http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_Blackjack_Team
The origins of blackjack play at MIT The origin of blackjack play at MIT was a
mini-course called 'How to Gamble if You Must', taught in January 1979 at MIT
over what is known as Independent Activities Period (IAP). A number of MIT
students from a living group in the Burton House dorm known as Conner III, who
often played penny-ante poker with each other, attended this course and learned
about blackjack and card counting methods.
Determined to put their newly-discovered knowledge to work, the group resolved
to travel to Atlantic City in the spring of 1979 to win their fortunes. Failing
miserably in this endeavor, the group went their separate ways when most of
them graduated in May, but two members maintained an avid interest in card
counting.
......
"Mr. M" Meets Bill Kaplan, Harvard MBA with a Las Vegas blackjack team of his
own In May 1980, one of the original MIT players, J.P. Massar ("Mr. M" as he is
known in the History Channel documentary on the MIT Blackjack Team) overheard a
conversation about professional blackjack at a Cambridge Chinese restaurant. JP
introduced himself to the speaker, Bill Kaplan, a 1980 Harvard MBA graduate who
had been running a successful blackjack team based in Las Vegas for the prior
three years. Kaplan had earned his BA at Harvard in 1977 and deferred his
admission to Harvard Business School for a year, during which time he moved to
Las Vegas and formed a team of blackjack players based on his research and own
statistical analysis of the game. Staked by the funds he received upon
graduation as Harvard's outstanding scholar-athlete, Kaplan generated a 35+
fold rate of return in less than 9 months of play during this "year
off."[citation needed]
Kaplan continued to run his Las Vegas blackjack team as a sideline while
attending Harvard Business School but, by the time of his graduation in May
1980, the players were so "burnt out" in Nevada, they were forced to hit the
international circuit. Not feeling he could continue to manage the team
successfully while they traveled throughout Europe and elsewhere, encountering
different rules, playing conditions, and casino practices, Kaplan parted ways
with his teammates, who then splintered into multiple small playing teams in
pursuit of more favorable conditions throughout the world.
[edit] Kaplan observes Massar and his friends in action After meeting Kaplan
in a Chinese restaurant in Cambridge and hearing about his blackjack successes,
Massar asked Kaplan if he was interested in going with a few of Massar's
blackjack-playing friends to Atlantic City to observe their play, in the hopes
of figuring out what they were doing wrong. Given the fortuitous timing
(Kaplan's parting with his Las Vegas team), he agreed to go in the hopes of
putting together a new local team that he could train and manage.
Kaplan observed Massar and three or four of his friends playing for a weekend
in Atlantic City. The trip was a disaster......
Strategic Investments, 1992-1993 In 1992, Bill Kaplan, JP Massar, and John
Chang, a player who joined the team in 1982, decided to capitalize on the
opening of Foxwoods Casino in nearby Connecticut, which they planned to use as
a training ground for new players. Acting as the General Partner, they formed a
Massachusetts Limited Partnership in June 1982 called Strategic Investments to
bankroll the new team. Structured similar to the numerous real estate
development limited partnerships Kaplan had formed, the limited partnership
raised a million dollars, significantly more money than any of their previous
teams. Coincident with this new funding, the three general partners ramped up
their recruitment and training efforts to capitalize on the opportunity.
The MIT Team grew to nearly 80 players, including groups and players located
in Cambridge, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, Illinois, and
Washington. At various times, there were nearly 30 players playing
simultaneously at different casinos around the world, including Indian casinos
throughout the country, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Canada, and island locations.
Never before had casinos throughout the world seen such an organized and
scientific onslaught of their game. While the profits rolled in, so did the
"heat" from the casinos and many MIT Team members were identified and barred.
These members were replaced by fresh players from MIT, Harvard, and other
colleges and companies, and play continued. Eventually, however, investigators
hired by casinos realized that many of those they had banned had addresses in
or near Cambridge, and the connection to MIT and a formalized team became
clear. The detectives obtained copies of recent MIT yearbooks and added
photographs from it to their image database.
With many of the top performing players banned, less time on nights and
weekends to devote to managing the enterprise, and opportunities in the real
estate market that made blackjack team profits pale in comparison, the General
Partners decided to end Strategic Investments. On December 31, 1993, they
terminated the limited partnership and paid out the winnings to investors and
players alike.
Umesh Sharma
Washington D.C.
1-202-215-4328 [Cell]
Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005
http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/index.html (Edu info)
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/ (Management Info)
www.gse.harvard.edu/iep (where the above 2 are used )
http://harvardscience.harvard.edu/
http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/
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