Andrew W. Scott
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- See Andrew Scott for others of this name.
Andrew W Scott (born 1969) is an Australian-born writer and successful high stakes gambler. He has been gambling since 1986, but in recent years has concentrated more on his writing activities.
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[edit] Early life
He was born in Mackay, Queensland in Australia in 1969. He then moved to Brisbane and Auckland before settling in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia in 1979. He moved to Melbourne in 1993.
[edit] Accounting career
His first profession was as an accountant. After completing his schooling in 1986 he joined a firm of Chartered Accountants in December 1986. In December 1987 he changed to a different Chartered Accounting firm and remained there working as an accountant full-time until June 1992. During this time he attended the University of Tasmania, graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce in 1994.
[edit] Gambling activities
Scott first attended Wrest Point Hotel Casino in 1986. He was immediately drawn to the game of Blackjack. However, in his early career he had no knowledge of techniques to hide his abilities, and was quickly identified by casino owners as a skilled player.[1] Since then, casinos have accused him of advantage play and many casinos, including but not limited to all Australian casinos, have frustrated his efforts to win at the game.[2][3]
Despite these measures by the casinos, it is rumored that Scott has won over $15 million playing Blackjack in over 100 casinos around the world.[4]
[edit] Media appearances
From 1993 onwards, frustrated by what he described as his harassment by casinos in Australia, Vanuatu and New Caledonia, Scott appeared on a number of Australian national TV shows, exposing his treatment by the casinos (see above). These included Four Corners[5], A Current Affair, Today Tonight, The Midday Show and the Today show. He has also been the subject of numerous newspaper, magazine and internet articles.
He continues to appear in the Australian media from time to time to comment on gambling-related matters.
[edit] BlackJack teaching career
In 1993 Scott founded Blackjack Masters, an Australian based private school teaching techniques for winning at Blackjack.[6] He operated the school until early 2006, when he handed effective control of the school to one of his Blackjack protegés, Chris S Martin. He remains a consultant to the school. Many of his greatest protegés have gone on to enter into Blackjack profit sharing arrangements with Scott.[7]
[edit] Business
Although Scott no longer practices as an accountant, he does have an investment company, Awston Holdings, through which he manages his investments. Scott founded Awston Holdings in 1993.
[edit] Writings
In the late 1990s Scott began writing articles, mostly on gambling related topics. In recent years, his scope has widened to poker, business, and social commentary. He has written for MSNBC and is the Gambling Correspondent for Crikey. He also writes for gambling websites Smartgambler and Punting Ace (see external links below). He is a member of the Australian Journalists Association and the International Federation of Journalists.
[edit] Poker
In 2007 Scott began playing in high stakes poker tournaments. He played in the 2007 World Series of Poker main event and every main event of the 2007 Asia Pacific Poker Tour.
[edit] Traveling
On his official website Scott lists over 50 cities in 22 countries he has visited. He travels so often that he describes himself as a perpetual traveler, with no fixed base anywhere in the world. In truth, he is loosely based in Melbourne, Sydney, Hong Kong and Las Vegas.
[edit] External links
- Andrew W Scott's official website
- Blackjack Masters website
- Awston Holdings website
- Andrew W Scott's section on Punting Ace
- Andrew W Scott's section on Smartgambler
[edit] References
- ^ Crown letter 7 May 1999. Retrieved on 2007-12-11.
- ^ blackJack-mAsters Print Media. Retrieved on 2007-12-11.
- ^ Michael Warner (27 June 2007). Where high-rollers kiss cash goodbye. Herald Sun Newspaper. Retrieved on 2007-12-11.
- ^ World's Greatest Gambling Scams, Television Documentary, ZKK Productions, January 2005 (UK).
- ^ Four Corners episode 24 April 2000 transcript
- ^ Blackjack Masters FAQ. Retrieved on 2007-12-11.
- ^ World's Greatest Gambling Scams, Television Documentary, ZKK Productions, January 2005 (UK).