Animals to Benefit from New Blackjack Book Launch
John McWhinnie, a casual blackjack player who has been hitting the tables at Las Vegas for forty years, has found an ingenious way to raise money for his favorite charity, the Ottawa Humane Society (OHS).
McWhinnie will donate all proceeds from the launch of his new blackjack guide book to the society, and he is hoping to raise $10,000 to go towards the $12.5 million goal to build a new facility for abandoned animals.
McWhinnie's book The ABC's and D of Casino Blackjack (A Layman's Guide to Winning a Little and Losing Even Less) will be launched at a Vegas themed night in a Bow Meow Blackjack Bonanza.
The author believes that he has learned a thing or two about blackjack after playing for so many years.
The 'D' in the title of the book stands for Discipline, something which McWhinnie believes is the key to a successful blackjack session.
"Very, very, very few people who are playing blackjack have discipline," he said. "And that's where they fail. They have to know when to walk away, and not shoot for more and lose it all."
While McWhinnie holds down a permanent job, he has also managed to travel the world on his winnings. "It used to be there was little choice except for Las Vegas or overseas," he said. "But now there are casinos all over Canada and the United States, and you can just about plan a trip that incorporates all sorts of casino side trips, from riverboat cruises to gaming machines at racetracks."
He said that his motto is "keep your day job and your grocery money."
"If you win enough to cover your trip, that's great," he said. "My ideas was to use simple language so that someone could pick up the book up in the airport on the way to Vegas, read it and know what they were doing when they got there. It's all about having fun and not risking it all."
