Additional Facts: Major Players Mr. M, Katie, Seymon Dukach, Dan, John

Major Players - Mr. M, Katie, Seymon Dukach, Dan, John

An MIT Blackjack team was founded in '79 and disbanded in '90 due to burnout

Reasons for starting team again in '92 - Foxwoods Casino was built in CT; renewed interest in gambling in general

To start SI, they determined that they would need 2 dozen players and $1 million

"Mega" resorts have 1000 surveillance cameras or more

Edward O. Thorp - is a blackjack theorist who wrote Beat the Dealer; the book is considered the Bible for card counters

Money is always transported on your person to avoid questioning at airports (Seymon had $150,000 in his leather coat on the 1st trip)

Blackjack Shoe Computers - you type with your toes and the computer tells you the odds of winning; this used to be legal!

Players would leave on Friday, gamble for 48 hours straight, party on Sunday and then catch the redeye back

The team played in Vegas, Atlantic City, Europe (where they got into trouble at the Monte Carlo) and the Caribbean (Mr. M drops his pants in St. Martin's)

The bad losing streak started in August of '93 - they lost approximately half of what they had won (had winning over $880, 000)

Mr. M forgot a bag of $125,000 in cash. The janitor finds it, gives it to his supervisor, who calls the police and then the feds get involved and must determine that it isn't drug money before it can be returned to the team.

Mr. M pulls out in December of '93 and SI is officially disbanded (it lasted just less than 2 years)

Seymon Dukach teaches on www.blackjackscience.com <http://www.blackjackscience.com/>;

AP Statistics

Breaking Vegas

I.  Answer the following questions as you watch the film.

1.  What is the team's "MO?"

           Card Counting

2.  In what country was Blackjack developed?

           France

3.  Blackjack is subject to the Law of ______________ _______________.  What two other games are not subject to this law?

           Independent Trials; Roulette & Craps

4.  What was the stated goal for Strategic Investments, LP?

        To apply mathematical analysis to increase

5.  What was the profit split between management, investors and players?

           45%, 45% and 10%, respectively

6.  What are the three components of card counting?

           I. Basic Strategy - the table of your card vs. dealer's card

           II. Hi-Lo - the more big cards there are left in the deck,

           III. Team Play - division of labor; spotters sit at the

7.  What does the "Checkout Process" include according to Katie?

      RFB Comp - room, food and beverage

9.  The team started to be "made" during the summer of what year?  By who?

           1993; Andy Anderson (the silver-haired man) who worked with
Griffin Investigators; He states later that the meticulous organization
of SI helped lead to its demise (for example,    many of the players
used their Cambridge addresses to register for comps).

10.  What was the name of Seymon Dukach's team he formed after Strategic

           Amphibian Investments; This time the players were the

II. Answer these questions after you watch the film.

11.  Refer to question #3.  Explain what the Law of Independent Trials means?

           The outcome of one event won't affect the next.  Rolling a

12.  The players kept referring to the Law of Large Numbers.  Give you

           Over time, the more players you have leads to more hands being dealt.  In the long run,    you should be winning because of it.