A Spanish record producer who was also passionate about mathematics and roulette, Gonazol Garcia-Pelayo was a pioneer of the music industry. According to him, roulette wheels at casinos in the 20th century were not entirely random. It was his belief that certain numbers were more favoured over others within the same stroke.
Over the course of many hours, he watched the roulette wheels at Spanish casinos and took note of the results of thousands of spins. In the course of gathering this data, he included his children at some point. A preferred number was determined by analyzing the results. He would then place bets and cash out instantly after figuring out which machines had biases and clearing out the table’s finances. His next stop would be the next location.
Six nights a week, the family visited Casino Gran Madrid because they became so successful. Rather than being associated with each other, each team member was assigned to a different biased wheel.
After only two months of playing, they had amassed a bankroll of over $100,000. They capitalised on their strategy by placing larger wagers.
Despite the good streaks, there were also bad nights, including one where they lost $80,000. However, huge wins more than offset these losses.
Gonzalo recalls how easy it was to lose a night. Losing two nights was easy. Losing three nights [in a row] is almost impossible.”
Los Pelayos won consistently, earning thousands of dollars on a weekly basis. In spite of their success and the absence of dealer tips (Gonzalo’s rule to maintain profits), the casino began to notice them.
The Spanish casinos became aware of his methods after some time, and he was excommunicated. Thus, he pitched his tent in Las Vegas, accumulating large winnings. As he became more and more famous, he was forced to stop, but not before gaining his fortune. Gonazol netted over $1.5 million in “pure” profits (after factoring in travel and hotel expenses).