UFC Pres. Dana White wins $2m playing Blackjack - Banned from Palms

Ben Affleck might have some competition for the celebrity blackjack champion crown. UFC President Dana White says that he won $2 million while playing blackjack at the Palms Casino Resort, prompting them to essentially ban him from their highest stakes. This is the second time that White has received a ban from the Palms in the last two years.

The first ban was for the same reason: White won too much money playing blackjack. So he decided to boycott the Palms until their chief executive, Dan Lee, sent a bottle of 2001 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Montrachet (worth $5k). The gesture worked as White was back on the tables from March 1st to May 21st.

As reported by Norm Clarke from the Las Vegas Review-Journal, White says he “beat them for (nearly $2 million), and they asked me not to play there anymore.” On May 21st, he was also told that his betting limit for all table games would be reduced from $25,000 to $5,000, which he equates to as “walking papers.”

The common thinking here would be that White is a card counter. However, he maintains that he didn’t count cards to win the $2 million fortune. “A lot of people are going to think I’m a card counter after that Ben Affleck thing at the Hard Rock. I’m the farthest thing from card counter,” White said.

“Casinos don’t want to gamble anymore. They’re all owned by hedge funds and corporations. They want to stack the odds so much against you that won’t play. Realistically, there’s only one place to play left in town. That’s Caesars. They will let you play what you want to play. No messing around with limits.”

Following his second ban at the Palms, it’ll be interesting to see what this does with the relationship between White and the casino. After he was banned last time, White refused to schedule any UFC events at the casino resort. However, this doesn’t mean that he’ll completely stop going to the Palms because he frequents the N9ne Steakhouse. “I love everybody over there,” he said when asked about tipping $10,000 for a $10k meal.

The $2 million blackjack win over the course of two and a half months has brought to light another issue. Many contend that White has a gambling problem to which he refutes. “Has it affected my personal life? Has it affected my professional life? Have I lost all my money? There’s nothing negative about what I’ve been doing lately.”

As White contends, the only real problem that he may have is winning too much money through casino games.