Richard Jarecki

Richard Wilhelm Jarecki (December 1, 1931 – July 25, 2018) was a German-born American physician who won more than $1 million from a string of European casinos after cracking a pattern in roulette wheels.

Early life and education Jarecki was born on December 1, 1931, in Stettin, Germany, now the city of Szczecin in Poland, the son of Gerda (Kunstmann) and Dr. Max Jarecki, a dermatologist. He escaped Nazi Germany with his Jewish family and emigrated to the United States in the late 1930s. He was raised in Asbury Park, New Jersey and attended Asbury Park High School. He attended Duke University and earned a medical degree at Heidelberg University in his native Germany. The couple moved to Germany where he continued his studies at the University of Heidelberg and began gambling at casinos.

Later life and death After winning more than $1.2 million using his technique, he returned to the United States in the mid-1970s to become a commodities trader trading in gold and silver, as well as dabbling in blackjack and roulette in casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey and Las Vegas. A resident of Manila, Philippines, for more than 20 years, Jarecki died there of pneumonia at the age of 86 on July 25, 2018. He was survived by his wife, as well as by two daughters, a son and six grandchildren. His brother, Henry Jarecki, is a physician who became a billionaire trading commodities.