Gambler Who Beat Atlantic City Tropicana For $6 Million Playing Blackjack Claims He Beat Several Atlantic City Casinos For $15 Million Overall--Without Cheating!

Source: thestar.com

A high-rolling blackjack player from Pennsylvania says he’s the gambler who has won about $15 million overall at three Atlantic City casinos over the past six months.

Don Johnson of Bensalem tells The Press of Atlantic City that he’s quite thankful for his run of good luck, though he’s also lost an unspecified amount during his hot streak and has paid “millions in taxes.”

And while Johnson’s unwilling to disclose his betting strategy, he told the newspaper there’s nothing underhanded about his success. He doesn’t consider himself a professional gambler and emphatically denied cheating or being part of an organized gambling ring.

“I’ll take luck over any other skill,” Johnson said with a laugh. “There’s no magic to this. Eventually, someone would whack them. I’m just glad it was me. I’m not breaking any laws,” he said. “I’m beating them with my own skills.”

Johnson says he won $4.23 million at Caesars Atlantic City in December alone and took in about $5 million at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa over a five-month stretch. But his biggest success came when he won $5.8 million during a 12-hour spree at Tropicana Casino and Resort in April, a record loss for the casino.

Casino officials have previously confirmed that one player had recently won millions of dollars playing high-stakes blackjack but declined to identify the person, citing privacy concerns.

The newspaper reported Sunday that it had confirmed Johnson’s accounts with multiple sources within the casino industry.

And one expert told the newspaper it was entirely plausible for one player to win so big at blackjack, if they had sound knowledge of the game, deep pockets and exercised self-discipline.

The 49-year-old Johnson is chief executive officer of Heritage Development LLC, which uses computer-assisted wagering programs for horse racing. He started gambling at casinos about 15 years ago, placing $25 bets at blackjack tables. As he became more proficient, he transitioned into high-stakes wagering – for example, the Tropicana last month allowed him to bet up to $100,000 a hand.

But his run of good luck has caused some setbacks.

Johnson says he’s been banned at the Caesars and Harrah’s casinos in Nevada and was turned down by Resorts and Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City. And he says casinos no longer offer him a 20 per cent discount on his losses or shower him with other high-roller perks.

“I don’t think they will let me play anymore,” he said of the Atlantic City casinos. “But it’s not going to change my life. If I don’t play blackjack, I’ll just go to the horse races.”

My Take: Do I believe this is on the square and that it is plausible that someone beat Atlantic City blackjack tables out of fifteen million without cheating? Well, at first glance...no...but then again, if they let him bet several hundred thousand bucks per hand it would be possible. I wonder why there was no mention of how much he may have been betting per hand in the other casinos besides the Tropican in these news reports.