kentucky, businessman, Matt Winn had been a racing enthusiast since the day his father brought him to see the first running of the Kentucky Derby in 1875.
- John Walton
John Michael Walton (born November 10, 1961 in Bradford, Yorkshire) is a English darts player who is a former World Champion. He has adopted the nickname John Boy and uses the tune "Cotton Eye Joe" by Rednex as his walk-on theme. Walton picked up some small tournament victories in the early stages of his career, …
- Bill Waterhouse
Bill Waterhouse is an Australian barrister and bookmaker from 1954-1984 He was dubbed by the press "The King of the Bookies" and achieved the largest turnover in Australia. He is the father of Robbie Waterhouse. His exciting betting duels with giant punters such as Sir Frank Duval (the Hong Kong Tiger), Felipe Ysmael (The Babe) and Ray Hopkins (Hoppy) were the stuff of legend, he took the world's biggest bet at the time to lose $1 million in 1968, …
- Mickey Wernick
Michael (Mickey) D. "The Worm" Wernick (also known as Mickey "The Legend" Wernick and Lord Wernick) (born 2 July 1944 in Wolverhampton) is an English retired bookmaker and professional poker player from Birmingham. Whilst growing up, Wernick was a keen amateur boxer and won the Midlands Area Amateur title. He has also met Sugar Ray Robinson and Mohammed Ali. Wernick formed a poker club in 1970 with his father Solly.
- Philip Davies
Philip Andrew Davies (born 5 January 1972) is a British Conservative Party (UK) politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Shipley in West Yorkshire. Born in Doncaster, he was educated at the Old Swinford Hospital School, Stourbridge, and the University of Huddersfield where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in historical and political studies in 1993. He joined the Conservative Party in 1988. He became the manager of Marilyn Davies Bookmakers in 1990, …
- Roger Angleton
Roger Nicholas Angleton (1942 - February 7, 1998) was the man who confessed to murdering his sister-in law Doris Angleton in her River Oaks home in Houston, Texas. On April 16, 1997, the very day Doris died, Roger missed a court date on drug-related charges. Roger had a previous history of disobedience. He had been expelled from several schools and sent to a military academy. Roger was never as successful as his brother was, even while he was in Houston.
- Jimmy Snyder
Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder was an American sports commentator and Las Vegas bookie. He was born Dimetrios Georgios Synodinos in Steubenville, Ohio.
- Ashley Revell
Ashley Revell (born 1972) is a London resident who briefly achieved fame for selling all his possessions (including all his clothes) and gambling US$135,300 on a single spin of a roulette wheel in Las Vegas, Nevada. He even changed his name by deed poll to Ashley "Blue Square" Revell after the UK online bookmaker contributed to his gambling fund. Revell won his bet (on "Red"; the result was "7 Red") and left with double his money.
- Charles K. McNeil
Charles K. McNeil (died 1981) is credited with inventing the point spread in sports gambling. McNeil earned a Master's Degree from the University of Chicago. He then taught math at the Riverdale Country School in New York and in Connecticut. His students included John F. Kennedy. He was also a securities analyst in Chicago. While gambling on the side, he developed the point spread, betting not on the probability of the final outcome, but on the expected difference in score.
- Martin Krugman
Martin "Marty" Krugman (born December 30, 1919; disappeared January 4, 1979; declared legally dead 1986) was an associate of the Lucchese crime family and the basis for the character "Morrie Kessler" as depicted by Chuck Low in the 1990 film "Goodfellas". Krugman, a Passaic, New Jersey, native and son of Jewish-Russian immigrant parents, resided in Valley Stream, New York with his Long Island housewife, Frances.
- John Gill
John Gill (born 6 May1964) is an Irish football manager currently in charge of First Division Dundalk FC. As a player, Gill's career itinerary was that of the consummate journeyman. Gill played out the bulk of his career with Drogheda United, but also saw service with Kilkenny City, Bray Wanderers and Sligo Rovers. Gill adopted his first managerial commission with Dublin junior side Lusk United, before a spell as assistant to Billy Walsh at Kilkenny City.
- Gay Future
Gay Future was the racehorse at the centre of an attempted coup by an Irish betting syndicate in Great Britain in 1974. The plot involved a Scottish trainer named Antony Collins initially presenting a poorly-performing horse at his stables as if it were the real "Gay Future". This lowered the expectations of reviewers, and hence raised the betting odds on offer, when the real horse was entered in a race at Cartmel in Cumbria.
- Thomas King
Tom King (born: August 14 1835 died: October 3, 1888) also known as "The Fighting Sailor" was an English boxer who fought both bare-knuckle and with gloves. Strong, fast, and durable he was a skilled pugilist. He retired from the ring in 1863, as the Heavyweight Champion of England, following his defeat of the boxer Jem Mace. In retirement he became a successful bookmaker, and married the daughter of a wealthy shipping magnate and acquired great wealth.
- Freddy Dicongilio
Born Alfred DiCongilio lives in Ozone Park (a New York City neighborhood) and made a living as an illegal bookmaker. At the age of 77 he became a made member of the Gotti-run Gambino crime family. He has a reputation for being a heel with many gambling arrests. He and Dominick Pizzonia were charged with the 1988 murder of Frank Boccia. Freddy was released for 3 million dollars and was ordered confined to his Ozone Park home.
