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2014 BLACKJACK BALL
by Henry Tamburin
Henry Tamburin is an accomplished blackjack player, editor of the Blackjack Insider newsletter, and host of
www.smartgaming.com. He is a featured blackjack writer for numerous regional and national magazines.For the 18th consecutive year, Max Rubin hosted the Blackjack Ball in January 2014 at a secret location in Las Vegas. This year 106 invited blackjack professionals attended the Ball to renew old acquaintances, make new ones, exchange playing experiences, and compete for the coveted Grosjean Cup. (The reason the Blackjack Ball Cup was renamed the Grosjean Cup is because blackjack pro James Grojean won three times and was banned from competing by Max; however, to recognize Grosjean for being the best of the best three times, the Blackjack Ball Cup was renamed the Grosjean Cup in his honor.)
The list of blackjack luminaries that attended the Ball reads like a "who’s who" in blackjack: Tommy Hyland, Al Francesco, Johnny Chang, Mike Aponte, Arnold Snyder, Richard Munchkin, Anthony Curtis and others. There were many more blackjack "celebrities" at the Ball but I think you get the picture.
The gala included drinks and a buffet courtesy of Barona Casino. (They sponsor the Blackjack Ball and in return, the players in attendance agree not to play blackjack in their casino ... pretty smart move on their part). The only requirement to attend the Ball is that you must bring a bottle of "premium champagne" (preferably earned as a comp from a casino). The bottles of champagne are opened and consumed during the Ball (and in an after-the-Ball-party, which ended at 3 am).
Security is tight. A security guard checks that you are on the official list of attendees, and then Max greets you at the door (Max knows everyone, and according to him, the reason for the tight security is because, "If a casino employee can infiltrate the Ball, it would make his career."
There was the usual Calcutta, which is a sort of a para-mutual wagering, where the attendees can bet on who will win the coveted Grosjean Cup. Below is the list of the players in each Seed. (Max posted the odds of winning for each Seed … attendees bid anywhere from a couple of hundred to a couple of thousand dollars on who they thought would win the Grosjean Cup. Bidding was lively amongst this group of advantage players and the odds on favorite was Anthony Curtis, who has made it to the final tables numerous times in the past.)
- Anthony Curtis
- Diamond Mike and the Asian Assassins
- New School Aps - David Y, Frank B, and the Washington Solos
- The Recent Champs - Big Player and Mr. Yuk
- The MIT Team - John Chang, Mike Aponte, and Andy Bloch
- Hall of Fame Team - Schipani, Purpose, Snyder, Hyland, and Taft Jr.
- The Legendary Chaps - Wally Simmons and Mr. Lucky
- The Counters - Joe Pane and Hollywood Dave
- The Gambling Writers - Bob Dancer, Henry Tamburin, Blair Rodman, and Barry M.
- The Gambling Attorneys - Nersesian, Sankiewicz, and Loeb
- The Big Winners - Don Johnson and Bill Benter
- The Geezers - Anyone not an a team and over 60 years or older
- The Professors - Anyone in the room with a PhD and not on a team
- The Women’s Field - Under 60
- The Men’s Field - Under 60
The competition for the coveted Grosjean Cup began with a very challenging 21 question written test. Here is a copy of the rules that Max read and strictly enforced.
"
To prevent, ahem, advantage play, as you fill out your game card, you must mark every true or false question or multiple choice question and fill in the blank before we move on to the next question. You cannot change your answer once you have marked your card. If there are any blanks or changed answers on your card when it is graded or handed in, you will be disqualified. In addition, anyone who looks at their cell phones for any reason, other than to take an emergency call, in which case we will all wait until that emergency has been dealt with, will also be disqualified from play.You may use the back of your card as a worksheet.
I’ll repeat each question twice. Ready?
(Copy of the BJ Ball Test is at the end of this article.)
After the test was completed, the results were scored and the five players with the highest number of correct answers advanced to the next round of the competition.
The player with the most correct answers was David Y. (17). The players with the next most correct answers were Smoke (12), attorney Thea Sankiewicz (12), Darryl Purpose (11), and Andy Bloch (11). These five contestants then competed in the next round of the competition that ensued (mostly card counting drills … I’ll describe them in next month’s BJI).
Hall of Fame Nominees
What follows is the process used to nominate inductees into the Hall of Fame (written by Max).
The living members of the Hall of the Fame sent names to me for suggested nominees, and all names were then discussed and voted upon. The seven prospective nominees that received the most votes are then placed on the ballot.
Much to their consternation, this process has prevented several well-known but lesser accomplished "One trick ponies" that have written introductory level books or excelled at running numbers from joining the mix of truly worthy candidates that have achieved the highest levels of success, either on the tables or through their contributions to the craft.
Three nominees that were at this year’s Blackjack Ball included Bob Nersesian, Diamond Mike, and Rob Reitzen. Mike and Rob are both accomplished players that have utilized a variety of techniques to harvest chips from casinos for decades and their respective career arcs read like whimsical works of fantasy.
Bob has done more to change the way that honest and legal Advantage Players are treated by casinos, cops, and regulators than anyone in history (and profited handsomely from his work to boot).
The ballots were distributed to the attendees, and they could circle two nominees on their ballot. Nominees must receive votes on at least 1/3 of the ballots to qualify for induction. Each Hall of Fame member gets three ballots; all other attendees and absentee voters get one. Some will say this isn't fair, but it does insure that only those that belong are inducted into the most exclusive Blackjack Club in the world.
Bob Nersesian came in first in the voting, Diamond Mike came in second, and Bill Erb (who, while playing blackjack along with Frank Schipani, broke the bank at a casino in France and put them out of business), took third.
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Note from Henry: Bob is the author of the book, Beat the Players. Just about everyone in the room has Bob’s phone number in their cell phone directory, including yours truly. (Nersesian’s partner in the law firm is Thea Sankiewicz, who happened to get more questions right on the test than 104 of the blackjack pros in attendance.)
Bob Nersesian now joins an illustrated group of blackjack professionals in the Blackjack Hall of Fame. (You can view the physical Blackjack Hall of Fame at the Barona Casino.) The members (and the year they were inducted) include Al Francesco (2002), Peter Griffin (2002), Edward O. Thorp (2002), Ken Uston (2002), Stanford Wong (2002), Tommy Hyland (2002), Max Rubin (2004), Keith Taft (2004), Julian Bruan (2005), Lawrence Revere (2005), James Grosjean (2006), John Chang (2006), Roger Baldwin, Wilbert Cantey, Herbert Maisel, and James McDermott, collectively known as the "Four Horsemen of Aberdeen" (2008), Richard Munchkin (2009), Darryl Purpose (2010), Zeljko Ranogajec (2011), Ian Anderson (2012), and Robert Nersesian (2014).
Next Month I’ll share with you the answers to the Blackjack Test questions (courtesy of Max Rubin), the details of the semifinal and final round skills tests, and the name of the person that won the coveted Grosjean Cup. In addition, this is the first year that the player who finished in second place in the competition received the Munchkin Award for "World’s Second Greatest Blackjack Player of 2014." I’ll also reveal who won that award. (The Munchkin Award is in honor Richard Munchkin, who also has been banned from the competition after winning three times.)
Until next month when I provide the answers, try answering the Blackjack Ball Test Questions. Good luck.
Henry Tamburin
Note: Special thanks to Max Rubin for reviewing this article and making additions/corrections to ensure its accuracy.
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Blackjack Ball 2014
Round One Questions...
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