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BY JOHN G. BROKOPP | Monday, October 30, 2006 | (No comments posted.)
Poker has been molded into fascinating television fare, so it should come as no surprise that blackjack, the most popular casino table game, has been similarly re-tooled to conform to the demands of reality TV and the powerful revenue-generating machine it's become.
Two made-for-TV versions of the classic card game, the Ultimate Blackjack Tour on CBS and the World Series of Blackjack on GSN, are proof that watching gamblers competing for big money is still a hot deal.
The development of mini "rail cams" to allow viewers to see the player's hole cards was among the innovations that transformed poker into a spectator sport, but the challenges associated with turning a similar trick with blackjack were more complex.
Participants compete against one another in poker, but the basic premise of blackjack is to beat the dealer. There is a special camaraderie at a blackjack table and a mind set that pits players as a team against the house.
The competitive factor is questionable, except under tournament conditions.
Throw in the fact that basic strategy in blackjack is pretty much cut-and-dried as opposed to the mind games in poker, and things could get pretty boring.
However, taking some liberties with the traditional version of the game gives you makings of entertaining television fare.
The Ultimate Blackjack Tour, for example, uses a patent-pending format that includes forced eliminations, secret bets and a mini rail cam to reveal to viewers the dealer's hole card.
Perhaps the most ingenious move was to play the crossover card by taking well-known celebrities from the poker world, including Phil Helmuth and Annie Duke, and pit them against professional blackjack players.
CBS is giving the first season of the Ultimate Blackjack Tour, which features more than $1 million in prize money, a high-profile treatment, scheduling it Saturday afternoons as a lead-in to NCAA football. The first of 10 shows aired Sept. 16.
The second season, which will expand to a world-wide tour schedule, will be open to the public, with invitations to compete for a seat at the final table by playing in free elimination competitions on UBT's official Web site, www.playubt.com.
The World Series of Blackjack on GSN, the Network for Games, recently completed its third season, but a fourth is in the works.
Casino news
The latest figures from the monthly revenue reports of the Illinois Gaming Board (August) and the Indiana Gaming Commission (September) are in; here's how the nine properties in the Chicago area stack up:
1 -- Grand Victoria Elgin: 93.76, 2 -- Argosy's Empress Joliet: 92.72, 3 -- Hollywood Aurora: 92.28, 4 -- Blue Chip: 92.13, 5 -- Harrah's Joliet: 92.11, 6 -- Majestic Star II: 91.86, 7 -- Majestic Star: 91.73, 8 -- Horseshoe Hammond: 91.28, 9 -- Resorts East Chicago: 90.74.
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