On March 15, 2022, the Blackjack Hall of Fame became a 501c3 non-profit corporation which allows the Blackjack Ball to have a charitable purpose. Donations to the Blackjack Hall of Fame are tax deductible.
The Blackjack Hall of Fame honors the greatest blackjack experts, authors, and professional players in history. It was launched in 2002, and is physically housed at the Barona Casino, in San Diego, California. The Barona Casino awards to each inductee a permanent lifetime comp for full room, food, and beverage, in exchange for each member’s agreement never to play on Barona’s tables.
In winter 2002, a diverse selection of 21 blackjack experts, authors, and professional players were nominated for membership in the Blackjack Hall of Fame. The public was allowed to vote for about a month through the Internet. The final voting was completed at the January 2003 Blackjack Ball, an event open only to selected professional blackjack players and experts and hosted by blackjack author Max Rubin, whereby the first 7 members were inducted.
The following year, at the 2004 Blackjack Ball, 2 more inductees were added, again with primary voting done by professional gamblers at the Ball. Nomination of candidates, after 2006, has become the permanent responsibility of the members of the Blackjack Hall of Fame themselves whilst the vote on the candidates that have been nominated is conducted by the invitees to the Blackjack Ball. The Hall of Famers inducted 2 more members per year through 2006, and then agreed to drop to only 1 person per year. However, in late 2007, 4 new members, were inducted in the Hall of Fame “as a group”.
Original Blackjack Hall of Fame members at the Barona Casino, Lakeside, California