Blackjack Ball 2017

[bigplayer]

Blackjack ball was held recently, it was a fine gathering as usual hosted by Max Rubin and sponsored by Barona Casino where once again we were all asked not to play at. Everyone, once again, was required to bring a bottle of premium Champagne. Don Johnson was elected to the Blackjack Hall of Fame beating out Kat Hulbert, Wally Simmons, Richard Dougherty, and Mike Michalhek. I wasn't paying close attention to the Calcutta final table but I think Anthony Curtis was the winner this year. Once again Dustin Marks gave a demonstration on cheating at blackjack and what to look for in order to protect yourself. Lots of luminaries in attendence as usual, I got to have dinner with Ed Thorp and family who has a new book out which everyone at the party got a comp copy of.
Also in attendance
Zeljko Ranogajec
Arnold Snyder
Tommy Hyland
Phil Ivey
Bill Benter
James Grosjean
Marty Taft (Keith's son)
Kevin Blackwood
Barry Meadows
Henry Tamburin
John Chang
Andy Bloch
Richard W Munchkin
Al Francesco
Bob Loeb
Bob Nersesian & Thea
Frank B
Colin Jones (of the Church Team)
and many others
I'm sure Henry Tamburin will be writing a full account in his monthly newsletter and a list of this years 21 questions (I got 10/21 right...it was hard)

[Gramazeka]

All stars !

[Bigdaddy]

Wow - I'd pay just to be a fly on the wall...

[ZeeBabar]

Cheating at Blackjack demonstration? That sort of stuff, any mention of cheating by casinos is relegated by Norm to disadvantaged pages. He does not believe it exists much.

[RS]

Sounds like a good time was had.

How does one gain entry to the blackjack ball? I'm not interested in going, if you read it that way, just curious. Does it come from Max Rubin? Voted by the HOF'ers? Can you just ask, and if vetted, get in?

How many people were there? Is it strictly well-known APs / authors / etc., or are there people who are not well known in the "AP world"?

[houyi]

Sounds like a good time was had.

How does one gain entry to the blackjack ball? I'm not interested in going, if you read it that way, just curious. Does it come from Max Rubin? Voted by the HOF'ers? Can you just ask, and if vetted, get in?

How many people were there? Is it strictly well-known APs / authors / etc., or are there people who are not well known in the "AP world"?

I've wondered this myself. I know some pretty high level (multi-million dollars over their careers) APs, and they have no idea. Granted, they have some rather negative opinions about the more famous APs who are there every year (Grosjean, Dancer, etc.). My guess is you need to kiss a lot of ass, or alternatively, know someone who will speak up for you who is already friendly with the in-crowd. Considering that most APs thrive on anonymity, the entire premise seems somewhat flawed, but I guess the idea is that if you do something big enough, someone from the in-crowd will eventually hear of you.

[seriousplayer]

Blackjack ball was held recently, it was a fine gathering as usual hosted by Max Rubin and sponsored by Barona Casino where once again we were all asked not to play at. Everyone, once again, was required to bring a bottle of premium Champagne. Don Johnson was elected to the Blackjack Hall of Fame beating out Kat Hulbert, Wally Simmons, Richard Dougherty, and Mike Michalhek. I wasn't paying close attention to the Calcutta final table but I think Anthony Curtis was the winner this year. Once again Dustin Marks gave a demonstration on cheating at blackjack and what to look for in order to protect yourself. Lots of luminaries in attendence as usual, I got to have dinner with Ed Thorp and family who has a new book out which everyone at the party got a comp copy of.
Also in attendance
Zeljko Ranogajec
Arnold Snyder
Tommy Hyland
Phil Ivey
Bill Benter
James Grosjean
Marty Taft (Keith's son)
Kevin Blackwood
Barry Meadows
Henry Tamburin
John Chang
Andy Bloch
Richard W Munchkin
Al Francesco
Bob Loeb
Bob Nersesian & Thea
Frank B
Colin Jones (of the Church Team)
and many others
I'm sure Henry Tamburin will be writing a full account in his monthly newsletter and a list of this years 21 questions (I got 10/21 right...it was hard)

Phil Lvey was invited? I though he was a poker player. John Chang and Andy Bloch from the MIT Blackjack Team was there. I am guessing Mike Aponte from the MIT Blackjack Team was there also. Just a question for the Blackjack community: Is it true that Max Rubin made a deal with Collin Jones and Ben from the Church Team to invite them to the Blackjack Ball if they stop playing at the Barona Casino?

[houyi]

Phil Lvey was invited? I though he was a poker player. John Chang and Andy Bloch from the MIT Blackjack Team was there. I am guessing Mike Aponte from the MIT Blackjack Team was there also. Just a question for the Blackjack community: Is it true that Max Rubin made a deal with Collin Jones and Ben from the Church Team to invite them to the Blackjack Ball if they stop playing at the Barona Casino?

Despite its name, the Blackjack Ball has APs from across many AP disciplines in attendance. Ivey was probably invited this year for the Baccarat play that got so much press.

[bigplayer]

You know someone who knows Max. Max does the inviting. I got introduced to Tommy Hyland by a mutual friend and Tommy introduced me to Max Rubin who invited me to the party. It's a mix of people from Machine players, Blackjack Counters, Hole Carders, Advanced techniques, Sports Bettors, etc, many of whom started off counting cards.

[davethebuilder]

Dr Ed Thorpe's speech at the 2017 Blackjack Ball.