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What is the Blackjack Hall of Fame?
We're used to halls of fame erected to pay tribute to the accomplishments of outstanding individuals in all sorts of fields; there's the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, among many others. But very few might be familiar with another hall of fame: the Blackjack Hall of Fame. Its purpose is exactly what one might suspect - it's exactly the same purpose as every other hall of fame: to list the names and accomplishments of outstanding players and tacticians of Blackjack.
Who are the Members of the Blackjack Hall of Fame?
Not all of the names listed in the Blackjack Hall of Fame are actual ritual players of the game. Some are, in fact, people who have become famous as regular players of the game of blackjack, but many are also those who studied and wrote about Blackjack strategy and patterns and even people who simply wrote about the game itself, raising awareness among the general population. Several of the Blackjack Hall of Fame members include math professor Edward O. Thorp and computer scientist Julian Braun, who are listed there for their studies and publications of Blackjack odds, strategy, card-counting techniques and so on. Al Francesco and those of his type are known for their winnings at actual Blackjack tables in casinos across the United States.
The History of the Blackjack Hall of Fame
The concept of the Blackjack Hall of Fame originated in 2002, in which professional gamblers were asked to vote on twenty-one potential candidates to be enshrined in the Blackjack Hall of Fame. The first round of voting was then opened to the public via the Internet and in January of 2003, the final round of voting was held at the Blackjack Hall. By this point, seven members were elected to the Blackjack Hall of Fame:
1. Edward O. Thorp
2. Ken Uston
3. Al Francesco
4. Stanford Wong
5. Peter Griffin
6. Tommy Hyland
7. Arnold Snyder
Since 2003, however, the Blackjack Hall of Fame has grown as new rounds of voting and electing members have taken place at each annual Blackjack Ball. Two members were added in 2004 and 2005, respectively, and since then, a ruling was enacted that only one member could be elected per year. The list of new members since 2003 is as follows:
1. Keith Taft, 2004
2. Max Rubin, 2004
3. Julian Braun, 2005
4. Lawrence Revere, 2005
5. James Grosjean, 2006
6. Johnny Chang, 2007
7. The Four Horsemen, 2008
The Blackjack Hall of Fame building is located in Southern California.
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