Blackjack Hall of Fame, Gambling hall of fame at Barona Casino in San Diego, United States.
The Blackjack Hall of Fame is a wall display at Barona Resort & Casino in San Diego County. Raised metal letters reading "HALL OF FAME" top fifteen framed black-and-white headshots, hung in three rows of five on a light, vertically textured wall covering, each with a small printed caption beneath. The inductees range from Edward O. Thorp, author of Beat the Dealer, to the 2008 group entry known as the Four Horsemen of Aberdeen.
The hall opened in 2002 with seven founding members, including Edward Thorp who created the first mathematical card-counting methods. This launch marked the beginning of formally recognizing breakthroughs in blackjack strategy and analysis.
Inductees include Edward O. Thorp, whose 1960s book Beat the Dealer presented card counting, and the "Four Horsemen of Aberdeen", who published the first accurate basic strategy in the 1950s using only desk calculators. Ken Uston popularized team play in disguise and sued Atlantic City casinos over card counters' rights. John Chang, manager of the MIT Blackjack Team, was the basis for the Mickey Rosa character in the film 21.
You can view the gallery while visiting the casino, and it is relatively easy to find within the resort. Having some familiarity with English helps you read the background information and understand the context of each inductee's contributions.
Barona Casino gives each inductee a lifetime comp for room, food and beverage, on condition they never play at Barona's tables. The 2008 class was inducted as a group: Roger Baldwin, Wilbert Cantey, Herbert Maisel and James McDermott, the "Four Horsemen of Aberdeen", who worked out the first accurate basic strategy while serving in the U.S. Army in the 1950s using only desk calculators.
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