Arnold Snyder: Allan Wilson Has Passed Away

[Arnold Snyder]

I recently learned that on June 5 of this year, Allan Wilson, author of the Casino Gambler's Guide, passed away.

Allan's 1966 book is considered a classic, but it has been out of print for decades. Many newer players have never seen the book as it is so hard to find. Wilson was the first gambling author to provide a fairly comprehensive treatment of fluctuation and standard deviation as it applies to blackjack.

Although he has not been active in writing or research on blackjack for many years, he has always been a BJF subscriber, and we corrsponded on various blackjack-related topics through the years. When I lost my gambling library in a fire in 1991, Allan sent me an autographed first edition copy of his book, which I treasure, as well as a copy the almost-impossible-to-find 1957 Baldwin/Cantey/Maisel/Mcdermott book on basic strategy. Although I never met Allan, he was a friend, and a giant in this field.

[Kim Lee]

It was a wonderful book he should have been proud of. But Gambler's Book Club said he refused to allow reprints. Can you find out why?

[Arnold Snyder]

I contacted Allan myself about reprinting his book. He would not allow it because some errors had been discovered in his analysis of baccarat. He did not want his book reprinted with the errors still there. Allan did all of his own computer work, and he did not want someone else's computer analysis in his book, so the convenient solution of simply having another programmer provide corrected data did not appeal to him. For many years, he said that after he redid the baccarat analysis himself, he would allow his book to be released again. Unfortunately, he never accomplished this.

> It was a wonderful book he should have been
> proud of. But Gambler's Book Club said he
> refused to allow reprints. Can you find out
> why?

[In Hiding]

He must have been quite a guy.