From: officialflagrant
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promoter Dana White is a known enthusiast of high-stakes gambling, particularly Baccarat, and maintains a competitive “war” against casinos like Caesars Palace. His approach to gambling reflects his business philosophy: taking on major challenges and seeking to defy expectations [01:38:01].
Gambling Philosophy
White sees gambling as being “right up there with everything that I love” [01:45:35]. He views it as a war, especially against large casino corporations, where each night is a battle [01:49:13]. He loves the challenge of going “toe-to-toe with the biggest casino company in the world” [01:48:51].
His loyalty extends to the casinos he plays at, noting that he is “very fortunate” and “take[s] care of people” including dealers, ensuring they are on his “team” [02:07:12].
Preferred Game: Baccarat
White’s game of choice is Baccarat [01:47:37]. He describes the Baccarat room at Caesars Palace as “packed wall to wall with Chinese people” who are “absolute degenerate Baccarat players” with “good gambling vibes” [01:47:40]. He learned the game by watching them [02:05:35].
Baccarat is statistically the closest game to a 50/50 chance, with better odds than Blackjack, yet casinos allow higher bets (up to $300,000 per hand) [01:55:10]. This allows him to reach his nightly winning target quickly, sometimes in just three hands [01:55:45]. Casinos dislike this style of play as it means quick wins and departures [02:01:23].
High Stakes and Strategies
White sets a daily win limit of 6 million [01:53:51]. He has lost $6 million in a single night [01:54:00], but maintains that he can shake it off and return to work the next day [01:54:31].
He tracks his wins and losses by year. Since January 1st, he claims to have won 6 million loss, he would still be up $10 million [01:55:01].
Win/Loss Record
White keeps his “day” at a 800 [thousand] to a million a night” [01:53:41]. When he loses, he goes through his whole $6 million credit line [01:53:51].
Casino Relationships and Superstitions
White frequently plays at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, where he has a special room built for him within the high-limit area, equipped with a TV, a gaming chair, and a dining table [01:46:12]. He praises Caesars for treating big players well and not “sweating the money” [01:46:51]. He also uses his points for Christmas gifts for his employees [01:48:32]. He enjoys the challenge of playing against the Corano family, who own Caesars, and appreciates their “classy” approach [01:50:19].
He is very superstitious, especially about the “vibe” of the casino and the dealer’s attitude. He dislikes “shitty” dealers with bad attitudes who “want you to lose” [02:06:56]. He prefers to play in places where “everybody’s on my team” [02:07:33]. He has also observed that Chinese gamblers are very superstitious about things like animals on shirts [02:05:46].
He recounts a negative experience at a casino in Niagara Falls, where he was promised a 300,000 [01:58:39]. He advises that if one wants to gamble, it’s best to fly to Vegas because of the competition and better treatment for players, including discounts on losses [01:59:18]. Casinos in Vegas will drop a player’s limits if they consistently win [02:01:37], rather than outright banning them unless cheating is involved [02:03:33].
Other Gamblers
White mentions that Charles Barkley is also a gambler and won $650,000 at a Power Slap event after-party [03:37:05]. He also notes that influencer Aiden Ross gambles high stakes, being “up a million, he’s down 750, he’s up a million five” within a Power Slap weekend [02:04:01]. White dismisses rumors about Bruno Mars’s gambling debts, stating that Mars “prints money” and that such rumors are often exaggerated [02:04:23].