Frank Scoblete
Encyclopedia
Frank Scoblete is an American
author
who has written both under his own name and King Scobe about casino
gambling
. Referred to by the Washington Post as "a widely published authority on casino games," his books include Beat the Craps out of the Casinos, Golden Touch Blackjack Revolution, and Beat the One-Armed Bandits. He has written and appeared in television documentaries such as the "What Would You Do If ...?" program on The Travel Channel, written numerous columns for gambling magazines and websites, and produced a series of videotapes and DVDs, with most of his work being about the games of craps
and blackjack
.
and basketball
. He graduated high school in 1965, and then went on to college, this time under an academic scholarship, majoring in history, literature, and philosophy. According to his site, he has three Master's degrees, and graduated in 1969.
From 1969 to 1974 he worked as a writer, editor, and eventually publisher of Island Magazine, a Long Island
news magazine. He also had his own radio program "Frank Scoblete Live!", and worked for a time as a high school teacher, teaching English at Lawrence High School
on Long Island where he was known as "Mr. Scobe" or just "Scobe".
In 1975 Scoblete experimented with acting, and in 1979 co-founded The Other Vic Theatre Company, a professional touring troupe that played dinner theatres, resorts, and charities. During his time with the Company, Scoblete produced, directed, and acted in approximately 50 plays. In 1985, while researching the role of a gambler for the play The Only Game in Town, Scoblete and his co-star Alene Paone
went to Atlantic City to do some research, which made them realize that they liked gambling more than acting. The play toured for four months. Scoblete sold his share of the theatre company in 1989, and starting writing columns for gaming magazines such as WIN Magazine
. He spent the majority of his time from 1986 to 1992 in the casinos. His first book on the subject was Beat the Craps Out of the Casinos, published in 1991 by Paone Press, a mail-order publishing house founded by his future wife Paone, who has also taught at Lawrence Middle School. Scoblete and Paone married in 1993, and spent their honeymoon playing blackjack on a Mississippi riverboat
.
Along with his books and columns, Scobete has also written for television, such as the Travel Channel
's "What Would You Do If ...?" program, in which he also appears as an expert. He has been cited as a consultant in newspapers such as the Detroit News and Kansas City Star. In 2003 during the gambling scandal involving ex-Education Secretary William Bennett
, Scoblete was cited as a source in the Washington Post, which described Scoblete as "a widely published authority on casino games."
Scoblete also self-published, via Paone Press, a quarterly magazine called The New Chance and Circumstance. He also writes articles about gambling for websites such as worldcasinodirectory.com, gambling.co.uk, and his own site goldentouchcraps.com. As of 2007, he writes the "Ask Frank" column for Casino City Times.
He is a frequent speaker on the subject of card counting
and dice control
, and gives weekend seminars on the exact techniques. He has been known to sponsor "gamblers jamborees" where he is joined by fellow authors and analysts such as Dr. Henry Tamburin, John Grochowski
, Dr. Donald Catlin, John Robison, and Jean Scott. He sponsored a "World Craps Championships" weekend in 2006, which drew 166 players.
Scoblete lives in New York
with his wife Alene Paone.
:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
who has written both under his own name and King Scobe about casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
. Referred to by the Washington Post as "a widely published authority on casino games," his books include Beat the Craps out of the Casinos, Golden Touch Blackjack Revolution, and Beat the One-Armed Bandits. He has written and appeared in television documentaries such as the "What Would You Do If ...?" program on The Travel Channel, written numerous columns for gambling magazines and websites, and produced a series of videotapes and DVDs, with most of his work being about the games of craps
Craps
Craps is a dice game in which players place wagers on the outcome of the roll, or a series of rolls, of a pair of dice. Players may wager money against each other or a bank...
and blackjack
Blackjack
Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...
.
Biography
Scoblete grew up in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York, the older of two children. He attended Our Lady of Angels elementary school, and then St. John's Prep. According to his website, he had a full athletic scholarship for baseballBaseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
. He graduated high school in 1965, and then went on to college, this time under an academic scholarship, majoring in history, literature, and philosophy. According to his site, he has three Master's degrees, and graduated in 1969.
