| What's the first thing that enters your mind when | | | | cash back and forth was another obstacle they |
| you think of MIT, the world-renowned | | | | overcame with ingenuity. Cash traveled in every |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology: engineering | | | | conceivable manner: strapped to bodies, on |
| genius, mathematical wizard, visionary, geek, | | | | "mules," in hollow crutches, just to name a few. |
| hacker? If you chose any one of those, you | | | | High Tech vs Low Tech |
| would be correct. Mix them all together, add some | | | | Their reign spanned a good part of the 1990s |
| smoke and mirrors, big-time anonymous | | | | when they traveled the casino circuit with total |
| investors, a dash of anarchy for good measure, | | | | abandon. Their $400,000 winning weekend in Las |
| and you get one of the best scams of all | | | | Vegas is legendary. Casino technology was not |
| times--the MIT Blackjack Team--the ultimate in | | | | yet at a stage where it could match wits with |
| high stakes, genius-backed hacking! Infamy is | | | | MIT genius. At least, it had not made its way to |
| nothing new to MIT. Some of the world's wiliest | | | | practical application in Las Vegas, Ironically, it |
| hackers hailed from the hallowed halls of MIT; but | | | | would be low-tech sloppiness that brought the |
| when one gifted math professor and six gifted | | | | team down in the end. |
| students banded together, they propelled | | | | The casinos had learned to deal with the card |
| organized hacking to dizzying heights and | | | | counters long before the MIT pikers hit the scene. |
| snookered organized gambling to the tune of | | | | When they identified a card counter, they would |
| millions! That was sweet music to the ears of | | | | ensure that his play at the tables was a living |
| millions who have left behind small fortunes in their | | | | nightmare, and should the card counter take the |
| quest to beat the casinos. | | | | house for a large sum, they would immediately |
| After school club | | | | ban him. Technology in the 1990s had matured to |
| The MIT Blackjack team began as an after-school | | | | a point where bad news traveled fast. When the |
| club held in campus classrooms where students | | | | card counter was detected at one casino, it |
| assembled to apply their genius to card games, | | | | became nearly impossible to escape detection at |
| unwind (at least, by MIT standards), and have fun. | | | | any other casino. |
| The club eventually evolved into serious business. | | | | Profiled MIT Blackjack Team |
| The team set up a complete underground | | | | Las Vegas casino bosses relied on a |
| system of casino mock-ups spanning apartments, | | | | long-established profile of the Blackjack card |
| warehouses, and classrooms scattered across | | | | counter, but since the MIT team ran counter to |
| Boston where they worked diligently to perfect | | | | the profile, that also worked in their favor, helping |
| their scheme. Before advancing to live play in the | | | | them to escape detection. The profile assumed |
| casino, each player had to pass a rigorous battery | | | | one lone card counter. The team's nonchalant, |
| of tests encompassing all of the roles under | | | | seemingly random style of play also ran counter |
| simulated casino conditions, including distraction and | | | | to the profile. But they were crazy like |
| harassment. Still, they were not ready for the big | | | | foxes--until they were no more. |
| league until further honing their skills in Boston's | | | | Finally, sloppiness brought them to their knees. |
| Chinatown before heading to Las Vegas. | | | | Eventually, they lost their discipline and their cool; |
| Card Counting | | | | the well-oiled machine built with the precision of a |
| Card counting, the heart of their system, is a | | | | Swiss watch began to fall apart. They began to |
| proven winning technique. Blackjack odds offer | | | | fraternize, and not just with the usual Las Vegas |
| the one opportunity for those with skill, dogged | | | | temptations, but with each other--in public. A total |
| determination, and discipline to consistently beat | | | | chance spotting of the teams relaxing and playing |
| the house. The casinos know that Blackjack is | | | | at a Las Vegas pool blew their cover. The tale of |
| vulnerable (that smart, disciplined players actually | | | | their unraveling wound its way back to the back |
| have a fighting chance of winning), and that is | | | | streets of Boston before they finally disbanded. |
| why they ban the big winners and harass and | | | | The odds had finally turned against them, and the |
| threaten potential big winners. | | | | stakes were far too high for even the geniuses |
| Casino management further understands that it | | | | from MIT. |
| takes only one or two mistakes to turn a player's | | | | The last remaining team player was escorted |
| winning system into a house win, and that is the | | | | from the table with the parting words, "You can't |
| only reason that they tolerate card counting--until | | | | play here. You're too good for us." |
| it turns against them. They rely on human frailties, | | | | Blackjack Team in the News |
| such as lack of discipline and distraction, to return | | | | The tale of the MIT Blackjack Team doesn't end |
| the advantage to the house. | | | | with its demise. ABC, CNN, History Channel, and |
| The MIT team used card counting as the | | | | CBS's 60 Minutes all picked up the story. Bringing |
| foundation of their system; it was only one | | | | Down the House : The Inside Story of Six MIT |
| among a number of tools in their magical tool box, | | | | Students Who Took Vegas for Millions (Simon |
| and even then, it wasn't traditional card counting. | | | | & Schuster Adult Publishing Group, 2002), by |
| It added a high-low system, based on the | | | | Ben Mezrich, chronicles the escapades of the |
| statistical probability of receiving high or low cards, | | | | team from its inception to the end of the line |
| and they added an additional technique for cutting | | | | through the eyes of team member, Kevin Lewis |
| the cards that further skewed the odds in their | | | | (not his real name). One enterprising former |
| favor. | | | | member currently offers seminars based on the |
| Team members traveled together, seemingly as | | | | system. |
| total strangers. Each assumed one of a number | | | | The final irony has yet to play itself out. Kevin |
| of well-crafted fake identities, the teams included | | | | Spacey is producing the movie version of the |
| several types of players, each member playing a | | | | book, due to be released by MGM sometime in |
| well-defined role. Anonymous investors provided | | | | 2006. One has to wonder if the movie will help |
| the stake and expected a return on their | | | | MGM recover its losses to the MIT Blackjack |
| investment. One such outing netted a 154% ROI | | | | Team. |
| after expenses. Transporting huge amounts of | | | | |