Name: Dan Carroll (a.k.a “Brack”)
Location: Surrey, United Kingdom
Age: 34 years
Occupation: Estate Manager
Favourite Games: Panic Solitaire; Tournament Blackjack
Favourite Tournaments: Hi-Rollers; and knockout tournaments

"I'm going to live the life of a country gentleman" he says, "and I couldn’t have done it without you!"

Thousands of players enjoy our site on a daily basis but there are not many who have had as much success as Dan Carroll from Surrey (aka “Brack”). 34-year old Dan has been playing for over 3 years and has earned over £150,000 / $250,000 playing in our tournaments! Join us in welcoming our first inductee to the Hall of Fame!

What’s more, Dan isn’t the biggest single winner on the site he’s simply the first we’ve been able to meet and interview as he lives right here in England. We have hundreds of hugely successful players from all over the world whose tournament winnings run into hundreds of thousands of pounds, euro or dollars.

Dan came across the site way back in 2003 while running an Internet café in Hungary and was instantly attracted to the unique inning opportunities available – and he didn’t have to break the bank to get started. "I literally put in £10 and started winning", says Dan.

"Friends told me that I was wasting my time and that I would only lose money gambling online. They just didn’t get it. I kept telling them these were games of skill, not gambling."

As Dan spent more time online, friends and family were sceptical both of his chances of success and of the legitimacy of this new skill-based gaming medium. “Friends told me that I was wasting my time and that I would only lose money gambling online. They just didn’t get it. I kept telling them these were games of skill, not gambling. If you get good at the games, you can consistently win money! I also did some research on the site and saw that the site was based in London and that highlighted that the whole thing was 100% legitimate.”

However, Dan’s friends were soon won over by his new hobby – especially when Dan received his first cheque for £200 in tournament winnings. “It meant everything to me” he recalls, “I waved it around in front of everybody!” As Dan’s play regular increased so too did the flow of cheques. Any remaining scepticism was soon washed away as he began to get cheques of £500 almost every six weeks which steadily increased to between £1,000 and £2,000 a month. Dan’s even received cheques for up to £8,000 at a time!

“…my tournament winnings kept me going financially while I was looking for work.”

What started as a simple hobby while living in Hungary became more serious on Dan’s return to the UK, “When I came back home to the UK with my partner, my tournament winnings kept us going financially while I was looking for work. You guys really helped us both through difficult times.” Fast-forward to the present and Dan is happily employed as an estate manager for a private family in leafy Surrey, west of London.

“No-one else has played more £500 Hi-Roller tournaments than me”

Dan was so determined to get the best out of his play that he starting keeping brief notes on what he scored, who he played against and how much he won. When asked what his favourite games are, he immediately knew the answer – Panic Solitaire and Tournament Blackjack! Despite starting with small tournaments, his favourite tournaments are now the “Hi-Roller Tournaments” where players can risk up to £500 against a single opponent to nearly double their money. “No-one else has played more £500 Hi-Roller tournaments than me” he claims and it’s hardly surprising to note that these tournaments have led to some of Dan’s biggest paydays.

In fact, he clearly remembers playing a single marathon session in the dead of night. The game was Panic Solitaire, the tournaments were all £500 Hi-Roller Tournaments. Dan played one after another of these super-high staking tournaments against an equally committed player from the USA. Dan walked away from the session up £3,500 in winnings. “It was my biggest and fastest money-spinner. That guy gave me a fortune – quickly - I’d like to shake his hand!”. However, while Dan has made a small fortune playing games, he certainly isn’t unbeatable. “I’ll sometimes have streaks of 4 or 5 losing games” he says, “That said, even if I’m playing badly I don’t despair, as some of my lowest scores end up winning in tournaments where my opponent has played even worse than me!”

“…how many opportunities are you going to get to play a Backgammon World Champion?”

Panic Solitaire and Tournament Blackjack aren’t his only passions as Dan recently took on the 2003 Backgammon World Champion, Norwegian player Jon-Kristian Royset and, in his own words “thumped him!”. “I thought I’d give it a go – how many opportunities are you going to get to play a Backgammon World Champion?” he points out, “I’m so proud that I made him resign - I beat him into submission! Admittedly, he was playing two games simultaneously!”

Although Dan’s netted a small fortune through his play on the site, he’s determined that it will all go to good use. He’s recently bought 200 acres of agricultural land in Hungary for his own truffle farm and hunting lodge. “I’m going to live the life of a country gentleman” he says, “and I couldn’t have done it without you!”

In the meantime, Dan continues to earn a healthy profit on the site and is anxiously looking forward to our new Multiplayer Blackjack game, Sit & Go and Regular Scheduled tournaments.

Congratulations Dan! Everybody here wishes you continued success in all your future endeavours.