Andy Bloch

And at the time, I made a very quick decision, and I decided that our family couldn't afford it, and I fudged the paperwork.

And I said that I lost it at a casino.

So those were three of my close friends, and I had to go to those guys years later and tell them the truth.

It's funny, I talked to one of the guys on the team about what I did.

and he had the exact same experience.

Go up to my suite, which was usually 1,100, 1,200 square feet, gigantic, big TVs everywhere, bars.

I had one that had a stripper pole in the bathroom, but I would be by myself or with other card counters.

I traveled with one or two other of the players.

And I would go up into my casino room, and I would order some real simple meal, like a club sandwich,

And then I would just sit in the chair, no music, no television, and just look out the window over the strip and feel lonely because you felt isolated.

You know, you can't be open with the casino, who you are.

And when you're open with your Christian friends, they're either way too excited about it or they think you're doing the most evil thing in the world.

Jack Hitt, he's a regular contributor to our show and a writer for the New York Times Magazine.

In the years since we first broadcast today's program, Mike's dream of starting a church came true.

He has a congregation in Batavia, Ohio.

Colin went on to write one of the most popular books out there on blackjack.

It's called The 21st Century Card Counter.

The documentary about card counting Christians is at holyrollersthemovie.com.

Coming up, when you can't bring down the house, just sue it.

That's in a minute on Chicago Public Radio when our program continues.