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Alex Harper • Aug 20, 2026 
Reviewed By Paul Jacobs
Casino Expert
On the Strip, at a safe venue is where above a hundred great gamblers met for Max Rubin’s 24th yearly Blackjack ball gathering. Billionaires at the event were there to play and become the “World’s Greatest Blackjack Player.” The games began with 21 questions that were centered on gambling. Five finalists were chosen who then went to play cards at the blackjack table. Their card counting skills were tested here.
Robin’s place is where the after-party took place with successful Las Vegas players talking up a storm. Some of the best gamblers that attended include Bill Benter, John Chang, Ed Thorp, Anthony Curtis and many more.
Great Blackjack Gamblers at the Event
Bill Benter is one of the richest professional gamblers and philanthropist. The man won about $1 billion betting through horse betting in Hong Kong. He started off his career as a blackjack player and card counter. Benter never looked back after leaving physics studies in 1979 to play low stakes at casinos in Las Vegas.
The film called “21” was inspired by John Chang who helped develop Kevin Spacey’s character. The movie came from “Bringing the House Down” which was a book that was based on a true story of the MIT Blackjack Squad. John Chang was a player and also managed the team in the 1980-1990s.
Ed Thorp was the motivation behind Benter and many other professional gamblers. Beat the Dealer was a book he wrote in 1962s about card counting. He was a math teacher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The book became a best seller and soon after that Blackjack became popular all over Las Vegas Robin said.
Antony Curtis is the 25th member of the Blackjack Hall of Fame. Curtis was an expert Blackjack player who later established the Huntington Press and the Las Vegas Advisor newsletter. He resided in Las Vegas in 1979 and played for a gambling team that was the same as the MIT Team.
Other Blackjack Ball Gamblers
The list of leading gamblers goes on with the likes of Don Johnson, James Grosjean and Arnold Synder, and who make the billion-dollar industry.
