Additional Facts:
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
the chance of winning at blackjack
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?
Give brief explanations if you can.
I. Basic Strategy - the table of your card vs. dealer's card
which tells you when to hold, bet, etc; guaranteed over time to
greatly increase your chance of winning.
II. Hi-Lo - the more big cards there are left in the deck,
the more you bet; card values
from 2 to 6 earn +1 points, values
from 10 to Ace earn -1 points, and values from 7 to 9
are
considered neutral; if the count if 5 or higher you should place as much
money on the table as possible
III. Team Play - division of labor; spotters sit at the
table and tell the bigger players
(known as gorillas - high
roller are known as whales) when to enter play on a table
7. What does the "Checkout Process" include according to Katie?
(Remember - this is what they had to endure before being given money to play at the casino)
1. You have to keep an accurate count of the cards.
2. You need to be able to calculate the bets.
3. You need to watch for rip-offs when being paid out.
8. List some of the "comps" received by the players.
RFB Comp - room, food and beverage
Private Planes (Seymon went to the Grand Canyon)
Wedding (Someone has their nuptials comped at Caesar's Palace!!!)
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
Investments disbanded? Give specifics about the team if possible.
Amphibian Investments; This time the players were the
investors; There were
approximately 60 players in 5 different
cities; It is considered one of the most successful
teams ever.
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
die or spinning the roulette
wheel has no effect on the next roll
or spin. However, dealing cards without replacement increases
the chances of the remaining cards to be dealt.
12. The players kept referring to the Law of Large Numbers. Give you
interpretation of what you believe this to be based on the film.
Over time, the more players you have leads to more hands being dealt. In the long run,
winning because of it.
13. In your opinion, is card-counting a form of cheating?
you should be