iPhone program creator worried

Howard Stutz

16 years ago

Maybe Travis Yates has watched a few too many American gangster movies.

Yates is the Australian software designer who created a blackjack card-counting application for the iPhone. Sales have soared in the past week since the Nevada Gaming Control Board told casino operators the program would convert the iPhone into a cheating device.

“I guess I should start worrying,” Yates said in an email Friday morning. “I’ve seen ‘Casino’ and I know what they do to card counters. What would they do to someone who’s unleashed an army of card counters into the casinos, albeit unintentionally, through the A Blackjack Card Counter iPhone App?”

Yates was referring to a scene in the acclaimed Robert De Niro-Joe Pesci film about Las Vegas when the mob controlled the gaming industry. A card counter had his hand broken by casino security guards using a hammer.

Yates said sales volumes for the application have continued to climb. He dropped the price of the application to 99 cents.