From 1969 to 1974 he worked as a writer, editor, and eventually publisher of Island Magazine, a Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
news magazine. He also had his own radio program "Frank Scoblete Live!", and worked for a time as a high school teacher, teaching English at Lawrence High School
Lawrence High School (New York)
Lawrence High School is a four-year public high school located in Cedarhurst on Long Island in New York, United States. It is a part of the Lawrence Public Schools, and is the district's only public high school.- Details :...
on Long Island where he was known as "Mr. Scobe" or just "Scobe".
In 1975 Scoblete experimented with acting, and in 1979 co-founded The Other Vic Theatre Company, a professional touring troupe that played dinner theatres, resorts, and charities. During his time with the Company, Scoblete produced, directed, and acted in approximately 50 plays. In 1985, while researching the role of a gambler for the play The Only Game in Town, Scoblete and his co-star Alene Paone
Alene Paone
Alene Paone is the CEO of Paone Press, a mail-order publishing house in New York which specializes in gaming books and videos, primarily by her husband Frank Scoblete, a widely-published authority on casino gambling....
went to Atlantic City to do some research, which made them realize that they liked gambling more than acting. The play toured for four months. Scoblete sold his share of the theatre company in 1989, and starting writing columns for gaming magazines such as WIN Magazine
WIN magazine
WIN magazine is a magazine that reports on all aspects of High School and College amateur wrestling in America....
. He spent the majority of his time from 1986 to 1992 in the casinos. His first book on the subject was Beat the Craps Out of the Casinos, published in 1991 by Paone Press, a mail-order publishing house founded by his future wife Paone, who has also taught at Lawrence Middle School. Scoblete and Paone married in 1993, and spent their honeymoon playing blackjack on a Mississippi riverboat
Riverboat casino
A riverboat casino is a type of casino found in several areas of the United States which use a riverboat as a casino. Several states authorized this type of casino to limit the areas where casinos could be constructed under a type of legal fiction.-History:...
.
Along with his books and columns, Scobete has also written for television, such as the Travel Channel
Travel Channel
The Travel Channel is a satellite and cable television channel that is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, US. It features documentaries and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the United States and throughout the world. Programming has included shows in African animal safaris,...
's "What Would You Do If ...?" program, in which he also appears as an expert. He has been cited as a consultant in newspapers such as the Detroit News and Kansas City Star. In 2003 during the gambling scandal involving ex-Education Secretary William Bennett
William Bennett
William John "Bill" Bennett is an American conservative pundit, politician, and political theorist. He served as United States Secretary of Education from 1985 to 1988. He also held the post of Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under George H. W...
, Scoblete was cited as a source in the Washington Post, which described Scoblete as "a widely published authority on casino games."
Scoblete also self-published, via Paone Press, a quarterly magazine called The New Chance and Circumstance. He also writes articles about gambling for websites such as worldcasinodirectory.com, gambling.co.uk, and his own site goldentouchcraps.com. As of 2007, he writes the "Ask Frank" column for Casino City Times.
He is a frequent speaker on the subject of card counting
Card counting
Card counting is a casino card game strategy used primarily in the blackjack family of casino games to determine whether the next hand is likely to give a probable advantage to the player or to the dealer. Card counters, also known as advantage players, attempt to decrease the inherent casino house...
and dice control
Dice control
Dice control in casino craps is a controversial theory where proponents claim that individuals can learn to carefully toss the dice so as to influence the outcome. A small but dedicated community of dice shooters claim proof of dice influencing in casino conditions...
, and gives weekend seminars on the exact techniques. He has been known to sponsor "gamblers jamborees" where he is joined by fellow authors and analysts such as Dr. Henry Tamburin, John Grochowski
John Grochowski
John Grochowski is a gambling columnist and author. His weekly newspaper column began at the Chicago Sun-Times and is now syndicated nationally. He published his first gambling book in 1996 entitled Gaming: Cruising the Casino with a Syndicated Gambling Columnist. He then began a series of...
, Dr. Donald Catlin, John Robison, and Jean Scott. He sponsored a "World Craps Championships" weekend in 2006, which drew 166 players.
Scoblete lives in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
with his wife Alene Paone.
