Every casino has its legends. A guy who walked in with loose change, walked out a millionaire. Someone who cracked the code, beat the odds, or outsmarted the house. And there’s something almost magical about it – we can’t help but wonder who these people are, how they did it and whether there was a deal with the devil involved.

That’s where our High Roller series comes in. Every month, we’ll take a look at one of these elusive heroes of the gambling world – bringing you everything you’ve ever wondered about their play history.

First up, we’ve got Zeljko Ranogajec – the Tasmanian maths nerd who turned gambling into a billion-dollar business model. If the house always wins, Zeljko’s the guy who figured out how to skim a slice of that edge for himself. To make him even more like the Batman of blackjack, they call him the Loch Ness Monster of gambling: everyone swears he exists, hardly anyone’s seen him.

Who is Zeljko Ranogajec?

Born in Hobart, Tasmania, in 1961 to Croatian immigrants, Zeljko started out like any other uni kid with a brain for numbers. He studied commerce and law, but his real education took place at the blackjack tables of Wrest Point Casino. There, armed with nothing more than a keen brain and a lot of nerve, he learned card counting in blackjack – and started turning pocket change into serious money. He met his partner Shelley Wilson at those same tables, and together they set out on a journey that would redefine high-stakes gambling.

By the late 1980s, Ranogajec was no longer welcome at most casinos. His card counting was too sharp, his edge too consistent – he allegedly benefits from a photographic memory, which really helps. He was eventually banned worldwide, which only burnished his legend – and earned him the nickname, The Joker. In 2011, the blackjack world formally acknowledged his genius with a spot in the Blackjack Hall of Fame. But by this point, Zeljko was already long past the days of smoky blackjack pits. He’d found a bigger, and far more lucrative, way to use the pretty significant bankroll he’d already amassed.

The Secret Weapon: Rebates

Here’s where the story differs from your usual high roller strategy. Ranogajec realised that in the right kind of betting, you didn’t actually need to win more often than you lost. What you needed was volume – and the right kind of deal.

In horse racing totes and big pools, bookmakers take a small commission out of the total bets, and the rest goes back to the winners. For the average punter, that means you’re always fighting against the built-in house edge. But if you’re turning over insane amounts of money, the bookmakers start to need you more than you need them – and they want to keep you happy. So they cut you a deal, in the form of rebates.

Think of rebates as cashback on steroids. While most of us are thrilled to get 2% back on a credit card, Zeljko was negotiating 8-10% back on every dollar wagered. Sounds mad, right? But, at the time, his syndicate was reported to be responsible for up to a third of Betfair’s Australian activity and as much as 6-8% of Tabcorp’s entire annual revenue. When you’re betting billions, the house will happily pay to keep you in play.

So, he gets his rebates. But what does that actually mean for his bankroll? Well, that’s the smart bit. Even if his bets broke even – or were slightly losing – the rebates turned the maths upside down. Imagine betting $1 billion in a year (we should be so lucky!). A small house edge might leave you down $10 million. But if you’ve got a 10% rebate, that’s $100 million handed back. Suddenly, you’re not just winning – you’re wildly profitable.

“But why would the bookies let him do that? Surely they’re just giving him money?”, we hear you ask. Uh, not exactly.

You see, the bookies don’t operate on the simple idea of more losers = more revenue. They make their money by taking a percentage of the total turnover from pools, meaning that a large, stable pool is more profitable than a small one, even if more money is won than lost. So by putting his money in their pools, he’s doing them a favour – and they’ll pay for the privilege.

That’s the heart of the Ranogajec playbook: don’t gamble for winners, gamble for volume. Let the rebates do the heavy lifting.

Industrial-Scale Gambling

Of course, you can’t run this kind of scheme alone. Ranogajec essentially built a mini hedge fund for gambling. He set up shop in Pyrmont, New South Wales, employing hundreds of analysts, programmers, and spotters who identified opportunities across Keno, lotteries, and horse racing. Everything was systematic, data-driven, and absolutely enormous in scale.

In 1994, his syndicate famously scooped a record-breaking $7.5 million Keno jackpot in Sydney. They had pumped in more than that amount in wagers, but thanks to all the secondary wins and, yes, those sweet sweet rebates, they still came out ahead. The legend of “The Joker” only grew.

As his operation expanded globally, his name became folklore. Many insiders referred to him as the “Loch Ness Monster of gambling” – everyone had heard of him, but few had ever seen him. He often operated under the alias “John Wilson,” keeping his public profile as low as possible while his syndicate quietly moved billions through betting systems.

The Money Behind the Myth: Zeljko Ranogajec Net Worth

So, what we all really want to know. How rich is Zeljko Ranogajec? Honestly, it depends on who you ask. The Australian Financial Review Rich List has pegged him at around $600-610 million in recent years. Other outlets estimate anywhere between US$400 million and US$600 million.
But really, nobody knows but the man himself. Ranogajec has brushed off the hype, calling the tales of him being the world’s biggest gambler a “big exaggeration”. Okay, sure, maybe – but when your betting syndicate is rumoured to turn over $1-3 billion a year, exaggeration starts to look like understatement.

Controversies and Shadows

Much like the Joker, Ranogajec has made some enemies during his rise to success. In Tasmania, government-owned Tote Tasmania faced criticism that rebates given to high rollers like Ranogajec gutted profits meant for the state. Tote Tasmania ended up folding, in part due to the weight of its rebate schemes, so maybe the critics were on to something.

Ranogajec has also had well-publicised run-ins with the Australian Taxation Office, largely over whether his gambling income constituted a taxable business operation. And his name surfaced again in 2023, when a group linked to his circle reportedly bought nearly every ticket combination in Lotto Texas, guaranteeing themselves the jackpot. Perfectly legal, totally outrageous – and pure Ranogajec.

Why Zeljko Matters

While most gamblers are chasing luck, Zeljko Ranogajec is chasing systems. He didn’t just beat the odds – he figured out how to make the odds irrelevant by building an industrial-scale operation where rebates guaranteed profitability.

That’s why, in the pantheon of high rollers, Zeljko is different. More than a gambler, he’s the architect of a financial machine disguised as a betting syndicate. And while he might deny the legends, one thing is clear: in the world of high-stakes gambling, The Joker always has the last laugh.

Matthew Vanzetti

Pokie Professor & Casino Expert

Matthew Vanzetti is the go-to expert on pokies at Sun Vegas Casino, bringing years of firsthand experience from Melbourne’s casino floors to his engaging articles. His expertise covers everything from traditional pokie to modern jackpots, providing readers with practical insights and tips to enhance their gaming experience.

Matthew’s passion and detailed knowledge make his writings essential for anyone interested in the thrilling world of pokies.

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