- Nicky Arnstein
Julius "Nicky" W. Arnstein (??? - October 2, 1965) was an American businessman, professional gambler, and con artist. Among his aliases were Nick Arnold, Nicholas Arnold, Wallace Ames, John Adams, and J. Willard Adair. He was best known as the second husband of Fanny Brice. Arnstein's father, Berlin-born Jew Moses Arndstein, fought in the Franco-Prussian War. He and his wife Thekla Van Shaw, who was Dutch, raised their son as an Episcopalian.
- Sam Mesi
Samuele "Sam" Mesi (June 28, 1900 - March, 1971) was a Chicago bookmaker, suspected in at least four gangland slayings, who operated three off track betting parlors on Chicago's Westside and was associated with mobster Tony Accardo. He was the brother of Philip Mesi, Sr. and uncle of Philip Mesi, Jr. A successful bookmaker with a reported yearly income of several thousand dollars, …
- Godfrey Evans
Thomas Godfrey Evans CBE (August 18, 1920 - May 3, 1999) was an English cricketer who played for Kent and England. Described by "Wisden" as 'arguably the best wicket-keeper the game has ever seen', Evans collected 219 dismissals in 91 Test match appearances between 1946 and 1959 and a further 1066 in first-class matches for Kent. En route he was the first wicket keeper to reach 200 Test dismissals, …
- William Crockford
William Crockford was born a fishmonger in 1775 London. He had natural aptitudes for probability and psychology, which allowed him to be a successful, but small-time, bookmaker and swindler. After an amazing series of wins and successes he made the biggest gamble of his life: In 1827 he bought and razed four homes and built in their place the finest gambling hall in Europe at 50 St. James Street.
- Mimi Smith
Mary Elizabeth "Mimi" Smith (née Stanley is best known as the maternal aunt and parental guardian of the English musician John Lennon. She was born in Liverpool, England and was the eldest of five daughters in the Stanley family. Lennon lived with Mimi and her husband for most of his childhood and remained close to her throughout his life, although Mimi was highly dismissive of Lennon's girlfriends and wives, …
- Flockton Grey
Flockton Grey was the British racehorse at the centre of one of the largest betting scandals to hit British horseracing, which remains the best-known case of a corrupt trainer and owner using a ringer to race in place of another horse. Because of the use of a ringer, Flockton Grey did not actually run in the race for which he became most famous. Flockton Grey was an undistinguished gelding, by Dragonara Palace out of Misippus.
- Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin
On Tuesday, 23rd August 2005, 22 year old Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin was crowned the 47th International Rose of Tralee before a live audience of over 2,000 and a record television audience of an estimated 1 million viewers. Aoibhinn was the first ever Mayo Rose to represent her county in the international festival and was the bookmakers' favourite to win the prestigious title. As well as becoming an ambassador for the Rose of Tralee festival, …
- Fred Spiksley
Fred Spiksley is a former English footballer and coach, who played as a forward for Sheffield Wednesday F.C. and England. He also played for Gainsborough Trinity, Glossop North End, Leeds City and Watford. After retiring as a player in 1906 he worked as a coach and won national league titles in Sweden, Mexico and Germany. During the First World War he was interned at Ruhleben, a civilian detention camp in Germany.
- Emanuel Gambino
Emanuel 'Manny' Gambino (May 31, 1943 - May 1972) was the nephew of infamous mafia leader, Carlo Gambino, and an organized crime figure in New York. He was kidnapped from outside of ex-mobster Henry Hill's supper club The Suite, in Queens, New York by a group of gangsters. He was the second kidnapping victim, the first being, Fransesco "Frankie the Wop Manzo who was kidnapped a few months earlier. James McBratney lead the gang from Manhattan's West Side, …
- Alfred Edments
Alfred Edments (1853 - July 13 1909) was a merchant and public benefactor in Australia. Edments, son of James Edments, a farmer who lost his farm and became a mason, was born in London. He had only a primary education and at an early age began to work for a firm of cork merchants. He left for Australia at the age of 19 and arrived at Sydney. He obtained a position, saved a little money, began working as a peddler in a small way, …
- Jack Pickering
John (Jack) Pickering (born December 18, 1908 in High Green, Sheffield - died 1977) was an English footballer who played for Sheffield United between 1925 and 1948. He played in the position of Inside-Left. Pickering learned his football at Barnsley Grammar School from where he came directly to United at the age of 17, in 1925. He was a tall, long striding attacking player, and was instantly seen as a successor to Billy Gillespie.
- Robert Hoe III
Robert Hoe III was an American businessman and producer of printing press equipment. He succeeded Richard March Hoe at the headship of the Hoe firm, which continued its preëminence among printing-press makers. He was one of the organizers and first president of the Grolier Club, the well-known New York organization for the promotion of bookmaking as an art. He was an extensive collector of rare books and manuscripts as well as silver, miniatures, …
- Abe Sarkis
Abraham "Abe" Sarkis (December 9, 1913-June 1991) was a Boston mobster who, along with his partner Ilario "Larry Baione" Zannino were the most powerful and feared bookmakers in New England and New York. Their reign lasted over fifty years beginning in 1934. During their tenure, it was said they made millions for Raymond Patriarca, Sr., head of New England's Patriarca crime family and underboss of the Gambino crime family.
- Norman Budd
- Jerry Verno
- Alistair Thornton
- Garry Letts