Ken Uston

If you spotted a man wearing a disguise and winning millions of dollars at the casinos during the 1970s and 1980s, it would probably have been Ken Uston that you were seeing in action. Flamboyant, brilliant, and great at the tables, Ken Uston eventually earned the status as one of the member of the Blackjack Hall of Fame for his colorful life and blackjack expertise. Born in New York City in 1935 to a Japanese father and an Australian mother, Ken Uston achieved degrees from Yale University (Phi Betta Kappa and magna cum laude) and from Harvard University (MBA in finance). Eventually, while still in his thirties, he became the youngest senior Vice President in the history of the Pacific Stock Exchange. But how did all of this lead him to the Blackjack Hall of Fame?

Next Up for Ken Uston

At some point, Ken Uston met Al Francesco and the two of them changed the history of blackjack along with their team. Ken Uston soon left his day job to work on Al's blackjack team. They had a very specific strategy for gambling at the casinos whereby they would have counters placing small bets on blackjack tables. With card counting and mathematical formulas, they could figure out when the blackjack odds were working for them, and they would then have other players who would come to the table, place big bets and win millions!

Moving on His Own for Ken Uston

In 1976, Ken Uston branched out and started his own team. He played in Vegas, Atlantic City and other locations, but he became very unfavorable with the casinos. He was often banned from the casinos, arrested and assaulted by the guards. He created fantastic and elaborate disguises to try to continue playing and he actually became as well known for his clever outfits as he was for his blackjack prowess. He also went up against the casinos in court, arguing that banning him from playing was an infringement on his civil rights. Just as someone might love to play chess, he argued, he loved blackjack and had a right to continue playing. He won legally in the case of Uston v. Resorts International Hotel Inc, but the casinos responded by changing their decks, their shuffle point and other things to prevent blackjack geniuses like Ken Uston from winning.

The Blackjack Hall of Fame

If this wasn't enough to get Ken Uston into the Blackjack Hall of Fame, he also published a number of books using his blackjack strategy. He wrote The Big Player, Million Dollar Blackjack, and Ken Uston on Blackjack. He also wrote interesting books about computer games and video games such as Mastering Pac-Man and Ken Uston's Guide to Home Computers. He was inducted into the Blackjack Hall of Fame with the other six members of the Hall of Fame and certainly earned his standing in that elite group!