"Mike Aponte", also known as "MIT Mike", is a professional blackjack player and a former member of the MIT Blackjack Team. Aponte was one of the leaders of a team of MIT students that legally won millions at blackjack tables around the world by counting cards. He is one of the main characters, "Jason Fisher," in the best selling book, Bringing Down the House (book)/Bringing Down the House, by Ben Mezrich. The bestselling book inspired the major motion picture, 21 (2008 film)/21.

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Everything just went so smooth from the start. Even when we were down $300,000 in '96-'97, we had been successful for so long, we never doubted.

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We had kind of a dual life. We'd be studying for a chemistry test on Friday, then get on a plane to Vegas and play for hundreds of thousands of dollars on the weekend.

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