Andrew W Scott
Detailed BlackJack Biography
December 2004

Andrew W Scott is a passionate educator of, and advocate for, players in the casino and gaming industry, primarily in Australia. He is founder and CEO of blackJack-mAsters.com Professional BlackJack School, a school established in 1993 to further the education of players of casino BlackJack in Australia.

Mr Scott lived in Hobart, Tasmania from 1979 to 1993, and was educated at the University of Tasmania, completing a Bachelor of Commerce degree majoring in Accounting. He started frequenting Wrest Point Casino in Hobart in 1987, whilst being employed by a firm of Chartered Accountants.

Andrew was an uneducated gambler at Wrest Point casino for several months in 1987 and ended up losing as all uneducated gamblers do eventually, if they continue to play. This was followed by six months away from the casino, during which he wrote several computer programs to thoroughly analyse the game. Eventually, he discovered how to beat the game of casino BlackJack. He was unaware that his work was essentially a repetition of research undertaken at various Universities and other places in the US in the 1960s. He formed similar conclusions on the game of BlackJack as the US researchers had two decades before him.

He then returned to Wrest Point casino and began to play BlackJack skilfully. Staff at Wrest Point casino immediately identified him as a skilled player (also referred to as a card counter), since he was totally unaware that it was wise to disguise this ability from the casino. He was subsequently barred from the casino after very substantial winnings.

His reputation as a skilled BlackJack player spread throughout Australian casinos in the late 1980s and early 1990s and his BlackJack game has been frustrated by all Australian casinos. The frustrations have ranged from outright barrings to the enforcement of special rules imposed specifically for him.

After six years working for a major Chartered Accounting firm Andrew resigned in 1992. Since then he has been involved in the world of professional BlackJack, as well as managing his own more traditional investments.

Andrew relocated from Hobart to Melbourne in 1993, after a six month period of playing BlackJack in Vanuatu and New Caledonia. In 1993 he established blackJack-mAsters.com Professional BlackJack School.

Andrew's school is based in Melbourne and operates predominantly Australia-wide, but he has taught students in New Zealand, South East Asia, the US and other places around the world. The school was based in Sydney when Star City Casino (then Sydney Harbour Casino) opened in September 1995. The school returned to Melbourne in April 1997, and has been based in Melbourne since.

Andrew continually keeps up to date with the latest developments in advantage gaming techniques. He owns a professional library of 247 books, videos and software packages on various professional gaming topics. He subscribes to various periodicals related to professional gaming and is a regular contributor to internet gaming forums.

He has conducted numerous television, radio, magazine and newspaper interviews on the subject of casinos and professional BlackJack, and has been qualified to give evidence as an expert witness in the field of casino games. In his pursuit of BlackJack games Andrew has played in over 150 casinos throughout the world, and his lifetime winnings are in the many millions of dollars.

BlackJack-mAsters.com has taught thousands of Australians winning strategies at casino BlackJack, with courses teaching gamblers from beginners to professionals. Andrew has become mentor to the majority of Australian-based high stakes professional BlackJack players, specialising in creating and maintaining the discipline these players need to be successful at the highest level.

Whilst he has built his reputation as a gaming educator, Andrew approaches gaming very much as a practitioner. Whilst he enjoys teaching BlackJack, he prefers to play it if he can. On numerous occasions he has had discussions with the senior management of Melbourne's Crown Casino, offering to close his school if they allow him to play unrestricted. Repeatedly Crown Casino has refused to do so, fearing the amount of money they would lose should he play. Nevertheless, his relationship with Crown Casino is cordial.

In May 1999 Andrew protested against the power of Crown Casino to set the odds so firmly in their favour against skilled players. He lodged a submission to the body which regulates casino gaming in Victoria, the Victorian Casino and Gaming Authority. As a result the VCGA announced that there would be an inquiry into the rules of casinos BlackJack. At the pre-inquiry preliminary stage various matters were argued between Andrew's legal team and Crown's lawyers. During that hearing it was determined that Andrew could appear before the inquiry as an expert witness. Despite much publicity and lengthy process, the final outcome was a declaration maintaining the status quo.

In August 1999 he lodged a submission to the Federal Government Productivity Commission Inquiry into Australia's Gambling Industries. On 26 August 1999 Andrew was invited to appear before the Chairman, Mr G.R. Banks, and Associate Commissioner, Mr R. Fitzgerald, at the Public Hearings of this Inquiry. Andrew appeared representing himself and a number of other professional BlackJack players.

Andrew believes strongly in protecting the interests of all players, but particularly those from lower socio-economic groups, which he says casinos deliberately exploit. Andrew believes those who do choose to gamble should employ discipline and skill to lose less and win more. He is currently writing a book about the story of his professional BlackJack career over the last 18 years.

Andrew can be contacted at andrew@blackjack-masters.com.

© Andrew W Scott December 2004

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