There have been perhaps a few. One obvious one is LTCM whose board of directors included the mathematical creators of a highly used option pricing theory..
Anyone making bets will eventually win big if there is no limit on credit, just by betting bigger and bigger until they catch a break.
But there's always a limit.
EDIT: Maybe you mean that they didn't try to make a larger bet after they got in trouble? But whether they needed to make a bigger bet or whether their existing bet was already too big, it's still the same issue; the only way to avoid liquidation is to expand the use of credit, which hits a limit at some point.
I tried to point out that LTCM had a very reliable and profitable trade on the basis anomalies they identified, which, combined with their imprimatur and aggressiveness, enabled the leverage that enabled them to dig their own grave (they ended up with nearly the same leverage as Lehman).
I worked on a team with OG LTCM and Lehman MBS quants, and they had some very interesting stories parallel to the standard narratives you hear about these events.
But, hey, I'd bet on coin flips all day long if I was given favorable odds.
> They were always winning
Give me a break.