Andrew
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December 2004
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Biography
Andrew W Scott
December 2004
Andrew Scott is a passionate educator
of, and advocate for, players in the casino and gaming
industry, primarily in Australia. He is founder and
CEO of blackJack-mAsters.com
Professional BlackJack School, a school established
in 1993 to further the education of players of Casino
BlackJack in Australia.
Mr Scott lived in Hobart, Tasmania
from 1979 to 1993, and was educated at the University
of Tasmania, completing a Bachelor of Commerce degree
majoring in Accounting. He started frequenting Wrest
Point Casino in Hobart in 1987, whilst being employed
by a firm of Chartered Accountants.
Andrew was an uneducated gambler at
Wrest Point casino for several months in 1987 and
ended up losing, as all uneducated gamblers do eventually
if they continue to play. This was followed by six
months away from the casino, during which he wrote
several computer programs to thoroughly analyse the
game. Eventually, he discovered how to beat the game
of casino BlackJack. He was unaware that his work
was essentially a repetition of research undertaken
at various Universities and other places in the US
in the 1960s. He formed similar conclusions on the
game of BlackJack as the US researchers had two decades
before him.
He then returned to Wrest Point casino
and began to play BlackJack skilfully. Staff at Wrest
Point casino immediately identified him as a skilled
player (also referred to as a card counter), since
he was totally unaware that it was wise to disguise
this ability from the casino. He was subsequently
barred from the casino after very substantial winnings.
His reputation as a skilled BlackJack
player spread throughout Australian casinos in the
late 1980s and early 1990s and his BlackJack game
has been frustrated by all Australian casinos. The
frustrations have ranged from outright barrings to
the enforcement of special rules imposed specifically
for him.
After six years working for a major
Chartered Accounting firm Andrew resigned in 1992.
Since then he has been involved in the world of professional
BlackJack, as well as managing his own more traditional
investments. Andrew relocated from Hobart to Melbourne
in 1993, after a six month period of playing BlackJack
in Vanuatu and New Caledonia.
In 1993 he established blackJack-mAsters.com
Professional BlackJack School. Andrew's school is
based in Melbourne and operates predominantly Australia-wide,
but he has taught students in New Zealand, South East
Asia, the US and other places around the world. The
school was based in Sydney when Star City Casino (then
Sydney Harbour Casino) opened in September 1995. The
school returned to Melbourne in April 1997, and has
been based in Melbourne since.
Andrew continually keeps up to date
with the latest developments in advantage gaming techniques.
He owns a professional library of 247 books, videos
and software packages on various professional gaming
topics. He subscribes to various periodicals related
to professional gaming and is a regular contributor
to internet gaming forums. He has conducted numerous
television, radio, magazine and newspaper interviews
on the subject of casinos and professional BlackJack,
and has been qualified to give evidence as an expert
witness in the field of casino games.
In his pursuit of BlackJack games
Andrew has played in over 150 casinos throughout the
world, and his lifetime winnings are in the many millions
of dollars. blackJack-mAsters.com
has taught thousands of Australians winning strategies
at casino BlackJack, with courses teaching gamblers
from beginners to professionals. Andrew has become
mentor to the majority of Australian based high stakes
professional BlackJack players, specialising in creating
and maintaining the discipline these players need
to be successful at the highest level.
Whilst he has built his reputation
as a gaming educator, Andrew approaches gaming very
much as a practitioner. Whilst he enjoys teaching
BlackJack, he prefers to play it if he can. On numerous
occasions he has had discussions with the senior management
of Melbourne's Crown Casino, offering to close his
school if they allow him to play unrestricted. Repeatedly
Crown Casino has refused to do so, fearing the amount
of money they would lose should he play. Nevertheless,
his relationship with Crown Casino is cordial.
In May 1999 Andrew protested against
the power of Crown Casino to set the odds so firmly
in their favour against skilled players. He lodged
a submission to the body which regulates casino gaming
in Victoria, the Victorian Casino and Gaming Authority.
As a result the VCGA announced that there would be
an inquiry into the rules of Casino BlackJack. At
the pre-inquiry preliminary stage various matters
were argued between Andrew's legal team and Crown's
lawyers. During that hearing it was determined that
Andrew could appear before the inquiry as an expert
witness. Despite much publicity and lengthy process,
the final outcome was a declaration maintaining the
status quo.
In August 1999 he lodged a submission
to the Federal Government Productivity Commission
Inquiry into Australia's Gambling Industries. On 26
August 1999 Andrew was invited to appear before the
Chairman, Mr G.R. Banks, and Associate Commissioner,
Mr R. Fitzgerald, at the Public Hearings of this Inquiry.
Andrew appeared representing himself and a number
of other professional BlackJack players.
Andrew believes strongly in protecting
the interests of all players, but particularly those
from lower socio-economic groups, which he says casinos
deliberately exploit. Andrew believes those who do
choose to gamble should employ discipline and skill
to lose less and win more. He is currently writing
a book about the story of his professional BlackJack
career over the last 18 years. Andrew can be contacted
at andrew@blackjack-masters.com
© Andrew W Scott December 2004
No part of this document may be published, reproduced,
stored in any retrieval system or transmitted in any
form or by any means whether electronic, mechanical,
copying of any type, recording or otherwise, without
the prior permission in writing from Andrew W Scott.
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