To Kevin Blackwood

S

SammyBoy

Well-Known Member
#1
#1
Kevin,

I just read your interview on AdvantagePlayer.com and just wanted to say thank you for your honest answers to the interviewers questions. You say that your career is winding down, do you still play? How often? Is it possible to completely walk away from a profession that you spent so much time perfecting?

Sam
 
K

Kevin Blackwood

Member
#2
#2
Walking away *LINK*

Glad you enjoyed the interview. Some of those answers were expanded upon in a magazine article I wrote a few months back, which was reprinted by Henry Tamburin at Blackjack Insider. It might clarify some of your questions.

I haven't totally walked away from card counting. I still dabble in it, but my life had reached the point where other pursuits, such as writing, have become more interesting. I've spent a good part of my life chasing the almighty dollar. It's made me rich, but I don't really feel like I've contributed a whole lot to society at large.

So I'm trying to find some endeavours that are more rewarding in that sense, although much less in the financial sense. I know (from an earlier post) that you read my novel THE COUNTER. I tried to convey some of those feelings in that book since it is easy in our world to get blinded by money and not see what is truly important in life.
 
T

The Mayor

Well-Known Member
#3
#3
Re: Walking away

Kevin,

I just want to say how much I honor what you are doing, and how consistent it is with what this site stands for. Life comes first. Loving comes second. Everything else comes afterwards.

That said, I think it is completely consistent to also enjoy games and making $ without conflicting with the above principles. Each of us has unique talents, and expressing those talents to their fullest potential is the greatest way of achieving "Life comes first". For those who are talented at gaming, it would be a waste of life to not use those talents.

Nice to have you here,

--Mayor
 
K

Kevin Blackwood

Member
#5
#5
Greed and Gambling *LINK*

I totally agree with your assessment Mr. Mayor. I didn't mean to imply that gambling is wrong and incompatible with noble pursuits in life. Both can co-exist.

In my particular case, I just felt I'd done it long enough and hadn't maintained a proper balance in my overall life. It's easy to get sucked up by the lifestyle and view everything as a battlefield. It's important to squeeze out as much edge as possible but sometimes the nature of the vocation can change us into people we didn't think we would ever become. I've seen a lot of vices developed by players as they sunk deeper into their vocations and I've witnessed a lot of ethics and morals erode over time (including my own).

That doesn't have to be the case and well-grounded individuals can do fine. But just like Hollywood, Vegas has a way of chewing up and spitting up many young dreamers who enter their lair with good intentions.

I'm all for taking the casinos for everything they are worth. Donald Trump is not even on my Christmas Card list. Just be careful greed doesn't get in the way of your true goals.
 
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