Books
- Beat the Craps Out of the Casinos: How to Play Craps and Win (Expanded Edition), 2005, Bonus BooksBonus BooksBonus Books is an American book publisher based in Los Angeles, California. The company publishes approximately 30 books per year, primarily "how to" books on subjects such as casino gambling, sports biographies, broadcasting and journalism. Frequent authors include Frank Scoblete and John Grochowski...
, ISBN 156625213X - Golden Touch Dice Control Revolution (co-written with Dominator), 2005, Research Services Unlimited, ISBN 0912177152
- Golden Touch Blackjack Revolution (includes practice CD), 2006, Research Services Unlimited, ISBN 0912177160
- Break the One-Armed Bandits, 1994, Bonus Books. ISBN 1566250013
- The Morons of Blackjack and Other Monsters, 1992, Paone Press. ISBN 1-882173-02-3
- Guerilla Gambling - How to Beat the Casinos at Their Own Games, 1993, Bonus Books. ISBN 1566250277
- The Craps Underground: How Dice Controllers Are Winning Millions from the Casinos
- Baccarat Battle Book
- Bold Card Play: Best Strategies for Caribbean Stud, Let It Ride & Three Card Poker
- The Captain’s Craps Revolution, 1993, Paone Press. ISBN 1882173031
- Forever Craps
- Spin Roulette Gold: Secrets of Beating the Wheel
- Armada Strategies for Spanish 21
- Victory at Video Poker and Video Craps, Keno, and Blackjack, 1995, Bonus Books. ISBN 1566250439
"Winning Strategies" series
All of these were written by Scoblete and hosted by actor James CoburnJames Coburn
James Harrison Coburn III was an American film and television actor. Coburn appeared in nearly 70 films and made over 100 television appearances during his 45-year career, and played a wide range of roles and won an Academy Award for his supporting role as Glen Whitehouse in Affliction.A capable,...
:
- Winning Strategies at Blackjack
- Winning Strategies at Craps
- Winning Strategies at Slots & Video Poker
Articles
- 1973, "Malls: New Hangout for Teenagers", Island magazine
- 2006, "Atlantic City Blackjack report: I Can’t Get A Break!", Blackjack Insider Newsletter, 2006, #75
Contributed works
Scoblete has contributed chapters or forewords to:- The Casino Answer Book, by John GrochowskiJohn GrochowskiJohn Grochowski is a gambling columnist and author. His weekly newspaper column began at the Chicago Sun-Times and is now syndicated nationally. He published his first gambling book in 1996 entitled Gaming: Cruising the Casino with a Syndicated Gambling Columnist. He then began a series of...
, 1998, Bonus BooksBonus BooksBonus Books is an American book publisher based in Los Angeles, California. The company publishes approximately 30 books per year, primarily "how to" books on subjects such as casino gambling, sports biographies, broadcasting and journalism. Frequent authors include Frank Scoblete and John Grochowski...
, ISBN 978-1566251075 - The Experts’ Guide to Casino Games, by Walter Thomason, Frank Scoblete, Henry Tamburin, John Grochowski, 1997, Lyle Stuart, ISBN 978-0818405907
- Blackjack for the Clueless by Walter Thomason, 2000, Lyle StuartLyle StuartLyle Stuart was an American author and independent publisher of controversial books....
, ISBN 978-0818405969 - 109 Ways to Beat the Casinos by John Grochowski, Alene PaoneAlene PaoneAlene Paone is the CEO of Paone Press, a mail-order publishing house in New York which specializes in gaming books and videos, primarily by her husband Frank Scoblete, a widely-published authority on casino gambling....
, Fred Renzey, Frank Scoblete, Henry TamburinHenry TamburinHenry Tamburin is a gambling author with a background in mathematics and a doctorate in chemistry. He is best known for his book Blackjack: Take the Money and Run which explains basic blackjack strategy, managing a bankroll, side bets and advanced tactics like card counting.Tamburin is also well...
, Walter Thomason, 2002, Bonus Books, 978-1566251440 - 21st Century Blackjack, by Walter Thomason, 1999, Bonus Books, ISBN 978-1566251327
- American Casino Guide 2001, edited by Steve Bourie, Casino Vacations, ISBN 978-1883768102
- American Casino Guide 2007, edited by Steve Bourie, Casino Vacations, ISBN 978-1883768164