Blackjack Hall of Fame – Darryl Purpose

Darryl Purpose — The Musical Blackjack Gambler

Darryl Purpose has had a very unusual career, spanning the seemingly disparate worlds of high-level blackjack gambling and American folk music, with a touch of political activism thrown into the mix. And the amazing thing is that, no matter which milieu he was involved in, Darry Purpose always emerged a champion.

From Guitar Major to Blackjack Card Counter

Darryl recounts that he first became interested in the game of blackjack when "My mother put a copy of Beat the Dealer in my Christmas stocking when I was 16. I was interested in cards and games, and I had a natural affinity for math, so it appealed to me. I've since forgiven her".

Nevertheless, after high school, Darryl entered college as a classical guitar major. Then two things happened. The first is that he injured his left hand; the second is that he injured his right hand. It's hard to play classical guitar with splints on both hands, so Darryl dropped out of college and headed to Las Vegas at the age of 19 with $50, a guitar, and a dream of becoming a professional black jack card counter.

Joining a Legendary Blackjack Team

Darryl worked odd jobs in Las Vegas and spent his paychecks in the blackjack casinos. Like most beginners, he lost more than he won, but he was always learning and improving. He became friends with other counters, studied their blackjack strategies and card-counting systems, and joined their teams. One team won $60,000 with a $10,000 bankroll, and Darryl Purpose knew he was onto something good with blackjack card counting. Then he heard that there were openings on the legendary Ken Uston blackjack team.

Darryl passed his audition and became a valued member of the Uston team. He would win card-counting contests by counting down a deck with perfect accuracy in 8 seconds, making him the fastest counter on the team and probably in the world. In fact, Uston, in one of his books, named Darryl as one of the four best blackjack players in the world.

Darryl left the Uston team in 1979, but continued playing blackjack with various other teams in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, as well as in London and Leicester, in St. Martin in the Caribbean, in Russia and Sri Lanka and Korea. Like many great blackjack champions, he won hundreds of thousands of dollars at the blackjack tables; he once won $150,000 at a single sitting, the biggest haul in blackjack history at that time. And, also like many other black jack champions, Darryl Purpose had his share of unpleasant encounters with casino owners who did not appreciate losing so much money.

Peace and Music

In 1986, Darryl picked up his guitar and joined the Great Peace March from Los Angeles to New York. He formed a band with other musicians on the 8-month march, and they marched and played across the whole country. He relates that "One of my distinct memories was marching down the Las Vegas Strip with my guitar around my neck. I just looked at all those casinos I had been thrown out of months earlier."

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The following year, he took part in a similar march from Leningrad to Moscow, culminating in the first outdoor rock concert in Soviet history, in which Darryl and his band joined such luminaries as James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, and Santana.

Darryl continued to play blackjack as well as make music until 1996, when he became a full-time folk musician. He now plays in hundreds of concerts a year and has released six CDs. One music critic said that Purpose hit the folk scene "with an unusually eclectic resume that provided him with a wealth of compelling stories to tell," others have praised his "fine guitar work," and another called him "America's most original narrative songwriter since Harry Chapin."

Election to the Blackjack Hall of Fame

Darryl Purpose was elected to the Blackjack Hall of Fame in 2010. His blackjack playing days had long been over, but memories of his black jack exploits will live forever.

Playing Blackjack Online with Darryl Purpose and Wild Jack Casino

A great experience for any online blackjack player is to crank up a Darryl Purpose CD on the headphones while you play blackjack online at Wild Jack Casino. You'll hear some great original folk music and feel a connection to one of history's best blackjack players while enjoying the finest online blackjack games at the world's best online blackjack casino. It's a multi-media experience that can't be beat.