Joseph Jagger - the Legend of Monte Carlo

Talented Mechanic

Joseph Hobson Jagger was born in 1830 in the village of Shelf in England. He was a mechanic in cotton manufacturing industry of Yorkshire. His specialization helped him to understand the mechanics of the roulette wheel and very soon he became addicted to roulette casino game. With time he became a very popular person as another prominent gamer Charles Wells. Jagger was sure that the outcomes weren't absolutely random.

Exploration

In 1873 Joseph asked six workers to record secretly the outcomes of different roulette wheels at the Beaux-Arts casino in Monte Carlo. Such exploration showed that nine numbers were dropped more often than other numbers - 7, 8, 9, 17, 18, 19, 22, 28, 29, and this fact gave the gambler the notion that the wheel was biased.

Nice Attempt

On 7th of July 1875 Joseph Jagger decided to use the received information and to put his first roulette bets. Very quickly he won a great sum of money - 14 000£. During the next four days Joe, together with his accomplices, won 300 000£.

First Embarrassment

The casino was not happy to lose great amount of money and at night the casino wheels were rearranged. When the next time Jagger came to that casino, he lost his first bet and was confused by that fact. Over time he realized that it was not "his wheel", there was no small scratch which he noticed before. Once the biased wheel was found, Joseph Jagger raised his winnings to more than 450 000$.

Second Embarrassment

After Jagger's winning streak the Beaux-Art, casino moved the frets (devices separating the numbers) daily. The next two days were not successful for a great gambler and he lost a lot. Finally, he decided to take his 325 000$ and quit the game.

Happy Ending

After the winning streak Joseph Jagger resigned from his job at the cotton mill and invested his roulette winnings in property.