Jack Hitt

He was hysterical that he had cost the team so much.

But their reaction?

that he probably hadn't lost, but was stealing.

Ben, the founder of the group, told me about one time when a team member claimed that he'd never even contemplated stealing.

That struck Ben as unusual, and he immediately began suspecting that player of stealing.

Do you think some of the members of your team did steal money?

Oh, wow.

Whoops.

Yeah.

Ben, how much did you steal?

And did you pay it back?

Throughout it all, playing blackjack never stopped being a little strange for the Christians.

Trying to make money surrounded by almost every temptation.

Free booze, plane tickets, beautiful prostitutes, easy money.

But they had to stay focused on their job, counting cards.

For some, it was lonesome, like Jesus in the wilderness.

Here's Mike in the desert of Las Vegas.

In the end, the church team split up in 2011.

And not because any of them succumbed to gambling or any other temptation.

They believed in God and his glorious gift of math.