How gambler broke the bank at Atlantic City with $15m

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How gambler broke the bank at Atlantic City with $15m win (and now parties with Jon Bon Jovi and Pamela Anderson
By Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 13:12 EST, 16 March 2012


Don Johnson, 49, won $15m at blackjack tables in Atlantic City's casinos
During a period of six months, Don Johnson won $15m at blackjack tables in Atlantic City's casinos.

The Pennsylvania businessman took $6 million at the Tropicana in a 12 hour run last April, single-handily ruining the casino's month.
Just a few months prior, the 49-yearold's gambling spree saw him take home $5 million from the Borgata and $4 million from Caesars.
Despite the windfall, Johnson, who prefers to dress in a hoodie and cap rather than a tailored suit, still lives in the same house in Bensalem.

But his life has changed in many ways. In the past yea, he has partied with Jon Bon Jovi and Charlie Sheen and hosted a Las Vegas birthday bash for Pamela Anderson, reports the Atlantic Magazine.
His amazing winning streak was bad news for Atlantic City which has seen revenues plummet in recent years.

His visit to Tropicana alone saw the casino's monthly profits being decimated, and its CEO Mark Giannantonio, who had authorized the $100,000-a-hand limit for Johnson, being fired a week later.

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In addition, Caesars effectively placed a ban on Mr Johnson from its premises worldwide, reports the Atlantic.
Don Johnson, who is known as the 'Blackjack beast' now parties with Bon Jovi and Charlie Sheen and once spent £168,118.50 in a Park Lane nightclub in London, pictured
Johnson's incredible run raised suspicions and the first obvious explanation was card counting.

But security cameras failed to detect signs of the illegal practice and it was found that Johnson beat the house fair and square.

Johnson says he does not just walk into a casino and start playing, which is what the majority of customers do.

Johnson's new riches have seen him partying w with the likes of Jon Bon Jovi, pictured and Pamela Anderson
This, he told the Atlantic is like, 'blindly throwing away money' as the rules of the game are set to give the house a significant advantage.
Instead sophisticated gamblers like Johnson refuse to play by the standard rules and negotiate better terms before they even set foot in a casino.

As the casino values high rollers, known as whales, more than the average customer, it is willing to offer discounts on losses as well as luxury perks.

In 2010, Johnson says the casinos started getting desperate. With their revenues slumping and visits from high rollers becoming less frequent, casino marketers began to compete more aggressively for the big spenders.
'They began offering deals that nobody’s ever seen in New Jersey history. I’d never heard of anything like it in the world, not even for a player like [the late Australian media tycoon] Kerry Packer, who came in with a $20 million bank and was worth billions and billions,' he told the Atlantic.

'The casinos started accepting more risk, looking for a possible larger return,' says Posner, the gaming-industry expert, reports the Atlantic. 'They tended to start swinging for the fences.'

But if a player develops a reputation for winning, the casinos are no longer interested.
The Pennsylvania businessman took $6 million at the Tropicana in a 12 hour run last April, single-handily ruining the casino's month
Unfortunately for the Tropicana, it found out just about Johnson's skills when it was too late, and had already negotiated an amazing set of terms and discounts for him.
Johnson, now dubbed the 'Blackjack Beast', told the Atlantic that the agreement effectively allowed him to play a 50-50 game against the casino.

And with a 20 per cent discount on his losses on a visit by visit basis, Johnson was able to keep going after hitting a winning streak.

'I was already ahead of the property. So my philosophy at that point was that I can afford to take an additional risk here, because I’m battling with their money, using their discount against them.'

However, since his $15 million win, most casinos are well aware of who Don Johnson is and are unlikely to offer him such enticing terms again.