CONTACT:
Jackie Lapin
(818) 707-1473
jackielapin@cs.com
Jim Llewellyn
(323) 810 7685
ajllewell@excite.com
DAVID IRVINE
Blackjack Institute® Co-Founder/Instructor
A product of the Heartland, at first glance David Irvine had a typical childhood before heading off to
college and getting a job after graduation. But no one would ever have suspected the extraordinary
double life Irvine led in the 1990’s as a member of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
blackjack club. This infamous blackjack team secretly won millions of dollars until its story was made
public by numerous television programs and the New York Times bestseller, Bringing Down The
House.
Like most members of the MIT blackjack club, Irvine’s extraordinary playing career ended in the late
1990s. However, Irvine has taken his considerable expertise and co-founded the Blackjack Institute®
with former members of the MIT squad. The Blackjack Institute teaches everyday people how to
improve their odds of winning at the blackjack tables using the highly successful training methods and
techniques used by the MIT blackjack club.
The son of a University of Notre Dame professor and a high school teacher, Irvine grew up just
outside of South Bend, Indiana. One of the top students in his class, he graduated from high school
in 1989 and headed off to MIT with an interest in avionics. He later switched to mechanical
engineering before leaving MIT in 1993 to take a position at a small biological engineering firm owned
by his father and two other Notre Dame professors. To support his efforts at the company, Irvine
decided to strengthen his technical capabilities by obtaining a Master’s degree in biological
engineering from Cornell University before attending Purdue University for a Master’s of Business
Administration.
Throughout the 1990’s, Irvine enjoyed a secret existence as a professional blackjack player. While
playing intramural sports at MIT, Irvine became friends with Mike Aponte, who was one of the top
players on the team and later became a team manager. In 1993, Aponte invited Irvine to a team
meeting. Intrigued by the various strategies the team used, Irvine immersed himself in the team’s
activities.
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Blackjack Institute – Irvine Bio
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“When I first learned about the team, I knew little about the game of blackjack,” Irvine recalls. “I’d
never played blackjack before and the whole thing was a little intimidating at first. But the game
wasn’t hard to learn, and the unique training methods the team used made mastering the techniques
a piece of cake.”
It wasn’t long before Irvine joined the MIT group on outings to Atlantic City casinos. He primarily
played the role of a Spotter, someone who sits at a blackjack table counting cards in order to
determine when the cards are favorable for the players. The Spotter then calls over a Big Player from
the team who cashes in on the advantageous count with large bets.
“I was a little nervous on my first trip with the team because of the thousands of dollars we would bet
each hand, but I settled myself down and quickly became very comfortable in my role.” Irvine said.
“On one of my first trips, we won nearly $55,000 in about an hour. That was the hook, line, and sinker
for me, so to speak. I was sold right then and there.”
So while he continued his education and worked to build the engineering business, Irvine would slip
away on weekends to casinos where he and his cohorts raked in the cash. As the engineering
company started to take off, though, the multi-million dollar company required much more of Irvine’s
attention. While the decision was a tough one, Irvine opted to commit himself to the family business,
SBR Technologies, Inc.
Still, the excitement of blackjack was hard to leave behind. In 2004, Irvine and other members of the
former MIT blackjack club decided to pass their skills along to the public via the Blackjack Institute.
Now, Irvine spends his weeks operating the Blackjack Institute, and some of his weekends providing
private, one-on-one blackjack instruction to players looking to gain the winning edge.
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