Blackjack Insiders: How Two Pit Bosses Beat the Casinos at Their Own Game - Softcover

Uyal, Andrew

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1944877223 ISBN 13: 9781944877224

Publisher: Huntington Press, 2019

Synopsis

Learn from two Vegas pit bosses and their 21 winning spree!

Bored and sensing a shift in the management wind at the casino where he worked, author Andrew Uyal learned how to count cards from his supervisor, Mark Stevens, an expert blackjack player who beat the gambling joints on his days off. Twenty-five-year-old Andrew was recently divorced, had a young son to support, and was ready for a challenge that offered mental stimulation, financial profit, and even a taste of danger.

Andrew and Mark started small, with low stakes and hit-and-run incursions into the Las Vegas locals’ casinos. Their familiarity with the inner workings of casino personnel allowed them to quickly determine what their antagonists behind the tables were doing and why they were doing it and how Andrew and Mark could use that knowledge against them. Their intimacy with casino procedures, however, didn’t protect them from the adversity that came with being a card counter.

No blackjack book has ever been written from such a deep-rooted behind-the-scenes perspective as Blackjack Insiders. You’ll ride along with the two rogue pit bosses as they take on casino after casino in city after city, experiencing wild bankroll swings and being viewed and treated like criminals.

In the end, after burning out casinos across the country, Andrew and Mark took a tally and found themselves with a problem everyone dreams of having: “Where do we put all of this money?”

About this title

About the Author

Andrew Uyal is a casino floor supervisor in Las Vegas, Nevada. He doesn’t play blackjack anymore (or does he?). Instead, he manages casino pits in an upscale Las Vegas Strip resort, politely backing off advantage players who take their tactics too far. He’s also a big Vegas Golden Knights hockey fan and likes spending time with his family and, of course, his dog.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

That evening, Mark called, saying we needed to meet. Coincidentally, we were in the same area. He was leaving the Rio and I was across the street at the Palms, where we arranged to meet in the food court. It was unusual that Mark wanted to meet like that and my curiosity was piqued.

When I saw Mark at a table by himself in the food court, he looked paranoid and shaken. Something was obviously wrong.

“What happened?”

“I had an incident at Rio. I won’t be going back there any time soon.” He was talking quickly. Whatever it was had affected him in a big way.

Slower this time, I asked, “What incident?”

“I was playing, not noticing any heat at all. Then it hit me that an unusual number of security guards were around the pit. I got a bad feeling and started cramming all my chips into my pocket, without coloring up. Right then, someone tapped me on the shoulder. When I turned to look, two gigantic guards were standing behind me. The guy closest to me asked for my ID. I asked why. He said they needed to check my age. I wasn’t prepared for that answer, so I got it out and held it out for him to see. He snatched it out of my hand, told me I needed to go with them, and started talking into his radio. I said, ‘Hey, I didn’t say you could take it. Give it back.’ He told me I could never come back here again; if I did, they’d arrest me. I heard him start to relay my information through the radio, so I ripped my license out of his hand and ran off. They chased me at first, yelling for me to stop, but I was pretty close to the door and hauled ass outside. My car is still there. I ran here.”

“Whoa!”

“Yeah. Of course, they have no grounds to actually arrest me. I’m not sure why he said that. If they had trespassed me then, maybe, but I took off before they could. Still, though, I don’t think I’ll be welcome back anytime soon. You’ll have to cash these out or play them for me.” He started pulling green $25 chips out of his pocket, spreading them all over the table, about $1,250 in all. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“What the hell am I going to do with fifty green chips?”

“Find the big security guy, tell him I sent you, and that I expect full payment. And call him a fat ass while you’re at it.”

Bringing us back to reality, I said, “Or maybe I should just take them to the cage.”

Edition details

• Publisher: Huntington Press
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1944877223
• ISBN 13: 9781944877224
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 248