Everyone likes to sit around and talk about the good old days, when blackjack play was more fun and profitable for the players, the dealers were on your side, the pit bosses had the power of the comp pencil, and the card-counter counter-technology was nowhere near as sophisticated.

No one, however, speculates about the future of blackjack (or any casino game, for that matter). Well, I just perfected my time machine and took a trip to, and back from, the future, where I saw the state of blackjack in Las Vegas casinos in the year 2040. I was also lucky enough to get my hands on the latest Nevada Internal Casino Control Requirements (which were updated in 2039). So not only did I get a gander at what’s going on 30 years from now, but also why.

In a nutshell, here’s what you can expect. The text in italics comes directly from the ICCRs; the text that follows is my personal commentary.

You see, future casinos completely disallow the use of cash. Players have to buy credits on their state- and federal-government-approved Gamers Credit Card. The GCC allows the casino, state, IRS, FinCEN, Interpol, and your banks to see exactly what you’re doing in the casino in real time. If you owe, or are suspected of owing, child support or back taxes, have missed car or house payments, or are even making the minimum payment on your credit cards, you’re denied the privilege of gaming at any property within the International League of Casinos.

The Infra-Metric grid consists of remote-controlled surveillance cameras installed in all public places (primarily to watch for cigarette smoking; tobacco is a Class A controlled substance, same as narcotics), traffic intersections, businesses, and government buildings. The only places the cameras aren’t allowed, so far, are private residences and public bathrooms. The Infra-Metric camera is the only one permitted by the state and federal governments, due to its ability to see in pitch-black situations.

In the casino, the Infra-Metric camera films you as you play, registering and recording your decisions, your playing ability, your betting pattern, etc. This happens while the grid runs sample matches of your facial features in the International Casino Data-Facts system, which identifies players who have won more than $100 in one of their last 10 casino excursions. When ICDF finds a match, the table automatically stops dealing to you, converts your chip values to $0, shreds your GCC, locks you out of your hotel room, and notifies security forces to complete your extraction from the casino.

"Digi-Peek" cards are blank until the dealer turns over the house hand. After the house cards are exposed, the computer chips within the card pixilate and a card value surfaces on each card in play. These cards, I learned, have been in use since 2023 and eliminated any possible cheating or advantage play for ten years (more on this below).

This took effect in 2031, when Honda perfected its Model 9000. The Honda dealers look almost human, though their bodies are non-gender-specific (the better to feature the body-sculpted cocktail waitresses and sex robots), and their eyes are mini-cams that watch and record your every move. This information is shared with all agencies.

"Insta-Value" chips are programmed for value at the time of purchase and can be reprogrammed at will by millions of magnetron sending units located within the casino. Insta-Value chips are devalued, by federal mandate, on a regular basis, in conjunction with the scheduled devaluation of monetary value.

For example, if you purchase your chips with currency that has only a few hours remaining in its present value, your chips devalue according to the set schedule of your currency. This prevents unscrupulous currency manipulators from buying casino chips shortly before their money takes a regularly scheduled value dive, then cashing out and starting over with fresh currency at full value.

Breathalyzers

The breathalyzer serves two functions. First, it continuously measures blood-alcohol content, which ensures that the robo-bartenders pour the proper amount and the cocktail runners don’t monkey with the mix. Second, it takes a DNA sample, which is sent to the international Database of Wanted Criminals for a possible match. If you match, you’re apprehended within seconds. If you don’t match any past crimes, the system will start a new file on you, to be ready for any possible future crimes.

The 2040 casino is nothing if not redundant; the parallel and back-up security systems are at least six deep.

In addition, the Player-Coder patch is a tracking device. This allows surveillance to track you through not just a single casino, but also all the casinos in the world, via the international "Watching Dog" system. Any casino surveillance agent can actually "sic the dog" on a player, at which time the system keys into the camera’s matrix controller and commandeers all the cameras needed to watch a player’s every move without missing a single second.

If you’re wondering exactly who might be able to play in a casino with all the safeguards against criminals and deadbeats, identified skilled players, or even just people who have too many "derogatory" hits on their records, rest assured that there remain a few people who still qualify. However, most people who play in casinos in 2040 are considered judgment-impaired, since if you win in more than one playing session out of 10, you’re disqualified.

Of course, the cocktail waitresses are an extra incentive. They’re human (at least as human as it gets), but they’re allowed to do whatever it takes to get tips.

The drinks are free, but only until you reach the legal limit. Once you reach 0.05 blood-alcohol content (BAC), the casino makes you pay for any drinks you consume. It’s a liability thing: If you kill anyone on the drive home or if you lose your all your credit, you can't sue them. 

Actually, while I was there, a minor scandal erupted concerning one casino that had rigged the table-mounted breathalyzer to read only half of the actual BAC. This way the players still got wasted and didn't know it and the casino was still off the hook. In its defense against being nabbed, the head of that casino’s security said, "Every casino does it."

Finally, as for the question of advantage play, I looked into it, though my sources insisted their names, images, and voices be erased from my memory. You’ll be interested to know that the supposedly "safest" part of the entire system is its own weakness. Numerous electronic gizmos are for sale on the black market that can alter or read the cards before they pixilize. And here's the funny part: It's the surveillance people who are making and selling these things. Of course, they can also gaff the entire technical system under their control for a certain amount of money. 

Ironically, all the safeguards that the nerds put into place get them in the end.