Nick Leeson may be down, but not out

Nick Leeson may have destroyed Barings Bank, one of Britain's oldest banks, but that doesn’t mean he can't take a good gamble.
Leeson, who raked in over $1.3 billion of debt while working for the UK bank -by wagering on interest rates movement – now makes a serious salary as a professional Internet poker player.

As a primary source of income, the former rogue trader is actually cashing in big, winning $25,000 last week alone.
Indeed, according Celebpoker.com, Leeson often surfaces, playing at their site.
Despite his success, Leeson takes a much more pragmatic stance to gambling now than in his former days as investment operations officer for Barings Bank.
While he has won significantly by gambling, he rationalizes the chances of losing and intends not to repeat his past mistakes, firstly by not playing too big.

The six and half years he spent in goal taught him this lesson well.
In 1995, upon discovery by Barings executives of the accounting fraud and massive losses accrued by Leeson, the bank crashed and was sold for one pound.
Since then Leeson was introduced to online poker by footballer, Vinnie Jones.
According to Leeson, what began as an innocent hobby has become an integral part of his income.

Back to Lastest Gambling News
Back to Gambling News Archive
Back to Gambling News - January 2006 Archive