Blackjack winnings in Las Vegas saved FedEx from bankruptcy.

3 years after the company had began, FedEx was already on the edge. FedEx Founder, Frederick Smith, took the company’s last $5,000 and turned it into $27,000, enough to keep the company going. And, the rest was history.

Smith established Federal Express in 1971, and the company commenced operations in 1973. The company was founded on an idea he wrote about in a term paper while a Yale undergraduate student in 1965.

According to the FedEx website, he explained in his article how corporations could deliver things faster if they adjusted their shipping techniques. However, Smith's professor did not believe the notion was feasible, therefore Smith's thesis received just a C.

Smith noticed how difficult it was to transport products within a few days with his new company, so he thought it was time to put his Yale term paper to use. By the end of 1972, Smith had raised $80 million in loans and equity investments.

FedEx started operations in April 1973 and swiftly expanded. However, growing fuel prices soon caught up with the young company, leaving FedEx in debt to the tune of millions of dollars, according to Entrepreneur. Investors were unwilling to lend more money to FedEx, and bankruptcy is gaining possibility.

Smith approached General Dynamics for extra finance when the firm had only $5,000 remaining, but the board declined.

Smith took a detour to Las Vegas on his way home and won $27,000 playing blackjack, which he wired back to FedEx.

"The $27,000 wasn't decisive, but it was an omen that things would get better," Smith explained.

"I was very committed to the people who had signed on with me, and if we were going down, we were going down fighting," he explained. "It wasn't going to be because I checked out early and didn't finish."