High roller
Gambler who wagers large amounts of money
title: "High roller" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["gambling-terminology"] description: "Gambler who wagers large amounts of money" topic_path: "general/gambling-terminology" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_roller" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Gambler who wagers large amounts of money ::
::callout[type=note] the gambling term ::
A high roller, also referred to as a whale or cheetah, is a gambler who consistently wagers large amounts of money. High rollers often receive lavish "comps" from casinos to entice them onto the gambling floors, such as free private jet transfers, limousine use and use of the casinos' best suites. Casinos may also extend credit to a player to continue betting, and offer rebates on betting turnover or losses; and contracts of employees may also contain incentive arrangements to bring in high rollers.{{cite web |url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25588154-2862,00.html |title=Court told of concealed gambling by Crown Casino |work=Herald Sun |author=Michael Warner |date=June 5, 2009 |publisher=www.news.com.au |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090607111210/http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0%2C21985%2C25588154-2862%2C00.html |archive-date=June 7, 2009 |url-status=dead
The definition of a high roller varies. At Crown Casino in Australia, for example, it involves bringing between AUD$50,000 and $75,000 to the table. |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/10/04/1064988461501.html |title=Betting $330,000 on the turn of a card - National - www.theage.com.au |publisher=www.theage.com.au |work=The Age |author=Muriel Reddy |date=October 5, 2003 |url= http://www.theage.com.au/national/crown-defends-highroller-enticements-20090603-bvsg.html |title= Crown defends high-roller enticements |publisher= theage.com.au |work= The Age |author=Kate Hagan |date=June 4, 2009
High rollers may also be subject to exceptions from various rules and regulations; for example the high roller rooms at Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia are the only licensed venue in the state not subject to a ban on smoking.{{cite web |url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25490102-661,00.html |title=Second high-roller deal for Crown casino |work=Herald Sun |author=Michael Warner |date=May 16, 2009 |publisher=www.news.com.au |access-date=November 1, 2012
High rollers are said to provide only a small fraction of casino business. John Eidsmoe, in his book Legalized Gambling: America's Bad Bet, claims that it is actually gamblers from the lower and lower-middle classes in the United States that provide much of the gambling money. "The occasional wealthy 'high roller' does indeed exist, but he is the exception, not the standard. The fact that more than 50% of Nevada's gambling income comes from slot machines as opposed to the card tables should be an indication high rollers are not the main source of revenue."
There have been many cases around the world where high rollers have committed fraud to provide funds for gambling beyond their means, after becoming seduced by the lifestyle.{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-feb-15-me-gambler15-story.html |title=Debt finally topples a Las Vegas high roller |work=Los Angeles Times |author=Richard C. Paddock |date=February 15, 2009 |url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/highstakes-gamblers-and-the-luck-delusion-20090606-bz8h.html?page=-1 |title=High-stakes gamblers and the luck delusion |publisher=theage.com.au |work=The Age |author=Anson Cameron |date=June 7, 2009 |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/08/27/1093518098387.html |title=Casino glamor seduced lonely man into $1m fraud |author=Chee Chee Leung |work=The Age |date=August 28, 2004 |publisher=theage.com.au |url=https://highroller.nz/gambling/the-biggest-gamblers-in-las-vegas-history/ |title=Casino whale stories and profiles of biggest high rollers |author=Hamish Flowers |work=highroller nz |date=March 24, 2025 |publisher=highroller.nz |access-date=April 22, 2016
Related to high rollers are "low rollers", a loosely defined term whose meaning changes with context. This can be anything from a casino regular patron who nevertheless wagers very low amounts of money — perhaps just enough to participate in casino loyalty programs and "comps" — to any average low-spending tourist.
References
References
- Eidsmoe, John ''Legalized Gambling; America's Bad Bet'', 1994
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