“James Grosjean is the greatest player in the history of blackjack,” said Rubin, 72. The award is named in honor of the man considered by his peers to be the world’s best blackjack player. The winner of the Blackjack Ball competition is presented a massive bottle of champagne, aka a Methuselah, dubbed the Grosjean Cup. “I stick with the horse racing industry.” “Nobody really lets me play anymore,” Johnson said with a smile. He doubled down on all four hands for $200,000 each. He was then dealt another two eights and split them again for four $100,000 hands. He negotiated several changes to gain a mathematical edge, including a 20 percent rebate from casinos on losses exceeding $500,000. In the wake of the financial crisis of 2008, casinos were looking for high rollers and invited Johnson to play blackjack for up to $100,000 a hand. Johnson beat Atlantic City casinos out of $15 million during a six-month stretch at the blackjack tables in 2011. “It’s pretty funny that it’s become a part of American culture.” “The book got about half of it right, and the movie got rid of that half,” Chang said with a chuckle. Thorp’s investments averaged 20 percent annual return over 30 years, according to Forbes.Ĭhang was the inspiration for Kevin Spacey’s character in the movie “21.” The film was based on the book “Bringing Down the House,” which chronicled the true story of the MIT Blackjack Team - of which Chang was a player and manager in the 1980s and 1990s. He’s also a legendary investor who made his fortune - estimated at $800 million - on Wall Street. Thorp, 87, has a Ph.D in math and created the first wearable computer. But it’s not that easy,” said Rubin, originator of the Blackjack Hall of Fame and Blackjack Ball and an exclusive game protection consultant for Barona Casino in San Diego. “After his book came out, blackjack exploded across Las Vegas because people thought they could win. When the deck is filled with big cards, the player has the edge and bets accordingly. Thorp’s best seller mathematically proved that the house advantage in blackjack could be overcome by card counting, which, simply put, is keeping a running tally of the number of high cards and low cards that have been played. Benter left college and his physics studies behind in 1979 and boarded a bus for Las Vegas, where he played low stakes at the El Cortez and other downtown casinos before eventually joining a card counting team and turning pro.īenter and countless others were inspired to pursue careers as pro gamblers by Thorp, a former Massachusetts Institute of Technology math professor who wrote the book on card counting in 1962’s “Beat The Dealer.” The philanthropist is one of the wealthiest gamblers ever, along with fellow guest Zeljko Ranogajec from Australia.īenter, 62, won almost $1 billion betting on horse racing in Hong Kong, where he developed a wildly successful algorithm that essentially cracked the code of the sport of kings.īut, like most of the guests, the Pittsburgh native got his start as a card counter and professional blackjack player. Here’s a look at some of the prominent players who attended the event. The after-party took place at Rubin’s home, where some of the most successful gamblers of all time swapped stories until the wee hours and planned their next blackjack attack on a casino. They estimated the exact number of cards in a discard tray, cut a certain number of cards in a deck and calculated the value of three cards removed from two decks. The five finalists then headed to a blackjack table for a test of their card-counting skills. The competition, preceded by a charitable Calcutta auction of contestants, commenced with a complex quiz of 21 gambling-related questions. (Anthony Curtis)Īt a secure location in the shadow of the Strip that’s a closely guarded secret, more than 100 of the world’s greatest gamblers gathered recently for Max Rubin’s 24th annual Blackjack Ball.Ī handful of billionaires were among the invited guests at the exclusive event who socialized, voted for the Blackjack Hall of Fame and competed for the title of “World’s Greatest Blackjack Player.” From left to right, Ed Thorp, Anthony Curtis and Don Johnson are shown recently at the 24th annual Blackjack Ball on the Strip.
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