เคน สมิธ | มกราคม 26, 2005
The premiere episode of GSN’s World Series of Blackjack lived up to all expectations, delivering an exciting and well-produced show. I stick with my comments made at the time; That tournament table featured some of the best play I’ve ever seen. If you’d like to read my hand-by-hand recap of the show and join in […]
เคน สมิธ | ธันวาคม 29, 2004
For the third year running, I’ve managed to win a seat in the final event in the Las Vegas Hilton’s Million Dollar Blackjack Tournament. It took a few tries this year, but in the December monthly qualifier I picked up one of the 16 big-event seats available. I went on to make the final table, […]
เคน สมิธ | ธันวาคม 23, 2004
I was recently involved in a final hand at a blackjack tournament at the New Frontier in Las Vegas, where an opponent had a tough decision to make. He had a soft 18 facing a dealer ten, and the tournament situation made it unclear whether standing or hitting was preferable. The complete situation, and an […]
เคน สมิธ | พฤศจิกายน 22, 2004
An article in today’s Las Vegas Sun starts out talking about Jimmy Pine, aka “Young Jimmy Dime” who was a participant in the recent World Series of Blackjack’s second season. The story goes on to cover a laundry list of blackjack topics: Card counters, backrooming, lawsuits, and of course a few bits of WSOB2.
เคน สมิธ | พฤศจิกายน 6, 2004
My recent post about a $99,999 judgement against Imperial Palace casino in Las Vegas included only the actual damages awarded in the case. Since then, the case has returned to the courtroom where the jury awarded an additional $500,000 in punitive damages. Law caps the punitive damages in this case to $300,000, so the plaintiff […]
เคน สมิธ | ตุลาคม 25, 2004
An editorial in Saturday’s Las Vegas Review Journal references the suit I mentioned a few days ago, and features this telling quote: “The gaming industry’s viability — and the state’s economy — hinge on the premise that gamblers get a fair shake. Even the slightest hint that fancy shufflers and other glittering casino technologies can […]
เคน สมิธ | ตุลาคม 22, 2004
I recently got this question via email: “What is the rule of 6?” Casinos that deal single-deck blackjack often instruct their dealers to use the “rule of 6” to decide when to shuffle. This means that the number of players plus the number of rounds between shuffles should add up to 6. If there are […]
เคน สมิธ | ตุลาคม 19, 2004
Las Vegas attorney Bob Nersesian has filed suit on behalf of a gambler at a casino in Reno, NV, seeking to stop the casino from using the automated MindPlay blackjack table for a practice known as ‘preferential shuffling’. That’s when the casino shuffles away any player-favorable situations. The suit alleges that the casino used an […]