Yeah, the whole thing does seem like a big waste of time. The MIT blackjack team is capable of 1) writing software to calculate the expected value of a bet und

Yeah, the whole thing does seem like a big waste of time. The MIT blackjack team is capable of 1) writing software to calculate the expected value of a bet under variable counts and deck sizes, 2) focusing well enough to keep count under duress, 3) working closely in a tightly coordinated team environment, and 4) finding investors. They don't need to be plaing blackjack, even under favorable circumstances. They can find a higher expected return by moving to Wall Street and doing computational finance, or by starting software companies. That said, have you ever read Thorpe's "beat the dealer"? There is someting kind of great about gaining an edge over a casino like this. For whatever reason, the idea of using math and computer programming to gain an edge over a casino seems to appeal enormously to a subsection of the population.