Brief: Bill Gates called a low-roller

As a low-roller.

The New York Times reported Gates played blackjack with $25 chips at the $50-minimum blackjack table in the Bellagio Hotel on Sunday.

The Bellagio, the recently opened $1.8 billion hotel, has private gambling rooms for high rollers ("whales," gamblers call them). But Gates, wearing a rumpled blue shirt and blue slacks, ambled over to a table in the main part of the casino and put down roughly $200 worth of chips.

Betting $100 each time, he doubled his holdings in 10 minutes.

So does Gates gamble a lot?

"Not really," he said. "I actually like poker better. Blackjack is mostly luck. Poker, you have to be a skilled player."

So is he?

"Not really," he said.

Does Gates, whose Microsoft holdings have made him one of America's richest men, set limits on the money he gambles?

"No, only time limits," he said, gathering roughly $300 in chips and standing up. He worked his way through the crowd to the guest elevators.

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