The Blackjack Hall of Fame

To those of you who are unfamiliar, yes, there really is a Blackjack Hall of Fame.  In 2002, 21 blackjack authors, experts and avid players were nominated by publishers, fellow blackjack lovers, and casino personnel.  The final votes were tallied at the 2003 Blackjack Ball in January of that year.  The point of the Blackjack Hall of Fame was to honor amazing blackjack players who changed the course of the game and who educated the public about blackjack.  It was a chance to tip our hats, so to speak, to those who have made blackjack what it is today!

Voting in the Blackjack Hall of Fame

Who can vote to people into the Blackjack Hall of Fame? The main rule is that you have to have your primary income from the game and you have to have been playing for at least five years.  Regular people can vote, as well, through an online voting system. In addition, certain casino big wigs who can’t attend the Blackjack Ball get to vote through absentee ballots.  The first year they had seven heavy hitters inducted into the Blackjack Hall of Fame.  While there were many more nominations than this, these were the seven special people who received the honors of being in the Blackjack Hall of Fame.

The 7 First Blackjack Hall of Fame Inductees

So, who was lucky enough to get the blackjack honors?  Al Francesco, Stanford Wong, Peter Griffin, Ken Uston, Edward O. Thorp, Tommy Hyland, and Arnold Snyder were the first blackjack people to take the honors.  They each contributed, through their blackjack knowledge, their published works, their experiments and more, to the blackjack history that gave them this honor.  It is certainly worthwhile to learn more about each of these legends and to find out why each one was given this honor.  They each had incredibly colorful lives, and most of them stumbled into playing blackjack, rather than seeking it out originally.  Of course, they each became quite wealthy from their blackjack knowledge and expertise and they paved the way for many other players to perfect and hone their game.  To this day, at the Barona Casino, you can learn more about these players and see the plaques in their honors. In addition, at this casino, they have on display the many cheating devices that have been used throughout time!  Long live blackjack and the fascinating Blackjack Hall of Fame!