Bill Benter and His Horse Racing Algorithm
Bill Benter certainly doesn’t fit in the standard definition of a gambler. A talented mathematician at school, Bill wanted to use his skills to make a living. Instead of becoming a professor or finding a 5 to 9 job, the genius found a way to make a fortune out of gambling, and more precisely – horse racing. His way to the top was long and not easy, but today Benter is enjoying the fruits of his most valuable invention – a gambling software program.
Bill Benter Early Life
William Benter was born in 1957 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he spent his childhood. As a student, Bill showed a remarkable talent with numbers. The more years passed, the more he realised that he wanted to use his mathematic skills to make a living. He was far from having the dream to become a teacher. After getting his university diploma in physics in 1977, Bill decided to try his luck at blackjack tables in nearby casinos. Soon, he started winning every game.
| 📆 Year of Birth | 1957 |
| 📍 Birthplace | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States |
| 📜 Education | Case Western Reserve University, University of Bristol |
| 🌎 Place of Residence | Pittsburgh |
| 💰 Net Worth | $1 Billion |
| 👰 Spouse | Vivian Fung |
| 👶 Children | One |
| 💼 Occupation | Professor, Philanthropist, Gambler |
At that time, Bill read the “Beat the Dealer” book, written by the mathematician Edward O. Thorp, and learned how to count cards. The book described how to beat the bank in casinos and make a profit out of it. Benter learned the technique fast. In the early 80s, he moved to Las Vegas, where he applied the new skills in blackjack. Bill had a bright future as a gambler, but, unfortunately, most of the casinos on the Las Vegas strip banned him from playing. However, he knew his true calling was gambling and continued working in that direction.
William Benter and His Talent for Gambling
As casino owners knew him and his ability to count cards, Bill had to stay away from his favorite blackjack. In this same period, Benter met Alan Woods, a gambler with a passion for horse racing. The two found out they had much in common, as Alan was also banned from Las Vegas, and they decided to become partners. Benter and Woods started exploring new horizons, and in particular – Hong Kong. After a discussion between the gamblers, Alan departed to study the Asian gambling market, which was mainly focused on horse racing.
Alan came back from Hong Kong (1984) with the results of the horse races, covering the last 5 to 10 years. Bill and his partner then started laying the foundations of their future success. The first step was to transfer the data to an early computer, which helped them create a statistical model. The process of hard work took them approximately nine months. Benter and Woods used the data from Hong Kong to come up with a prediction of each horse’s chance of winning.
The Accuracy of the Bill Benter Software
Instead of counting solely on the odds shown on the boards, Bill incorporated them into his model. The simple action was a big step forward for Benter and his team, which allowed him to hire more people and set them up in an elegant office with brand-new computers. The efforts gave results – Benter and Woods kept making serious profit. Thanks to the Bill Benter software, the company accumulated data, analysed it, and made predictions on the horse races with remarkable success!
At the time, the mathematician’s invention (the Bill Benter horse racing algorithm) was one of the best gambling software programmes in the industry. It was so brilliant that the Hong Kong Jockey Club asked if they could help him in some way. Bill was one of their best customers, so they agreed to let him use the Customer Input Terminal.
Thanks to this, he could place more bets at the same time, multiplying his chances of winning. The profit of the Bill Benter Hong Kong enterprise was so significant that the Jockey Club cut him off. In his best years, Benter used to make between $5 and $10 million per day.
Bill Benter Net Worth and Personal Life
After years of striking the most accurate horse racing outcomes, the Bill Benter net worth is estimated to be somewhere around $1 billion as of 2021. Today, he is among the most successful professional gamblers in the world. The mastermind of mathematics was the first to implement technology into the system of odds-making, transforming the gambling industry forever. Over the past years, Bill dedicated himself to philanthropy. In 2007, He and his wife, Vivian Fung, founded the Benter Foundation, based in Pittsburgh. It supports US leaders and sponsors non-profit organisations. Some of the donations went to:
- University of Pittsburgh
- Democratic Party of Virginia
- Rabbis for Human Rights
- J Street
- A New Voice for Maryland
- Rotary Club Macau
Ironically, Benter’s tentatives to avoid becoming a professor weren’t successful. Currently, he is a visiting lector in universities like Harvard, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, and many others. The City University of Hong Kong even honored him by establishing a scholarship with his name. The support is awarded to students (mostly mathematicians) each year. Something else about the gambler – he was the president of the Hong Kong Rotary Club.
The Benters are democrats, and they often support political causes. Bill even sponsored the presidential campaign of Barrack Obama in 2008, a fact that many don’t know. A mathematical genius, gambler, software developer, and philanthropist – this is Willian Benter, the man who changed the gambling industry with his talent.
FAQ Section
A character like this provokes many questions. Below, you will find the most important topics regarding the gambler. Discover everything about William Benter net worth and how he started gambling. Get inspired by the brilliant mind of the mathematician and learn his story in detail!
