Good stuff

assume_R

Well-Known Member
#2
Interesting...

"I'm not breaking any laws," he said. "I'm beating them with my own skills."
...
"I don't do anything like the MIT guys," Johnson said. "I can figure things out on my own."
 

aslan

Well-Known Member
#3
assume_R said:
Interesting...

"I'm not breaking any laws," he said. "I'm beating them with my own skills."
...
"I don't do anything like the MIT guys," Johnson said. "I can figure things out on my own."
Could be a new counting technique. Not like MIT, but gets you to the same place. Hmmm He would make an excellent guest here.
 

aslan

Well-Known Member
#4
I know that no one asks the house to raise the limit unless they have a well-worked-out plan, or think they do (except of course obscenely rich people, who raise the limit so as not to be bored). A lot of great gambling stories begin with asking the house to raise the limit.
 
#5
"In all, Johnson racked up about $15.1 million in blackjack winnings during a six-month span, although he acknowledged incurring some undisclosed losses along the way."

I think this might answer the question.
 

aslan

Well-Known Member
#6
Automatic Monkey said:
"In all, Johnson racked up about $15.1 million in blackjack winnings during a six-month span, although he acknowledged incurring some undisclosed losses along the way."

I think this might answer the question.
Or does it? You have to throw that "undisclosed losses" out there so that when you file your tax return, IRS will be expecting some offsetting losses. You can't go telling the press that all you had was winnings. Hope he has a lawyer to help him work it out so to speak with the government; otherwise, he can say bye bye to a goodly portion of those winnings.
 

aslan

Well-Known Member
#7
Automatic Monkey said:
"In all, Johnson racked up about $15.1 million in blackjack winnings during a six-month span, although he acknowledged incurring some undisclosed losses along the way."

I think this might answer the question.
It's the $15 million part that tells me he scammed the casinos in some shape or form. What that is, I'm dying to know. Score one for the Jedi warrior, none for the Evil Empire.
 
#8
aslan said:
Or does it? You have to throw that "undisclosed losses" out there so that when you file your tax return, IRS will be expecting some offsetting losses. You can't go telling the press that all you had was winnings. Hope he has a lawyer to help him work it out so to speak with the government; otherwise, he can say bye bye to a goodly portion of those winnings.
Sure you can, as long as you have solid documentation for the losses. You can tell the press anything you want. You don't have to show your losses to anyone but the IRS, and the casinos aren't going to boast that this guy is their big sucker, why would they do that? I suspect he's just a progression player who got very lucky in some places, not so lucky in others.
 

aslan

Well-Known Member
#9
Automatic Monkey said:
Sure you can, as long as you have solid documentation for the losses. You can tell the press anything you want. You don't have to show your losses to anyone but the IRS, and the casinos aren't going to boast that this guy is their big sucker, why would they do that? I suspect he's just a progression player who got very lucky in some places, not so lucky in others.
All I'm saying is that it would be to your benefit to paint a picture of wins and losses. You already know the IRS will be salivating like one of Pavlov's dogs, so it's best to do your best to set the scene. They can do just about anything they want, they have more power than the Office of the President-- and to borrow a phrase from the Good Book, Fear of the [IRS] is the beginning of wisdom.

If you are right, can you imagine the RoR he was carrying with those $100,000 wagers? Personally, he sounds too intelligent to have tried that. Maybe some day the whole story will come out.
 

aslan

Well-Known Member
#10
Speaking of solid documentation of losses, there is hardly any form of documentation that the IRS is obligated to recognize. The leading thought is to keep a journal of your gambling activities, and yes, that is usually accepted, but IRS is under no requirement to accept it. If they don't like your looks, maybe think you're a scam artist, they can hold all your journals to be inconclusive-- after all, it's only your word (in the journal) against theirs. Not only should a high profile gambler keep a journal, he should keep bank statements which are fully consistent with those journals, request win/loss statements from everywhere he's gambled, have eye witnesses to major losses, if at all possible, and have receipts for every expense that might be associated with his gambling activities. In the final analysis, if they want you, they can get you. Be nice to the nice man from the Treasury Department; he only wants to help you. :) Not.
 

Thunder

Well-Known Member
#11
I doubt he is an AP. Reason being is, he wouldn't have agreed to have a picture and his name published in the paper so every casino in the world can ban him.
 

Midwestern

Well-Known Member
#12
Thunder said:
I doubt he is an AP. Reason being is, he wouldn't have agreed to have a picture and his name published in the paper so every casino in the world can ban him.
i see what you're saying but...

