Don Johnson becomes Multi-Millionaire through Blackjack

While many people claim that they merely want to have fun or entertain themselves through gambling, there is a deep, underlying theme here - they want to get rich! Unfortunately, there is a big roadblock called the ‘house edge’ standing in the way of people and their million dollar dreams.

And this house edge exists in nearly every casino game, which prevents most gamblers from making long-term profits. However, a blackjack player by the name of Don Johnson found a way to beat the house edge, and he didn’t even use card counting to do it! Here is a look at Johnson’s story, as well as how he caused Atlantic City some major losses.

When Don Johnson first started out with blackjack in the mid-90’s, nobody would’ve guessed that he would eventually win millions of dollars while playing the game. Johnson bet $25 per hand, and came to casinos dressed in a hoodie, baseball cap, and jeans. Interestingly enough, Johnson still carries this signature look even today.

In any case, he must have learned quite a bit during those initial $25 sessions because he began upping the stakes over the years. In December of 2010, Johnson was betting thousands of dollars per hand at Caesars Atlantic City. When everything was said and done, Johnson had cleaned the casino out for over $4.2 million.

Around the same time, he also started playing high stakes blackjack at the Borgata Casino. And while the winnings didn’t come as quickly at the Borgata as they did at Caesars, Johnson was eventually able to work this casino for a $4.9 million profit over a four-month span. The amazing thing is that neither Caesars nor the Borgata would be the 49-year-old’s biggest victim.

After increasing his blackjack bankroll by over $9 million, Don Johnson decided to take his blackjack skills to the Tropicana Atlantic City in May of 2011. And despite the fact that the Tropicana had already knew of his impressive feats, they let Johnson bet up to $100,000 per hand during a 12-hour session.

This turned out to be a very bad decision as the Bensalem, Pennsylvania native went on to win $5.8 million from the casino. While Johnson was reveling in his victory, the results of this astonishing blackjack session had major consequences for the Tropicana. First off, their CEO was fired because he gave the okay for the staff to allow Johnson’s $100k bets. Going further, the $5.8 million loss caused the Tropicana to drop 19.8% of their revenue when compared to May, 2010.

After single-handedly causing this casino to post a big loss for May, 2011, lots of news outlets around the world picked up this story. And the big thing that they wanted to know is what Johnson’s strategy was.

Despite the fact that he beat the house edge and won $15 million, the most impressive thing about Johnson’s story is that he reportedly isn’t a card counter. Instead, the high stakes gambler claimed, “They beat most people in the long run because the average person won’t have the bankroll. But I have my own bankroll. If you can take the swings, you’re going to win. You also have to understand the math.”

He also told reporters that there were no tricks behind his winning - although he chose not to reveal his exact strategy. Johnson explained all of this by saying, “I’ll take luck over any other skill. There’s no magic to this. Eventually, someone would whack them (the casinos). I’m just glad it was me.” He finished by stating, “I’m not breaking any laws. I’m beating them with my own skills.”

Despite Johnson’s insistence that there is no card counting or foul play involved, most casinos aren’t ready to welcome him with open arms. In fact, the Borgata, Tropicana and Caesars have all banned him, and word has already gotten around to some Las Vegas casinos that have barred Johnson as well.

But even if he’s never allowed into another casino again, the blackjack shark still has a cushy CEO job at a horse race betting software company. And he may even get a little more involved in betting the ponies as Johnson said, I don’t think they will let me play anymore. If I don’t play blackjack, I’ll just go to the horse races.”