Bill Benter is a brilliant American gambler who used his mathematical and card-counting skills to bring Las Vegas casinos to their knees. As far back as the 90s, several establishments banned him for his colossal wins at the blackjack tables, yet he didn’t back down. Instead, he transitioned.
Bill took his calculation skills to the horse racing tracks of Hong Kong. He developed computer software that helped him with race predictions, earning him millions of dollars in profit. Back then, his name was often mentioned in gaming news reports. It’s time, once again, to remind us of this legend’s achievements.
In today’s Vegas Aces Casino news, we talk about the blackjack and horse racing legend Bill Benter. You will learn how he leveraged his math knowledge to beat the narrative of “the house always wins.”
Bill Benter at the Blackjack Tables: A Master Card Counter
William Benter was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on February 21, 1957. He studied physics at the university, and one of his goals was to use his math skills to make money from gambling. So, he began to learn more.
In the 1970s, he laid his hands on Edward Thorp’s famous book “Beat the Dealer,” which taught him casino dynamics. Math Professor and blackjack researcher Edward Thorp was the first to introduce advantage play and invent the card-counting system. Bill mastered every card-counting and blackjack strategy he found inside Thorp’s book and was ready for the tables.
The Vegas Adventure
Bill Benter left college and headed to Las Vegas, visiting several casinos. Card counting was not widely known then, but he became a master.
Bill kept track of the cards dealt and made smart moves with the remaining cards in the deck. He knew when the odds were in his favor and then played accordingly. Using basic strategies and card counting, Bill beat the casinos consistently.
After a few years, the pit bosses were unhappy with his constant wins. Benter was later banned from all Las Vegas casinos, forcing him to leave behind the game and the city.
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Horse Racing and Bill Benter’s Statistical Software
Bill Benter was not the only guy banned from the casinos. There was also a guy named Alan Woods who loved to play blackjack. Bill met Woods in 1980, and they reunited after their Vegas Ban.
Bill Benter and his guy knew about Asia’s massive horse betting pools, with the biggest being the ones at the Hong Kong Jockey Club. Woods deeply understood the Asian horse racing market and convinced Benter about Hong Kong. So, in 1984, he headed for Hong Kong while Benter stayed behind to develop prediction software.
Failed Test at Hong Kong’s Horse Racing Tracks
He read books about horse races and analyzed vast amounts of horse racing data. After nine months of research, study, trials, and errors, Bill Benter developed a software algorithm that could help him predict race winners and was ready to be tested. In 1985, he traveled to join Alan Woods in Hong Kong. However, the software didn’t work as they expected.
The partners lost $120,000 in their first season, causing a minor disagreement. Bill Benter returned to card counting while improving his software. On the other hand, Alan Woods continued building his bankroll by wagering on horses in Hong Kong.
Horse Racing Comeback in Hong Kong
In 1988, with an improved version of his software, Bill Benter left for Hong Kong again. Within his first year, he had cashed out $600,000. In 1989, his profit hit $3 million. His invention worked!
Bill later returned to the United States, but he continued using his software to place Hong Kong racing bets through the internet. At the same time, he explored US horse racing and has won over 1 billion dollars since.
Bill Benter’s Most Recent Adventures and the Blackjack Hall of Fame
In 2016, Bill Benter joined the legends in the Blackjack Hall of Fame. Since then, he hasn’t been in the gaming headlines. He mainly engages in philanthropic and academic pursuits through his foundation, the Benter Foundation, headquartered in Pittsburgh’s Benedum Trees Building.
As a visiting professor at the Southampton Management School, Bill Benter shares his knowledge and expertise with the next generation of professionals. He could have made more money if he had worked in finance, but his drive was not primarily money. It was about making an “impossible” mark in gambling.
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