HSP 135-01
Albion College
Fall 02025

Discussion questions for Breaking Vegas
DLs: Anyone capable of clicking below
1. What do you think about the fact that the person who founded the MIT blackjack team, Mr. M, was a professor? Or the fact that a lot of this knowledge came from professors in general?

2. What do you make of the statement "casinos started attracting smart guys instead of wise guys"? How does this relate to "people with high self-esteem" starting to come into casinos?

3. Why do you think casinos went away from being operated by mobs and instead being operated by large corporations?

4. Do you think if there was a blackjack team at Albion students would be skilled enough to pass the final test?

5. Do you think you would be able to balance studying for classes and gambling on the weekends if you were on the team?

6. Would you become paranoid if you knew that casinos hired detectives to follow you from casino to casino?

7. During the checkout process, what do you think are some tricks one could use to stay focused even with all of the nonsense happening around you?

8. Do you think having the structure of the amphibian team and the Strategic Investments model of a 45/45/10 split is better or worse than the reptiles structure and split?

9. What was the deal with all the interruptions by the actor playing Mr. M where he spouts what seem to be the laws of MIT Blackjack (Thou shalt not...)? Do you think those are quotes of the real Mr. M, or completely dramatized? What effect do they have on the tone of the documentary?

10. There are a lot of similarities between Bringing Down The House and Breaking Vegas, but what are some ways in which they are different?

11.  What are some better methods to mark cards than lipstick, grease, or dropping it in a drink?

12. Do you think the players would have been more forgiving of Mr. M if they were receiving a more favourable fraction of the profit? Say 25% or even 30%?

13. Does it seem like a blackjack team should be allowed to run as a business? Does that sound like a good idea?

14. After the retelling of the story where Mr. M stripped down naked after a confrontation with casino executives looking for computers, a player said "This is what I was on the team for." If the players aren't only in it for the money, what else are they enjoying from being a part of the blackjack team?

15. After seeing a poster hanging around Albion's campus advertising for a Blackjack Team, you decide to go to the first meeting. At the first meeting, they tell you they will have countless hours of practice and need full dedication to make it worth your time. Would you keep attending?

16. Looking at the shoe computer around the 40-minute mark. How would one manage to wear that thing comfortably and not have a weird walk that gave you away?  Also since it is the 90s/2000s how much battery life do you think that thing had and was it viable for long drawn out play?