Casinos Want To Make You Think They Are Beatable
In most cases, there is no such thing as bad publicity. That explains why Las Vegas casinos were all eager to host the premiere of the box-office hit “21.” This movie is based on Ben Mezrich's best-seller "Bringing Down the House." It’s about the true story of the team of MIT students during the 1990s that deployed card-counting techniques and teamwork to win millions from blackjack tables of Las Vegas casinos. The message of the movie is what casino marketers want to convey to potential visitors, “You can beat the casinos.”
The premiere was held at the Planet Hollywood hotel and casino in Las Vegas. It didn’t hurt that Hollywood stars were present to promote the film. The glamour and sex associated with Hollywood meshes with the familiar Las Vegas marketing theme of what goes in Vegas stays in Vegas. Despite the movie depicting the casinos being beaten at the blackjack tables and the students being roughed up by casino security, Vegas casinos allowed the “21” crew to film at their premises. Casinos used for filming included Planet Hollywood, Hard Rock and Riviera.
Though casinos would like you to believe that you could work the odds in your favor in a skilled game such as blackjack, the reality is that card counting is not as easy or lucrative as the movie makes it look. According to David G. Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the theory of card counting was one of the best things that could ever to happen to blackjack. Books about how to use card counting to beat the dealer at the table gave blackjack a reputation as a skill game.
Blackjack’s reputation as a skilled game proved to be a bonanza for casinos. The Nevada Gaming Commission’s data showed that revenues are over $1.4 billion in 2007. Schwartz said that if the game does not make money, the casino would not offer it. Not surprisingly, of all the casino table games, blackjack is the most popular.
Jeff Ma, former MIT student and member of the MIT blackjack team, on whom the film was based on, said the movie perpetuates the myth that blackjack is beatable. He said that very few people are prepared for the chaos that reigns in a casino environment. There are always distractions, such as a football game and pretty cocktail waitresses. As a result, amateur counters who attempt card counting will likely fall apart at the table.
In blackjack, each card dealt reveals precious information about the cards still in the deck. It is a game of probability. If the remaining cards are filled with 10s and face cards, the advantage goes to the player. To master card counting, it requires supreme concentration and hundreds of hours of practice. Anthony Curtis, publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor, a monthly newsletter on how to keep your shirt in Sin City said that most hopeful counters require six months of training and several years of table time before they become good enough to make any money. This favorable scenario assumes that the casino does not catch the player. Though card counting is not illegal, casinos will kick those out caught attempting it.
In the film, it shows the team raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars a night by playing tables together. The real MIT team had their members playing at different tables, where they’re betting the minimum and kept the count. Once the deck begins to favor the players, they inconspicuously signaled another player to join in and make big bets. Using this approach, the winnings seemed like sheer luck and didn't attract the attention of the casino managers. This particular MIT group was known as the Dream Team. On top of being highly intelligent, they were well trained, well funded and highly disciplined.
The reality is that playing blackjack is a less lucrative undertaking. Most card counters work alone. They make consistent sized bets and grind it out a razor's edge return over the long run. According to Olaf Vancura, the author of "Knock-Out Blackjack," a seasoned blackjack pro can make in the range of $70,000 to $230,000 a year. This assumes working eight hours a day, 50 weeks a year under perfect conditions. The perfect conditions includes no mistakes are made, no troubles from management and a return of approximately 1 percent on all bets.
During this time, the casinos are equally as busy coming up with countermeasures to thwart the card counters. They include dealing from an eight-deck shoe and reshuffling cards earlier and more often. The major casinos are employing retired card counters to identify the active counters, and adopting facial-recognition software to assist them in stopping known counters before they make their bets.
John MacDonald
- Posted: 2008-04-21
- Last Modified: 2008-04-21 17:12:13
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