Blackjack World Championship

I recently watched YouTube videos from the 2010 World Series of Blackjack and it made me curious about how we might bring an updated version to life. I’ve personally never played in a casino blackjack tournament, but from what I’ve seen they don’t resemble actual blackjack play so we’d suggest handling this like the World Series of Poker and encourage aligning the game as closely to live casino blackjack as possible. We’d eliminate gimmicks. remove the artificial playing conditions and of course pay 3:2 for blackjack!

• Blackjack World Championship Game
• Poker World Championship 2020

In the real gambling world I used to chase Blackjack tournaments wherever I could find them. After poker took over I played a lot of poker tournaments also. I always liked blackjack tournaments better so this coming out was just plain AWESOME. In the real gambling world I used to chase Blackjack tournaments wherever I could find them. After poker took over I played a lot of poker tournaments also. I always liked blackjack tournaments better so this coming out was just plain AWESOME.

Let’s talk some specifics around how this might work.

1. Multiple games to attract different playing styles with options for single-deck, double-deck and 6-deck shoe.
2. Buy-in gets all players equal amount of chips
3. Table rules would be favorable with splits, 3:2, Dealer stay on S17, etc
4. Levels with minimum bet limits rising every X minutes
5. Compete against your table and the entire field to progress towards a final-table
6. Winner is determined once all other players are eliminated

This seems fairly straightforward, I’m not sure how well it plays on TV, will have to check with the PokerGO team to see what their audience says about blackjack. I believe we’d set-up regional tournaments that start in the winter – maybe they run from December to February across the country and the we hold the finals in Las Vegas at the D on March 2nd for National Blackjack Day.

This is a working plan, your input is welcome and appreciated. If we, the blackjack players, build this from the ground up we can develop a quality product that will generate excitement for players and casual viewers. Please provide your comments and we’ll keep working to make this a reality in the coming months and years.

Recapping the Action and Winners at the First World Series of Blackjack (WSOB)

Coming to us from the lovely Mohegan Sun Casino, Season One features Matt Vasgersian as the host, Melana Scantlin as his co-host, Max Rubin with the expert commentary, and Tiki Arsenault as the dealer.

Season 1-Episode 1 (March 15th, 2004)

• Anthony Curtis (publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor)
• Regina Guzior (legally blind and assisted by her husband)
• Connie Desimone
• James Grosjean (The author of Beyond Counting)

Winner: Regina Guzior

Season 1-Episode 2 (March 22nd, 2004)

• 'Hollywood' Dave Stann (professional blackjack player and dealer on GSN's Celebrity Blackjack)
• Joanna 'Queen of Spades' (professional gambler)
• Ken Einiger (finalist in the Million Dollar Tournament held at the Vegas Hilton)
• Susan Pikor, MIT Mike (MIT graduate)

Winner: MIT Mike

Season 1-Episode 3 (March 29th, 2004)

• Bradley Peterson
• Micky Rosa (MIT graduate)
• Bobby J (actor)
• Cathy Hulbert (considered by many to be the best female gambler in the world)
• Ashwin Patel

Winner: Micky Rosa

Season 1-Episode 4 (April 5th, 2004)

• Previn Mankodi
• Ann Van Dyke (involved in the mystic arts)
• Jimmy Pine (professional gambler)
• Nick Dillon (casino manager)
• Stanford Wong (hugely popular author and gambler)

Winner: Jimmy Pine

Season 1-Episode 5 (April 12th, 2004)

• Ken Smith (runs Blackjack Info) (Read our review of BlackjackInfo.com.)
• Skip Samad
• Jane Gamble
• Richard Munchkin (the author of Gambling Wizards: Conversations with the World's Greatest Gamblers)
• Frank DeRocco (tournament blackjack player)

Winner: Ken Smith

Season 1-Episode 6 (April 19th, 2004)

• Michael Konik
• 'Hollywood' Dave Stann
• Bobby J, Previn Mankodi
• Richard Munchkin

Dave Stann gets the win and a seat at the championship table.

Winner: Dave Stann

Season 1-Episode 7 (April 26th, 2004)

This is the championship match, with $100,000 on the line.

• Regina Guzior
• MIT Mike
• Micky Rosa
• Jimmy Pine
• Ken Smith
• Dave Stann

Blackjack World Championship Game

MIT Mike gets the win, with Dave Stann taking second place.

Tournament Winner: MIT Mike

Poker World Championship 2020

You can find recaps of Season 2, Season3, and Season4 here too.