If Haralobos Voulgaris was in a different industry, he'd be on the cover of magazines and asked to do TED Talks.
"Having money at risk on something" since he was 20 years old, Voulgaris is instead a legend in the poker/gambling world.
One of the biggest and most successful NBA bettors of all time, Voulgaris made millions before he turned 30 by taking advantage of bookmaker laziness with NBA halftime scores.
When that dried up he joined forces with a young genius math prodigy (no, really) to build an analytics and predictive model that quantified NBA stats like never before. He then used it to crush the sportsbooks all over again.
NBA Betting "Better Than Trading Stocks"
"it's better than trading stocks," Voulgaris told PokerListings on a break from the 2014 WSOP Main Event. "My return at my peak was definitely better than any stock fund, for sure.
"It's a business. I'm not out there Jonesing, flipping coins or whatever. I'm trying to have an informed opinion on something and putting my money up. And for the most part I feel like I have a decent advantage everytime I do that."
$1m Big One "Not Really a $1m Tournament"
Also a "professional" poker player to varying degrees along the way, Voulgaris has made several notable appearances at the poker tables.
Highlights include a 2nd-place finish at the 2005 WPT LA Poker Classic for $904k, a seat at the first-ever $1m Big One for One Drop and some memorable moments on GSN's iconic High Stakes Poker.
Now just a poker dabbler, Voulgaris drops in from time to time to sweat a few horses, play a few hands when the mood strikes him and pontificate on some of the odder aspects of the poker scene, including the aforementioned $1m Big One.
Whatever the topic he's one of the best interviews anywhere. Full clip below:
