"The Player" documentary on Netflix

There is a new documentary on Netflix called The Player? The "whale" they follow has supposedly been banned from the Strip from winning too much at blackjack. He claims to push the odds to his favor by distracting the dealers (women, big bets) and causing them to make mistakes. I find this hard to believe, especially since he mentions that he doesn't count cards.

Any validity to this claim? Any other odds problems in this movie?

It's talking about Don Johnson, which is a well-known story. He did win that much money, but the "documentary" (it's more of a fluff piece) severely misrepresents how he got his advantage.

Still worth watching, IMO.

Quote: AxiomOfChoice

It's talking about Don Johnson, which is a well-known story. He did win that much money, but the "documentary" (it's more of a fluff piece) severely misrepresents how he got his advantage.

Still worth watching, IMO.

The Vegas stuff was interesting , but who likes slime rats who switch sides and work with casinos giving speeches (warning of the impending attack) etc. Not this guy.

You say it's a documentary on netflix, which is a private pay subscription service: I have it for DVDs but not streaming.

I assume you streamed it?

A search did not find it on DVD.

Link?

Quote: MrV

You say it's a documentary on netflix, which is a private pay subscription service: I have it for DVDs but not streaming.

I assume you streamed it?

A search did not find it on DVD.

Link?

Given that it's a 43-minute TV documentary, it's probably only available for streaming:

Netflix link: The Player: Secrets of a Vegas Whale

Bloomberg link (free, if you don't have Netflix streaming): The Player: Secrets of a Vegas Whale

Quote: breadstickczar

There is a new documentary on Netflix called The Player? The "whale" they follow has supposedly been banned from the Strip from winning too much at blackjack. He claims to push the odds to his favor by distracting the dealers (women, big bets) and causing them to make mistakes. I find this hard to believe, especially since he mentions that he doesn't count cards.

Any validity to this claim? Any other odds problems in this movie?

I must have missed it when he said he didn't count cards... also since he probably does count (even if he denies it) I was confused why the casinos wanted his business and were comping him all that dough when he was beating them so badly.... folks here claim to get harassed for winning a few grand but this guy won millions before they got wind of him?

Quote: andyg99

I must have missed it when he said he didn't count cards... also since he probably does count (even if he denies it) I was confused why the casinos wanted his business and were comping him all that dough when he was beating them so badly.... folks here claim to get harassed for winning a few grand but this guy won millions before they got wind of him?

from wiki

During the financialcrisis of 2008 casinos became desperate to entice high rollers. In 2010, Johnson was made offers to play at thehighest stakes. He negotiated several changesto standard casino blackjack in order to gain a mathematical edge.[4] These changesincluded dealers being forced to stay on soft 17, a 20% rebate where casino would refund 20% of his losses (80 cents to every dollar) for losses exceeding $500,000, six decks, re-split aces, and others.[5]

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Johnson_(gambler)

Quote: mrclean

from wiki

During the financialcrisis of 2008 casinos became desperate to entice high rollers. In 2010, Johnson was made offers to play at thehighest stakes. He negotiated several changesto standard casino blackjack in order to gain a mathematical edge.[4] These changesincluded dealers being forced to stay on soft 17, a 20% rebate where casino would refund 20% of his losses (80 cents to every dollar) for losses exceeding $500,000, six decks, re-split aces, and others.[5]

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Johnson_(gambler)

yeah, I remember them saying this during the documentary... it makes sense to entice the high rollers to your casino because plenty of them lose like most gamblers... why go after this guy who had a reputation for winning?