by Mario Alfonsi | Published on Feb 18, 2021 | Updated on Feb 18, 2021
Better known as “Mad Dog” for being a tough-tackling midfielder, Thomas Gravesen officially retired from football back in 2009. He has since moved to Las Vegas where he is reportedly living a luxurious life.
The former Real Madrid footballer has been playing poker since his retirement.
As an amateur poker player, Gravesen has earned more than $100 million dollars, if reports on British tabloid newspapers are to be believed.
There are also claims that Gravesen lost $54 million in a single night playing poker, putting him alongside the likes of Archie Karas, Kerry Packer and Dan Bilzerian on the list of some of the world’s notorious gamblers. The massive figure also dwarfs Bilzerian’s alleged poker winnings.
Bilzerian, the self-proclaimed “King of Instagram“, once tweeted that he had won more than Dan “Jungleman” Cates, and that he amassed $50 million over a 12-month period taking part in private highstakes poker games. He also claimed to have won over $10 million playing poker in just one night.
Whether there’s truth to all of these claims regarding Bilzerian and Gravesen’s poker winnings remains to be seen, but it would be interesting to see the pair take on each other in a heads-up match with millions of dollars at stake – what do you think?
Investments More Likely The Source of Gravesen’s Wealth
Back to Gravesen – one user on Two Plus Two forum appears to suggest that stories about the former Danish footballer having amassed $100 million in poker winnings and burning through $54 million in one night are true. The user did not disclose who Gravesen was playing against during that time.
Given these astonishing amounts, it comes as no surprise why Gravesen is able to afford a lavish lifestyle – he owns a mansion behind a private gated community where Hollywood star Nicolas Cage and eight-time Grand Slam champ Andre Agassi also currently reside. Houses within that gated community reportedly cost as much as $6 million.
Gravesen has also been spotted driving in a Mercedes SLR McLaren, which has a price tag of around $500,000, and a top speed of 208 mph.
We might never confirm whether Gravesen did win $100 million in poker, but we can be sure he retired from football with a fat bank account.
Gravesen reportedly earned $100,000 a week during his days playing football, and some of the money went to multiple multi-million investments, allowing him to pursue a highroller lifestyle in Vegas since hanging up his boots.
