Casino whale Akio Kashiwagi almost drives Donald Trump into bankruptcy

The murder of Akio Kasiwagi was like something out of a crime novel. He was found stabbed 150 times in his house near Mount Fuji. The former millionaire had made and lost his fortune in real estate and casinos. His life was marked by fierce determination, which earned him the nickname “the warrior”. His greatest rivalry, however, was Donald Trump, who had tried to lure him into his casinos. Their relationship ended badly and Kashiwagi's murder remains unsolved to this day.

Who was the “whale” and how did Trump get involved?

To understand why Trump wanted Kashiwagi so badly, you have to know something about the “whale” – a term for the biggest gamblers. Kasiwagi was one of the biggest, known as “blue,” and was among the top five players in the world. He loved baccarat and would bet up to $250,000 a hand. And he could play for 14 hours straight, betting over $10 million in a single session. He either lost it all or doubled his money.

Trump learned about Kashiwagi in 1990 from James Goldsmith, who told him about Kashiwagi's huge wins and losses at Australia's Aspinall Room Casino. Trump saw an opportunity to lure Kasiwagi into his casinos and profit from his huge bets. Akio Kashiwagi's winning streak was legendary. He flew to Australia and pocketed an incredible $6.5 million.

Just two weeks later, he returned and repeated the feat, pocketing another $4 million. But the club's owner, goldsmith John Aspinall, breathed a sigh of relief when Kashiwagi brought along his friend Hideaki Watase, who had lost $4 million. Eager to continue the winning streak, they rolled out the red carpet for Kashiwagi's third visit, hoping to keep the high roller's luck on their side.

This is where Trump came in and won $17 million, nearly bankrupting the casino. But Kashiwagi was not unbeatable; he had previously lost $6 million at another casino. Trump wanted to impress Kashiwagi and make his casino seem the best, and wanted Kashiwagi to play at his casino because it would put his business in a good light. To convince Kashiwagi to play at his casino, Trump gave him many gifts, including a valuable jade statue, a luxurious hotel room, and a $6 million loan that matched Kashiwagi's own money.

When Kashiwagi arrived in Atlantic City on Trump's private plane, he had four bodyguards with him to hide his face from the cameras. Unlike Trump, who loves attention, Kashiwagi was a private person. Trump greeted Kasiwagi with a signed copy of his book so that Kashiwagi could continue to play in his casino.

The “whale” that escaped

Two days after his arrival, Kasiwagi started playing baccarat and quickly won $41 million. Trump became worried and thought, “What am I doing? I'm losing a lot of money and this guy could win $40 or $50 million in just a few days.” Trump wrote about this in his book “The Art of Comeback.” He became nervous, like Captain Ahab chasing a whale, but in this case the whale was Kashiwagi and the sea was the casino.

By evening, Trump had already lost $4 million. Throughout the day, he watched Kasiwagi bet $250,000 per hand, at an incredible rate of over one hand per minute. Trump said it was like watching a gambling genius play against him. Trump tried to downplay the loss by calling Kasiwagi the “greatest player of all time,” but after just two days, Kashiwagi left Atlantic City, reportedly upset by the crowds and media attention. He took between $6.2 million and $12 million of Trump's money with him. Trump was furious and expected Kashiwagi to stay and play for several more days.

The rematch

Even though Trump lost millions, he invited Kashiwagi to play another round. His advisers thought this was a bad idea, but Trump hired a math expert named Jessica Marcus. Marcum was a numbers genius and had invented a method to beat casinos by counting cards.

Marcum told Trump that the longer Kashiwagi played, the more likely he was to lose. He calculated that if he played for 75 hours, Kasiwagi's chances of winning would drop to just 15%. Trump hoped to use this to his advantage and get his money back. In the end, the casino always wins. That's how odds work.

Three months after his big win, Kashiwagi came back to Trump Plaza to play baccarat again. He and Trump agreed to a $12 million deal: Kashiwagi would play until he either doubled his money or lost it all. But after seven days, Trump called it quits. Kashiwagi had played over 5,000 hands and was $10 million down. He was angry because he felt Trump had broken their deal by ending the game early. Kashiwagi was so upset that he threatened to burn the signed copy of Trump's book that he had given him.

Akio Kashiwagi's mysterious death

Kashiwagi had one last trick up his sleeve. He had played with borrowed money and written a check that either bounced or was canceled. Trump's lawyers threatened to sue, but before anything could happen, Kashiwagi was assassinated in 1992.

That same year, Trump's three Atlantic City casinos went bankrupt. Kashiwagi had paid Trump $6 million of the $10 million he owed him, but Trump was still short $4 million. Still, Trump called it a win, saying Kashiwagi was a great gambler who helped him make money during tough times.

In the end, Kashiwagi made a mistake: he kept trying to recoup his losses. He went to Las Vegas and lost another $10 million, then another $5 million in Europe. His winning streak was over. At the same time, his business collapsed. The Japanese real estate market emerged and Kashiwagi was left with a huge debt – $131 million. He owed more money than his properties were worth. The once notorious gambler disappeared from public view and was never seen alive again.

Diploma

Kashiwagi's murder is still a mystery. He owed a lot of money and some believe he was killed as an example to others. Japanese police arrested two suspects from the Yakuza crime gang, but they were released due to lack of evidence. The case was never solved and the statute of limitations for prosecution expired in 2015. There are two lessons to be learned from history: don't try to recoup losses by gambling again, and be careful when dealing with powerful people like Donald Trump.

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