It isn’t always the most obvious footprints that are the best ones to follow, but it does make a certain amount of sense to tread near where the marks are deepest. Entering into the swirling energies of Las Vegas, there are plenty of marks on the way to suggest possible routes. The best route for anyone has to be found by walking it, but one could certainly do worse than exploring some of the inroads of Sanford Wong . His real name is John Ferguson, and anyone who’s looked at blackjack a little deeper than the basics has come across his name.
One of the great fantasies of anyone who’s had money troubles involves a Vegas hotel and a little bit of luck one fine evening. It would be hard to find anyone who hasn’t had some financial trouble, so it’s a very popular daydream. There is a lot to learn from famous gamblers who, like Wong, have strategies to beat the odds. But perhaps one of the most important lessons to learn here is that any strategy enters into the collective knowledge of every other player, or becomes the source of another rule of protocol in the casino. Wong made it easier to beat the odds by entering the game when the count was in the player’s favor, but now it’s impossible to do this. Visionaries can move mountains, or at least force them to change the rules.