...betting 100k a hand, or winning 5MM is not really my definition of "flying under the radar" either ....

winning that much in that short of a timespan you're going to be outed no matter what your skills are like.
 

aslan

Well-Known Member
#13
Thunder said:
I doubt he is an AP. Reason being is, he wouldn't have agreed to have a picture and his name published in the paper so every casino in the world can ban him.
Man, if I made a $15 million score, I wouldn't care if every casino on earth banned me. Are you greedy or something? It's time to retire and enjoy the good things of life.

So often I have seen gamblers who start out with the idea if I make such and such an amount, then I will quit gambling. It starts off being a means to an end. But most often what happens is that the gambler continues to do what he has been doing. He has lost sight of his goal, and continues mindlessly living the life that was never meant to be permanent. The gambler of course goes broke again, probably many times over.

But if the AP continues after he has achieved his goal, what does that amount to-- spending endless days in smoke-filled casinos, rubbing shoulders with some people you would not be caught dead with under ordinary circumstances, and subjecting yourself to the rhythmic ups and downs of variance, chancing even to lose a mighty portion of what you have already won.

I say, if AP does not lead to a better life, than it leads no where. If the enjoyment is in the chase, than Paradise will never be gained. Give me $15 million and I will find new ways to fill my life. I have never tried yachting. Maybe, I'll buy homes around the world and travel far and wide. I know $15 million isn't all that much, but if one is thrifty, one can get by and do a lot of things that were once unavailable to him. But to spend my life in the casino-- gimme a break! Just my thoughts!
 

Gamblor

Well-Known Member
#14
I tend to think he could still possibly be an AP. You gotta figure someone who works in the horse racing industry spends quite of bit of time thinking of angles to beat other games of chance.

Also the fact that this has caused a CEO to get fired and seemed to have caused a big bruhaha in AC. We don't have all the clear facts, so much of it is speculation, but gotta figure where there's smoke there's fire.
 

aslan

Well-Known Member
#15
Gamblor said:
I tend to think he could still possibly be an AP. You gotta figure someone who works in the horse racing industry spends quite of bit of time thinking of angles to beat other games of chance.

Also the fact that this has caused a CEO to get fired and seemed to have caused a big bruhaha in AC. We don't have all the clear facts, so much of it is speculation, but gotta figure where there's smoke there's fire.
I know when Archie Karas won millions at Binion's during his famous run beginning in 1992, Binion did not bar him; no, he encouraged him to keep his money in cash boxes there and give the casino a chance to win it back. At one time he owned every $5,000 chip that Binion's had, mainly through dice and baccarat. Eventually, Binion won it back. Binion was smart; instead of barring him, he waited patiently until his luck ran out.
 
#16
aslan said:
So often I have seen gamblers who start out with the idea if I make such and such an amount, then I will quit gambling. It starts off being a means to an end. But most often what happens is that the gambler continues to do what he has been doing. He has lost sight of his goal, and continues mindlessly living the life that was never meant to be permanent. The gambler of course goes broke again, probably many times over.

This statment should really be the foward of some gaming book somewhere, as it is spot on :toast:
 

Midwestern

Well-Known Member
#17
aslan said:
Man, if I made a $15 million score, I wouldn't care if every casino on earth banned me. Are you greedy or something? It's time to retire and enjoy the good things of life.

So often I have seen gamblers who start out with the idea if I make such and such an amount, then I will quit gambling. It starts off being a means to an end. But most often what happens is that the gambler continues to do what he has been doing. He has lost sight of his goal, and continues mindlessly living the life that was never meant to be permanent. The gambler of course goes broke again, probably many times over.

But if the AP continues after he has achieved his goal, what does that amount to-- spending endless days in smoke-filled casinos, rubbing shoulders with some people you would not be caught dead with under ordinary circumstances, and subjecting yourself to the rhythmic ups and downs of variance, chancing even to lose a mighty portion of what you have already won.

I say, if AP does not lead to a better life, than it leads no where. If the enjoyment is in the chase, than Paradise will never be gained. Give me $15 million and I will find new ways to fill my life. I have never tried yachting. Maybe, I'll buy homes around the world and travel far and wide. I know $15 million isn't all that much, but if one is thrifty, one can get by and do a lot of things that were once unavailable to him. But to spend my life in the casino-- gimme a break! Just my thoughts!

aslan, beautiful post. written with clarity and wisdom. once of the best non-technical posts i've read on this site

kudos and good cards
 

The Chaperone

Well-Known Member
#19
tribute said:
I wonder if the casinos will post his picture on their websites along side of the slot machine winners?
They don't do that when they are embarassed like they are here (I mean the guy got fired, etc.). I once beat a place out of 70k on a machine promotion mistake and then won a 40+k drawing to boot. I figured what the hell and asked them to take my picture with the goofy oversized check, but they never put it on their website or on the walls of their casino. FWIW I was persona quasi non grata even prior to the drawing, but they didn't dare rig the drawing against me since they're in a heavily regulated jurisdiction.
 
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