Blackjack Hall of Fame
Encyclopedia
The Blackjack Hall of Fame honors the greatest blackjack
experts, authors, and professional players in history. It was launched in 2002, and its physical premises are in San Diego, California
.
. The Barona Casino awards to each inductee a permanent lifetime comp
for full room, food, and beverage, in exchange for each member’s agreement never to play on Barona’s tables.
In winter 2002, a diverse selection of 21 blackjack experts, authors, and professional players were nominated for membership in the Blackjack Hall of Fame. The public was allowed to vote for about a month through the Internet
. The final voting was completed at the January 2003 Blackjack Ball, an event open only to selected professional blackjack players and experts and hosted by blackjack author Max Rubin
, whereby the first 7 members were inducted.
The following year, at the 2004 Blackjack Ball, 2 more inductees were added, again with primary voting done by professional gamblers at the Ball. Nomination of candidates, after 2006, has become the permanent responsibility of the members of the Blackjack Hall of Fame themselves. The Hall of Famers inducted 2 more members per year through 2006, and then agreed to drop to only 1 person per year.
However, in late 2007, 4 new members, were inducted in the Hall of Fame "as a group".
Blackjack
Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...
experts, authors, and professional players in history. It was launched in 2002, and its physical premises are in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
.
History
The Blackjack Hall of Fame is housed at the Barona Casino, in San Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. The Barona Casino awards to each inductee a permanent lifetime comp
Comp
Comp may refer to:In music:*Accompaniment, especially in jazz *Compilation album*Comp In business and finance:*Comparable company analysis*Comparables, in real estate*Same Store Sales...
for full room, food, and beverage, in exchange for each member’s agreement never to play on Barona’s tables.
In winter 2002, a diverse selection of 21 blackjack experts, authors, and professional players were nominated for membership in the Blackjack Hall of Fame. The public was allowed to vote for about a month through the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. The final voting was completed at the January 2003 Blackjack Ball, an event open only to selected professional blackjack players and experts and hosted by blackjack author Max Rubin
Max Rubin
Max Rubin is a gambling expert and author best known for his book Comp City: A Guide to Free Gambling Vacations. The book teaches players how to maximize casino perks with little actual wagering. Rubin is also a gambling analyst for television...
, whereby the first 7 members were inducted.
The following year, at the 2004 Blackjack Ball, 2 more inductees were added, again with primary voting done by professional gamblers at the Ball. Nomination of candidates, after 2006, has become the permanent responsibility of the members of the Blackjack Hall of Fame themselves. The Hall of Famers inducted 2 more members per year through 2006, and then agreed to drop to only 1 person per year.
However, in late 2007, 4 new members, were inducted in the Hall of Fame "as a group".
Inductees
The current members of the Blackjack Hall of Fame are the following:- Al Francesco, 2002, one of the founders of the concept of blackjack teams.
- Peter GriffinPeter A. GriffinPeter A. Griffin was a mathematician, author and blackjack expert and is one of the original seven members of the Blackjack Hall of Fame...
, 2002, mathematician, theoretical pioneer and author of The Theory of Blackjack. - Arnold SnyderArnold SnyderArnold Snyder is a professional gambler and gambling author. He was elected by professional blackjack players as one of the seven original inductees into the Blackjack Hall of Fame for his record as a blackjack player and his innovations in professional gambling techniques...
, 2002, former professional player, author and editor of Blackjack ForumBlackjack ForumBlackjack Forum was a trade journal for professional blackjack players, founded in 1981 and published by noted blackjack author Arnold Snyder. Originally a 100-page quarterly journal, it expanded into an online forum which is frequented by professional gamblers, attorneys, industry people,...
. - Edward O. ThorpEdward O. ThorpEdward Oakley Thorp is an American mathematics professor, author, hedge fund manager, and blackjack player. He was a pioneer in modern applications of probability theory, including the harnessing of very small correlations for reliable financial gain.He was the author of Beat the Dealer, the first...
, 2002, author of the 1960s classic Beat the Dealer - Ken UstonKen UstonKen Uston was a famous blackjack player, strategist, and author, credited with popularizing the concept of team play at blackjack...
, 2002, professional player and author who popularized the concept of team play, often playing in disguise and successfully suing the Atlantic City casinos for the rights of card counters. - Stanford WongStanford WongStanford Wong is the pen name of John Ferguson, a gambling author who is best known for his book Professional Blackjack, which was first published in 1975 and is still in print. Wong's computer program "Blackjack Analyzer", initially created for personal use, was one of the first pieces of...
, 2002, author and popularizer of the strategy known as "Wonging". - Tommy Hyland, 2002, manager of one of the longest-running blackjack teams.
- Max RubinMax RubinMax Rubin is a gambling expert and author best known for his book Comp City: A Guide to Free Gambling Vacations. The book teaches players how to maximize casino perks with little actual wagering. Rubin is also a gambling analyst for television...
, 2004, expert and author, known for media reporting about gambling events, and optimizing casino comps. - Keith Taft, 2004, inventor who manufactured hidden computerized devices to aid advantage play.
- Julian Braun, 2005, pioneering author who used computers to analyze blackjack statistics.
- Lawrence RevereLawrence RevereLawrence Revere was an author, casino pit boss, and professional blackjack player best known for his book Playing Blackjack as a Business. Revere played under multiple aliases, including Leonard "Speck" Parsons and Paul Mann...
, 2005, author of Playing Blackjack as a Business and blackjack teacher - James GrosjeanJames GrosjeanJames Grosjean is a gambling expert and author best known for his 2000 book Beyond Counting: Exploiting Casino Games from Blackjack to Video Poker. He became a professional player while studying as a graduate student at the University of Chicago's Department of Economics. Grosjean's book...
, 2006, computer analyst and professional player, author of the classic Beyond Counting, who successfully sued casinos and the Griffin Agency. - John Chang, 2007, former manager of the MIT Blackjack TeamMIT Blackjack TeamThe MIT Blackjack Team was a group of students and ex-students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard Business School, Harvard University, and other leading colleges who used card-counting techniques and more sophisticated strategies to beat casinos at blackjack worldwide...
; was the basis for the Mickey Rosa character in the movie 2121 (2008 film)21 is a 2008 drama film directed by Australian director Robert Luketic and stars Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Bosworth, Liza Lapira, Jacob Pitts, and Aaron Yoo. The film is inspired by the true story of the MIT Blackjack Team as told in Bringing Down the House, the...
. - Roger Baldwin, Wilbert Cantey, Herbert Maisel and James McDermott, 2008, collectively known as "The Four Horsemen of Aberdeen" who, while serving in the U.S. Army in the fifties, discovered and published in the Journal of the American Statistical AssociationAmerican Statistical AssociationThe American Statistical Association , is the main professional US organization for statisticians and related professions. It was founded in Boston, Massachusetts on November 27, 1839, and is the second oldest, continuously operating professional society in the United States...
the first accurate basic strategy for Blackjack, using only desk calculators. - Richard W. Munchkin, 2009, blackjack and backgammon expert,author, film director and producer.
- Zeljko RanogajecZeljko RanogajecZeljko Ranogajec is a professional gambler from Australia, with an annual, global betting turnover that is claimed to be over $1 billion.-Introduction to advantage play:Ranogajec was born in Hobart, Australia, in a family of Croatian immigrants...
, 2011, professional gambler from Australia, former blackjack professional player.