Ashley Revell (born 1971 or 1972) is an English entrepreneur. Revell's US$135,300 roulette bet in 2004, for which he sold many of his possessions, was televised by Sky One.
Ashley Revell | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1971 or 1972 (age 54–55)[1] |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
Career
editRevell previously played the television station L!VE TV's mascot, the News Bunny, and then was a researcher and "celebrity booker" for the station.[2][3]
In 2000, Revell's efforts to open a television presenter talent agency were covered in the Channel 4 documentary When Will I Be Famous?[2] A reviewer in the Guardian wrote of his career's "sleazy trajectory".[3] At the time of his bet in 2004, the Evening Standard reported that Revell helped to "supply fake guests for Vanessa Feltz's chat show" through his talent agency and "was exposed in a tabloid for allegedly running a contest in which the prize was a penis enlargement."[3] The newspaper also doubted his claims that he had made £25,000 as a professional poker player in the previous 2 years.[3]
Roulette bet
editIn 2004, Revell sold all his possessions, including his clothes, and on 11 April he gambled US$135,300 (about £76,840 at the time) on a single spin of a roulette wheel in the Plaza Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.[4][5] He raised additional cash through car boot sales and auctions.[4] Having placed his chips on red, the ball ended up on 7, a red, and Revell doubled his money to US$270,600.[6]
The event was filmed by Sky One as a reality mini-series titled Double or Nothing.[5][1][7] He was also featured in an E! documentary special along with Stu Ungar called THS Investigates: Vegas Winners & Losers.[citation needed] He spent some of the winnings on entering the World Series of Poker tournament and a Triumph Tiger motorcycle.[8] Revell also used his winnings to set up an online poker company named Poker UTD, which later went out of business in 2012 due to controversy over US frozen accounts.[citation needed]
An episode of the television series Las Vegas entitled "One Nation, Under Surveillance", first broadcast on 14 March 2005, had a character and event loosely based on Revell.[citation needed] Music executive Simon Cowell said that Revell's bet was the inspiration behind his 2011–2012 game show called Red or Black?.[9][10]
Personal life
editAfter returning home from the roulette bet in 2004, Revell took a motorcycle trip around Europe during which he met his future wife in Holland.[11]
References
edit- 1 2 Marshall, Ben (3 April 2004). "Big stake, extra chips: Ashley Revell is about to gamble all he has at the roulette wheel". The Guardian. p. 8. Gale A114927249.
- 1 2 "Documentary of the Day". The Independent. 22 July 2000. p. 19. Gale A63616829.
- 1 2 3 4 Low, Valentine. "TV daredevil's big gamble". Evening Standard. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
- 1 2 "'All or nothing' gamble succeeds". BBC. 12 April 2004. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
- 1 2 "Gambler: Roulette play 'just a mad thing to do'". CNN. 12 April 2004. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
- ↑ Cuno, Steve (2008). Prove It Before You Promote It: How to Take the Guesswork Out of Marketing. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-38118-2.
- ↑ Cohen, Victoria (11 April 2004). "Review: Only a 'complete egg' goes for broke on Easter Sunday". The Observer. p. 2. Gale A115277447.
- ↑ Broughton, Christian (22 August 2004). "What it feels like to: Break the bank". The Independent. p. 19. Gale A121054803.
- ↑ "Simon Cowell's 'Red or Black?': The £15m gameshow". Digital Spy. 4 May 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
- ↑ Rushton, Katherine (5 September 2011). "ITV's Red or Black? loses 2m viewers". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
- ↑ Revell, Ashley (18 September 2013). "What it's like to bet everything you own on red". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 April 2026.