Robert Michael "Mike" Canjar, aka MathProf, one of the greatest ever contributors to our understanding of the game of casino 21 (and not only that) as well as a most generouys contributor to BJ21.com passed away on May 7, 2012.
So long, Mike.
MathProf won more Post of the Month (POM) awards than anyone else. He also was a superstar poster on the Politics page. I think he had been planning to write a book on the math of gambling, but his illness derailed his plan. I agreed with most of his Politics posts.
It is a coincidence that Bootlegger died almost exactly a year before MathProf. Another coincidence is that they shared the same first and middle names: Robert Michael.
Bootlegger was also a superstar poster on the Politics page and the blackjack pages. I did not agree with Bootlegger on the Politics page anywhere nearly as often as I agreed with MathProf, but my disagreements with Bootlegger were kept non-hostile. Bootlegger also won quite a few POMs.
C, where have you been? Are you OK? I had been off of the Politics page for about six months, until I rejoined it about three weeks ago. I had left it for three reasons: (1) the quality of the posts deteriorated sharply since the untimely passing of MathProf and Bootlegger, (2) I am very disappointed that vey few posters showed any support for my calls to reverse the misregulation of casinos in Atlantic City and (3) I was spending too much time on it.
The first reason is self-explanatory. I often enjoyed my debates with you. They were quite often kept reasonable. We even agreed on a number of things. The Politics page has had too much hostility and many personal attacks. There was even a negative comment about MathProf on a different page.
Back in the late 1970s�the first casino opened in 1978�and early 1980s, I was an activist, writing to the Casino Control Commission and the NJ legislature on making casinos smoke-free, prohibiting barring of card counters, keeping surrender and restoring the regulation that had required casinos to maintain set percentages of $2 and $5 minimum tables at all times. This community activist never got as far as a very well-known former community activist has gotten.
I have posted on these issues frequently on the blackjack pages, but have received almost no support. The posters here are decidedly libertarian, except on redistribution, and people here take the position that these issues should not be resolved by the government. I can understand some of the libertarianism on gaming control, e.g. wanting online casinos to be legal. I cannot understand siding with the industry against our own interests. Apparently, the people on this site allow ideology to trump pragmatism.
There is no free market in gambling in Atlantic City. Casinos are only permitted in hotels with 500 or more rooms. Recent legislation permits one boutique casino in a 200 room hotel, but someone like me is barred from opening a 1,000 square foot hole in the wall joint with good rules and low minimum tables.
The third reason is self-explanatory. I do at times, however, read old threads on the Politics page. It was a great page at one time.
of Mathprof's passing.
I left Green Chip 3-4 years ago, since I was moving to a non-casino state (TX) and also hadn't played bj for many years. I enjoyed Mathprof's many insightful and knowledgeable posts.
Bootlegger's passing occurred just before I left. Also enjoyed his posts, as he was one of the more moderate posters on the politics page - a liberal, but not a strident and unreasonable one. He was willing to listen to the other side on most matters.
I just happened to catch this post on a walk back to the past on this site. I am contemplating a move back to LV and back to BJ in the near future and decided to explore these free pages.
Neko
Good to see you're still around.
I'm happy to see you are both still around. I will definitely be back once I make the move to LV. I miss the casinos. Closest one to me is Winstar in OK, about a 2-hr drive. Unplayable bj, as they charge 50 cents for each hand, $1 for a bigger bet. All table games have a similar vig. Casino is full of suckers, as almost all bj tables and other tables are full during the night. 99% of the players are from across the TX border. In fact, Winstar is packed on weekends, almost wall to wall. LV operators would drool over its crowded floors. I only play hold'em poker there, as all other games are unplayable. Even there, it's a ripoff compared to LV, with their $5 rake. They even rake the small blind before dealing a single card, so that winning the blinds gets you only the big blind's chips. What a ripoff! Still, it is the only game in town, so what can you do?
neko
I'm glad to see that you are posting here again.
Can you tell us how old Bootlegger and Mathprof were. Just wondering how many blackjack years I have left.
adhoc, Mav, Neko, His Imperial Highness, and all the old gang of mine.
See you around.
But it's been a truly hectic year in my neck of the woods across the pond...
wikipedia for MathProf; see here for Boot.
