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J.P. Massar - Mr. M.
In the spring of 2004 a documentary series was aired that described various people who had used methods to make money off the casinos. Some of the methods described were illegal but some were not. One of the most impressive legal methods described was card counting. In this episode J.P. Massar was interviewed about the history of the MIT Blackjack Team. In the documentary J.P. Massar was nicknamed "Mr.M". J.P. Massar described how he and some friends heard about the mathematical potential of card counting and decided to try their luck and skill at Atlantic City. Their initial attempts were not very successful until J.P. Massar met up with a certain skilled card counter by the name of Bill Kaplan.
Card Counting Business
Kaplan was a businessman to the core and he accompanied J.P. Massar and his friends on a gambling trip to see what they were doing wrong. He quickly realized that in order for a card counting team to be successful it would have to be run like a business. He offered to train J.P. Massar and his friends and help them finance the operation provided they would play by his rules. These required that players play using a very specific system and that they fill out detailed work sheets that described how many hours they had played, how much money they had invested and how much they had made. The card counting business became a very successful one and J.P. Massar's MIT Blackjack Team started making roughly 80 dollars an hour as an income. This was great for the students as well as for the investors who were making profits of about 250% on their investments.
The Birth of the MIT Blackjack Team
Although J.P. Massar did not remain long with the MIT Blackjack Team he certainly contributed greatly to its creation. His collaboration with Bill Kaplan probably marked the official birth of the MIT blackjack team. As the MIT blackjack team made a profit it also gained notoriety. For some of the MIT blackjack team members this eventually spelled fame and eventual induction in the Blackjack Hall of Fame and indeed many of the members of the Blackjack Hall of Fame are former MIT blackjack team members. For others, this meant a variety of unpleasant experiences at casinos which objected to people winning too much money off them on a regular basis. MIT blackjack team members experienced a variety of threats and even physical violence. A movie based on the tale J.P. Massar and his friends was made in 2008, called "21" and starring Kevin Spacey and Kate Bosworth.
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