( CNN ) -- His was a rags-to-riches tale . A Greek immigrant who came to the United States and made it big . A waiter who gambled in his spare time . A poker prodigy who turned $ 50 into $ 40 million in just three years . Archie Karas has described himself the `` king of the gamblers , '' but authorities in San Diego are now calling him a cheater . On Friday , police arrested the 62-year-old Karas , whose legal name is Anargyros Karabourniotis , at his home in Las Vegas , on allegations he marked cards during a blackjack game in San Diego in July . The alleged cheating was also caught on camera , according to authorities . The alleged incident occurred at San Diego 's Barona Casino . Karas won $ 8,000 playing blackjack , but San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis says video shows the gambler cheated with a technique known as marking cards . Marking cards allows a player to identify the value of cards . If done correctly , neither the dealer nor other players notice the marks -- only the player who is in on the scheme . `` This defendant 's luck ran out thanks to extraordinary cooperation between several different law enforcement agencies who worked together to investigate and prosecute this case , '' Dumanis said . Karas is being held in Las Vegas without bail . He faces charges of burglary , winning by fraudulent means and cheating . He is expected to appear in court Monday for an extradition hearing . It was not immediately clear if Karas has legal representation . He won some , he lost some . Karas ' exploits are legendary in the poker world . In 1992 , he went to Las Vegas with just $ 50 . He got a $ 10,000 loan from a poker buddy at Binion 's Horseshoe , according to Poker.org . Karas tripled the loan in one game . From there he went on to bet and win at pool , then poker . `` I was the best , '' Karas told ESPN in an interview broadcast in 2008 . `` Anybody who 'd come to town I 'd play them , I did n't care who they were and I 'd win , too . '' But he had a problem , he recounted to ESPN . No one would play him anymore ; he had simply won too much . He did n't quit . Instead , he changed the game . `` I had to play dice , '' he told ESPN . He said lines of people used to show up to watch him bet $ 1 million on each roll . `` I ran it up to $ 40 million , '' he recalled . `` It was a lot of money . '' But as quickly as it came , the money left Karas . He said he lost $ 20 million in 10 days . Soon , it was all gone . It took him three years to win the $ 40 million and only three weeks to lose it . If the loss hurt Karas , he did n't show it in his 2008 interview . `` I consider myself the king of gamblers , '' he said , chuckling . `` I made it , I lost it and like Frank Sinatra says , I stood tall and I took the punches and I did it my way . ''
Some have charged a legendary gambler with cheating . George Karas lost $ 40 million over three years in the 1990s . Karas , a Greek immigrant , lost his $ 40 million in gambling in just three weeks . In 2008 he told Forbes he considers himself the ` ` king of poker ''