A Las Vegas Whale - documentary review

I recently watched a documentary on a 40 minute YouTube video called 'the Las Vegas Whale' which was a fascinating documentary about an American professional gambling man who took the Atlantic City and Las Vegas Casinos for more than they bargained after he amassed at a total of $15 million playing blackjack.  As the YouTube documentary highlighted, this included a $4.2 million haul in the space of 12 hours at Caesars palace, without cheating!

As Johnson and the programme director sit in a small table outside the Casino hotel, the man who is also known as a Las Vegas whale, asks the interviewee if she'll press the big red button.  She duly does, and in result, a huge spout of a shooting water jets sets off high into the air and arcs magnificently and is as if filled with a rainbow of different colours. '£10,000 a pop that costs!' says Johnson.

This documentary is spearheaded by a well to do female presenter who interviews the likeable and surprisingly down to Earth professional gambler, as parts of the interview cut in and out during the production. For Johnson, it's all an act, and as part of his act at the blackjack tables he invites along celebrities and beautiful women to distract the dealers and contribute to his many tricks to give him an edge.

According to his words, during the interview, if there is a flaw in the system to help him win, he will find it.  As is said in the documentary, these Casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas were actually INVITING him to come to their venues, desperate for big time gamblers like him, after the huge 2008 stock market crash.  Worst of all, they were so desperate for his services, apparently they provided him with all the perks and advantages he needed to be able to help him take away the cash.


What interested me the most about this blackjack player's success story was the following: 'He was neither nervous nor excited.  Johnson plays a long game, so the ups and downs of individual hands, even big swings like this one, don't matter that much to him.  He is a perfect player.  Little interferes with his concentration.  He doesn't get rattled.  With him it's all about the Maths, and he knows it cold.'  It caught my attentions, as I've been reading a lot about this attitude in my poker reading recently.


Atlantic.com blackjack explanation

According to Atlantic.com the basics of blackjack are simple.  Almost everyone knows them.  You play against the house.  Two cards are placed faceup before the player, and two more cards, one down, one up, before the dealer.  A card's suit doesn't matter, only its numerical value - each face card is worth 10, and an ace can be either a one or an 11.  The goal is to get to 21 or as close to it as possible without going over.  Scanning the cards on the table before him, the player can either stand or keep taking cards in an effort to approach 21.  Since the house's hand has one card facedown, the player's can't know exactly what the hand is, which is what makes the game.




As is revealed, Johnson does his research on the Casinos and most notably those who are doing slightly worse than others and are proving perks to attract players like him, while at the time they didn't pay much attention to his former track record (even labelling him a mediocre player), and so they began to provide him with perks like £50,000 free bets or even a discussion about setting certain kinds of rules. Such as standing soft at 17 or if the dealer gets an A6, the dealer has to stand on that hand instead of taking another card. So if you're sitting on a 18, 19, 20 or 21 you're going to win. He also knows that the dealers are nervous as they are not used to dealing with such big bets - he keeps them nervous by asking for lots of side bets and makes many hand gestures.  He creates a party wherever he is with women and champagne around him.  He stays focused though.  If there is a weakness in the system then Dan would find it and that's why he had been able to make so much money.  He took $6 million at Atlantic City's Tropicana Casino in one night, then not long before, Borgata for $5 million and Caeser's for $4 million.

He moves fast, unexpectedly and plays the game with absolute precision. What's the difference in quality of play between you and me? asks the interviewer. 'Probably about 200%' he says matter of factual as if it's nothing.' This documentary is interesting, informative and gives history of the rise and falls of the Casino town, as well as a long interview with the Las Vegas Casino King himself - Steve Wynn - as well as other casino representatives in America who explain a bit more behind the business of the multi billion pound Casino industry. For inspiration and tips about how you can beat the game and make the system work for you then look no further than watching this documentary.

'Do you count cards?' asks the interviewer? Johnson chuckles. 'A monkey can count cards. I just play perfectly that's all.'

My score for this documentary 8/10 - it was pretty good!

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I have been playing poker for about 15 years. I play online currently and I've played poker in casinos, card rooms, local games and with friends. I play NL hold'em tournaments and cash games and can also play Pot Limit Omaha, a game I also love.
Comments (4)
the Las Vegas Whale

I'll try to watch this video ;) 

1 replies

It's an enjoyable and insightful watch 🤙

Amirgali Blocked
Blocked

Good post 👍👍👍👍

1 replies

Thanks 👌👌

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