Anargyros Nicholas Karabourniotis (Greek: Ανάργυρος Καραβουρνιώτης; November 1, 1950 – September 7, 2024), commonly known as Archie Karas, was a Greek-American gambler, high roller, poker player, and pool shark famous for the largest and longest documented winning streak in casino gambling history, simply known as The Run, when he drove to Las Vegas with $50 in December 1992 and then turned a $10,000 loan into more than $40 million by the beginning of 1995, only to lose it all later that year. Karas himself claimed to have gambled with more money in casinos than anyone else in history and has often been compared to Nick the Greek, another high-stakes gambler of Greek origin.

Karas was born on November 1, 1950, in Antypata on the island of Cephalonia, Kingdom of Greece. He grew up in poverty and had to shoot marbles as a teenager to avoid going hungry. His father, Nickolas, was a construction worker who struggled financially.

Karas ran away from home at the age of 15 after his father, in a rage, threw a shovel at him, barely missing his head. He never saw his father again. Nickolas died four years later.

Karas worked as a waiter on a ship, making $60 a month until the ship arrived at Portland, Oregon.

He later moved to Los Angeles and worked in a restaurant that was next to a pool hall. He honed his pool skills and eventually made more money playing pool than he did as a waiter. When his victims from the pool hall thinned out, he switched to playing poker in Los Angeles card rooms. Karas claims to have gone from being broke to a millionaire and back several times. Later, he became an astute poker player, building his bankroll to over $2,000,000. Professional poker players such as Chip Reese and Doyle Brunson, had played and considered Karas a weaker poker player, often giving Karas handicaps to play. In December 1992, Karas had lost all but $50 playing high-stakes poker. Instead of reevaluating his situation and slowing down, he decided to go to Las Vegas in search of bigger games. The next three years would go down in legend as the greatest run in casino gambling history.

You've got to understand something. Money means nothing to me. I don't value it. I've had all the material things I could ever want. Everything. The things I want, money can't buy: health, freedom, love, happiness. I don't care about money, so I have no fear. I don't care if I lose it.

In December 1992, after losing his entire bankroll, Karas drove to Vegas with his car and $50 in his wallet. After arriving at The Mirage, Karas recognized a fellow poker player from Los Angeles and convinced him to lend him $10,000. Karas quickly turned the loan into $30,000 playing $200/$400 limit Razz. Karas paid $20,000 to his backer, who was more than content.

With a little over $10,000 in his pocket, Karas went to a bar with a pool table adjacent to the Liberace Plaza on East Tropicana. There he found a wealthy and respected poker and pool player. Karas refused to reveal his name for the sake of his opponent's reputation; he simply referred to him as "Mr. X". They started playing 9-ball pool at $5,000 a game, raising the stakes as time went on. After Karas had won several hundred thousand dollars, they raised the stakes to $40,000 a game. Many gamblers and professional poker players watched Karas play at stakes never seen before. Karas ended up winning $1,200,000. The two decided to play poker at Binion's Horseshoe, where Karas won an additional $3,000,000 from Mr. X. Karas was willing to gamble everything he had won and continued to raise the stakes to a level few dared to play at.