Haralabos Voulgaris, a Canadian born to Greek parents, has made a name for himself in the NBA, sports betting, and poker worlds. His passion for gambling began at a young age, thanks to his father’s love for betting. Voulgaris studied at the University of Manitoba, where he bet on NBA and CFL games, making significant profits. His big break came when he placed his life savings of $70,000 on the Lakers to win the 1999/00 NBA championship, winning nearly $500,000. This success encouraged him to make around 350 wagers on the NBA in the 2000/01 season, with impressive results.

Exploiting Sportsbooks Weakness

Voulgaris discovered a flaw in sportsbooks that he could take advantage of. He observed that different books would make projections for how many points they thought would be scored in a game but would also take bets on how much would be scored in each half. Surprisingly, the sportsbooks would simply divide their projected game total in half, which didn’t account for the fact that many close NBA games have lots of fouls in the fourth quarter. Voulgaris capitalized on this trend but knew it wouldn’t last, and eventually, the sportsbooks corrected their mistakes.

Developing a Predictive Betting Model

In 2007, Voulgaris decided to create a predictive betting model to eliminate the need for intuition in betting. He hired a math prodigy to help him build the model, and after two years of trial and error, Voulgaris and his prodigy developed the model to a level he was satisfied with. He used it extensively during the second half of the 2009 NBA season, making up to 1,000 wagers a season and placing cumulative bets that would reach over $1 million daily.

Entering the World of Poker

After amassing a considerable fortune, Voulgaris began participating in major televised poker events. In 2012, he entered the World Series of Poker’s Big One for One Drop $1 million buy-in event, where he played well but just missed out on making any money. Undeterred, he continued playing in several World Poker and European Poker Tour events over the years. In 2017, Voulgaris returned to the WSOP’s One Drop event and finished in fourth place, earning $1,158,883, his largest tournament win to date.

Working with the Dallas Mavericks

In 2018, Haralabos Voulgaris joined the Dallas Mavericks as Director of Quantitative Research and Development. He used his skills in analyzing basketball games and predicting outcomes to help the team. However, Voulgaris left the Mavericks in 2021 after a rift with star guard Luka Dončić. Despite this setback, he remains an intriguing figure in sports betting and may return to professional sports management in the future.

Owner and President of CD Castellon

Voulgaris has also ventured into soccer, purchasing the Spanish third-division club, CD Castellon. As the owner and president, he has set an ambitious goal to take the team to the top division in Spanish soccer, La Liga, within six years.

Sharing Betting Insights on Twitter

Currently, Haralabos Voulgaris continues to share his betting insights on his Twitter page. With an estimated net worth of $5 million, he has proven his expertise in the world of sports betting. His success in the NBA, poker, and soccer worlds demonstrates his ability to adapt and excel in various fields, making him a fascinating figure in the world of gambling and sports.