The MIT Blackjack Team is a legendary group of students and ex-students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who took Las Vegas casinos for millions of dollars in the 1980s and 1990s. Their story has been immortalized in books, movies, and TV shows.
But did the MIT Blackjack Team eventually get caught by the casinos? The answer is yes and no.
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First, let’s take a step back and discuss how the team operated. The team was founded in the late 1970s by J.P. Massar and Bill Kaplan.
They recruited smart students with strong math skills to learn card counting techniques and play blackjack as a team. The team members would play at different tables in different casinos, making small bets until the count became favorable, then signal to a big player who would come in and make large bets. This way, they could take advantage of the house edge and win big.
The team had strict rules for behavior at the table, such as not drinking alcohol or using profanity, to avoid drawing attention from casino personnel. They also rotated players frequently to avoid detection.
For many years, the team was incredibly successful, winning millions of dollars from casinos across the country. However, their success came with risks.
Casinos began to notice that they were losing large amounts of money to players who seemed to be working together. Some even suspected that card counting was involved.
In 1984, a member of the team named Dave Irvine was caught counting cards at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe casino. He was banned from all Harrah’s properties and his name was added to a shared database used by other casinos.
In 1992, another member named Mike Aponte was caught counting cards at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut. He too was banned from all Foxwoods properties.
Despite these setbacks, the MIT Blackjack Team continued to operate successfully for many years. However, as time went on it became harder and harder to avoid detection. Casinos improved their surveillance technology and trained their personnel to recognize card counters.
By the late 1990s, the team had mostly disbanded. Kaplan went on to found a successful business career, while several former team members became professional gamblers.
So, was the MIT Blackjack Team caught? Yes, some members were caught counting cards and banned from casinos.
However, the team as a whole was never caught in the sense of being prosecuted or shut down by authorities. They simply became less successful over time due to increased scrutiny from casinos.
In conclusion, the story of the MIT Blackjack Team is a fascinating one that highlights both the risks and rewards of gambling. While they were eventually caught in some sense, they will always be remembered as one of the most successful gambling teams in history.
