Dana White put $1 million on the line for a single hand of baccarat at Park MGM on the Las Vegas Strip, and when the cards landed, the UFC boss was holding a nine against the banker's eight — enough to walk away a million dollars richer in one of the biggest single-hand casino wins of his career.
White had reportedly been trying to find a casino willing to take a seven-figure table-game bet for some time, but according to TMZ, he couldn't find a casino with the balls to take the wager until Park MGM stepped up to the plate. The outlet reports White and online personality SteveWillDoIt headed to the Vegas Strip in September for high-stakes gambling in a private room at the casino.
Getting the bet approved apparently came with conditions. Per Covers.com, Park MGM told the pair it would allow Steve's wager if White also put up $1 million of his own. The casino also reportedly limited the pair to just one attempt at the million-dollar hand, and the same report notes they weren't permitted to bet on the same hand as one another.
A Nine Beats the Banker
When it came down to the hand itself, TMZ reports Dana was holding a 9, and the banker, 8 — a result that handed White the full million-dollar payout. White then posted a video of the insane moment, documenting the win for his followers. SteveWillDoIt's own separate wager didn't go as smoothly out of the gate: according to FightSports.tv, he lost his initial $1 million bet before Deleonardis subsequently recovered his losses and moved into profit, with White encouraging him to cash out rather than continue gambling.
Not His First Big Night at the Tables
This isn't exactly new territory for the UFC president. It's not rare to see him at the blackjack or baccarat table placing enormous wagers, and he usually wins, the same TMZ report notes. The same account references a previous $1.2 million winning session at Fontainebleau Las Vegas the prior summer, a detail also referenced by FightSports.tv's reporting on White's gambling history. Covers.com separately notes that White is known for high-stakes gambling and has reportedly been banned from various casinos after winning large sums from them.
Of course, White's hot streak hasn't been flawless. He wasn't as lucky when he faced TMZ's own Harvey Levin earlier this year, losing a $10,000 blackjack wager with the money earmarked for charity — a rematch of sorts to the pair's earlier televised $10,000 blackjack game. TMZ reports that Harvey did just about everything wrong, but still won. Even with that loss factored in, White's still up $990K overall between the two outings.
