Life is game, game is life

The fact is that during that two-week experiment, Resorts’ overall win from their blackjack tables was not reduced one iota. In fact, the casino win had substantially increased during that time, as their tables were so crowded with players who were trying to count cards but could not. The counters, however, thoroughly embarrassed the casino, and in the midst of the counters’ bragging about their huge wins, the dealers felt they had been stiffed.
By the end of 1979, two new casinos had opened in Atlantic City, with half a dozen more in planning or under construction. The Boardwalk Regency, operated by Caesars, opened in June, and the Park Place, operated by Bally’s, opened in December. All three were averaging about $500,000 per day in winnings from their table games, more than any of the Las Vegas Strip casinos at that time. Card counters were being barred from the tables daily, but Ken Uston was in the process of suing the Casino Control Commission for its decision to allow the casinos to prohibit counters from playing. Meanwhile, the casinos-worried that Uston’s lawsuit might succeed-were petitioning the Commission for numerous proposed changes to their blackjack games. They wanted the right to deal blackjack from eight-deck shoes, to eliminate the early surrender option, and to deal out only 50 percent of the cards in a shoe at their discretion. Where this battle would end was anyone’s guess.