Does the name Don Johnson ring a bell with you? Know that in this case we’re not talking about the American actor known mainly from Miami Vice but about a well-known personality from the world of gambling.
Johnson managed in a relatively short period of time to make many millions at various casinos in Las Vegas including Caesars Palace and Tropicana. He did this by playing blackjack. But how did this brilliant man manage to win so much that he became a millionaire?
Don Johnson the genius
Besides the fact that Johnson could play a reasonable amount of cards, there was something he could do much better. Negotiating with casinos. He was already a rich man, so he was interesting for the casinos. The casinos pulled out all the stops to get Johnson at their tables. He got the nicest suites for free and he didn’t have to pay for anything, as long as he played at the casino. In fact, he even agreed on the rules of blackjack. He got some things changed in his favor.
Watch the video about Don Johnson here
Play the game
Still gambling with large amounts at stake
Play the game
Still gambling with large amounts at stake
The crisis of 2008 made it illegal to gamble with large amounts of money in casinos, but for Johnson an exception was made so he could continue to bet large amounts. The casinos were even willing to increase his chances of winning at the expense of their own. To accomplish this and to be able to gamble with large sums of money Johnson did not even cheat or count cards during the game.
Johnson’s great strength was his talent for negotiation. So he negotiated his maximum bets, which he got at a much higher level than the rest. He then managed to arrange to double up on split cards, which was not allowed at the time. He was also able to agree with a casino that if he lost half a million he would get 20% back as a cashback bonus. With these agreements he reduced the house advantage in such a way that it became very interesting for him to gamble big.
Working at the horse races
Don Johnson may be a big celebrity in the gambling world today but he actually didn’t get into it until around the age of 30. He then became the manager of a racetrack in Philadelphia and later other racetracks as well. He worked in several states across the country and then headed Heritage Development. This is a company that develops special computer programs that can be used when gambling on horse races.
These casinos have a cashback bonus
Job done in Atlantic City
Johnson flunked his tricks at a casino in Atlantic City. He did not play particularly faintly as the average bet he made was around $100,000 a time. Remarkably enough, he also made big profits, even exceeding a million dollars once. His style of playing was not at all shabby and he was even looked at with amazement. No one expected much from a player who entered the casino in a tracksuit. Certainly not that he would place such high stakes, let alone walk away with the winnings.
Not Expecting to Win So Much
Johnson continued to bet high and because of the jokes he made, the casino owners didn’t see much of a problem with it at first. After all, how could someone who looked like that (certainly not like a professional gambler with his outfit, nor in appearance) have any success at all? Pure misconception, because Johnson turned out to be a genius at playing and immediately made sure that every win he made was secured. To be able to take as much home with him as possible, of course.
Casinos showered him with gifts to keep him around
When it dawned on various casinos that they had a very special player in their hands in Johnson, they showered him with gifts. This is nothing strange because when casinos are dealing with good gamblers (or rather, gamblers who dare to bet a lot of money) they often try to keep them loyal to their casino so that they can continue to play and win big. This means revenue for the casino and in return extravagant gifts and services are offered to the player in question. These include private jets, very expensive accommodations and outings and so on. Johnson was obviously not too lazy to take advantage of this and did it in such a way that he managed to almost bankrupt the casinos. Ruining them was also his intention and he did it well.
His stunt came to an end
This stunt couldn’t last, of course, and at some point Johnson was arrested for his behavior and the extent to which he, so to speak, abused the offers made to him by the casinos. He was arrested but decided that the whole thing was not worthy of jail time and quit. However, he had long since achieved his goal: he had become stinking rich on the back of the casinos and had also achieved the highest possible honor that exists for a gambler. He was banned from the casinos and was not allowed to return there. For a professional gambler this means that he has played so well that he is no longer welcome there and that is the highest possible prize a gambler can achieve in his career. It also commands the respect of other gamblers.
Clever plan
Don Johnson was a true gambler, but he underhandedly convinced the casinos that he could wager a lot of money (more than was possible for other gamblers at the time) and fooled them into investing money in him in order to become rich himself. However, the only one who benefited the most was himself. Of course, it was a good idea to do it this way.