I have mixed feelings about Ken Uston. On one hand, I would have loved to have met the man and his team of blackjack players to pick their brains and hear their stories. On the other hand, I think Ken Uston and his team of blackjack players are solely responsible for much of the heat that blackjack players ultimately realized because Ken Uston and his team of free bingo players became so greedy that they ruined card counting and team play for everyone else.

Ken Uston was a big gambler. He enjoyed the lifestyle of the high roller and it is the opinion of many UK casino gamblers that Ken Uston insured that many gamblers who followed him would never lead the life of the professional gambler to the extreme that Ken Uston was able to enjoy. Well, at least not as a blackjack player.

Some of the best stories you will ever read surrounding the free blackjack game tables of casinos are undoubtedly Ken Uston stories. However, keep in mind that Ken Uston wrote many of these stories. He was very convincing about the heat that the casinos brought down on his team but he was not very forthcoming about why the heat burned him. It was because small wins never satisfied Ken and his team. And the large wins did little to motivate him either. It was only the mega wins that the Uston and his crew craved and when they hit a town, they played large and they played to win and large stakes were all they were interested in.

Dubbed the world’s greatest blackjack player by players and the world’s greatest blackjack cheat by others, Ken Uston knew the game of blackjack better than anyone. The problem was that not only did he know the game well, the game’s owners knew him extremely well. Thanks to technology and the eyes in the skies of the casino, Uston was always spotted when he was on the move and ready to play cards. He eventually was barred in Nevada and other casinos world wide. He fought his fate in many court battles and won his right to play in Atlantic City when the New Jersey State Supreme Court ruled in favor of the world famous player.

The sad side of Ken Uston’s life is that the man probably never knew how much money he actually took, or more appropriately won, from the casinos because Ken had a drug and alcohol problem that would most certainly make any real numbers a problem to ascertain. Though he documented his earnings in many publications, or at least a rough estimate, keep in mind Ken ran through money like it was water. No true figures could possibly be documented because he had teams out there playing too and even though skimming wasn’t allowed, the possibility of skimming was a very real possibility when dealing with the kind of money Ken and his teams handled.

While no one could ever possibly be as impressed with Ken Uston as much as Ken was impressed with himself, the man knew his game. He knew it so well that the casinos wanted no part of any action he could give them.

Ken Uston will go down in history as many things to many different people. However, as a player who left the game of blackjack to other players who enjoy playing 8 decks and being dealt from a shuffle master, I must say I wish he had been a little considerate. If Uston wouldn’t have tried so hard to be recognized as the player bringing down Las Vegas, it’s possible many others could’ve had a fair game in Vegas. Instead, Ken Uston and his teams are the only blackjack players who will ever have that claim to fame.

In closing, keep in mind that when you read books written by Ken Uston, he really was the master at the game. However, he also ruined the game for many players who would try to copy his techniques and many of us who just wanted to find fair and beatable games of blackjack.