Blackjack World Records
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Home >Aircraft > Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack
Long-range strategic bomber
The Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack is the world's largest operational bomber |
The Tu-160 (Western reporting name Blackjack) is the world's largest operational bomber. It is nicknamed the White Swan by the pilots. Dwarfing the similar-looking B-1B Lancer, it is the heaviest combat aircraft ever built. Unlike the B-1B, the Tu-160 bomber remains committed to both low-level penetration (at transonic speeds) and high-level penetration at speeds of about Mach 1.9. Although the aircraft had a fly-by-wire control system all cockpit displays were conventional analogue instruments, with no multi-function or head-up displays. The long pointed radome houses a terrain following and attack radar. Below this was a fairing for a forward-looking TV camera used for visual weapon aiming. The development programme of the Tupolev Tu-160 was extremely protracted. The prototype first flew in 1981 and the second aircraft was lost in 1987. First aircraft became operational in 1987. Series production was at Kazan and continued until 1992, when President Yeltsin announced that no further strategic bombers would be built. Production totaled 35 Blackjacks, including two prototypes. Also there were some incomplete airframes. This bomber was extremely expensive to build and to maintain. The Tu-160 has a range of 12 300 km. It was the second Soviet bomber after the Tu-95 (Western reporting name Bear), that could reach the United States without in-flight refueling. However the Tu-160 could never replace the ageing Tu-95 due to its astonishing price. In 1989 the Tu-160 reached a speed of 2 200 km/h for the first time. However later maximum speed was limited to 2 000 km/h in order to extend service lives of the engines and airframes. The Blackjack set a total of 44 world records. Even after the aircraft entered service, problems continued to severely restrict operations and production began before a common standard and configuration was agreed. Thus wingspans, equipment fit, and intake configurations differ from aircraft to aircraft. The Blackjack is armed with Kh-55 (Western designation AS-15 Kent) cruise missiles and Kh-15 (Western designation AS-16 Kickback) air-to-surface missiles. The aircraft can carry a total of 12 Kh-55 and up to 24 Kh-15. Both of these missiles can carry nuclear warheads. Missiles are carried in two internal weapon bays. The Tu-160 can also carry free-fall bombs with a maximum weight of up to 40 t. These bombers are intended to attack the most important enemy targets. It is claimed that the Tu-160 has reduced radar cross section, however it is by no means a stealthy aircraft. A total of 19 Tu-160s were delivered to the 184th Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment at Priluki (Ukraine) beginning in May 1987. These were left at the Ukrainian base after the break up of the USSR in 1991 and, after protracted discussions between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, eight were returned to Russia in 1999. Scrapping of the remaining Tu-160s held in Ukraine began in 1998 under a contract issued by the US government. In 2001, six Russian Tupolev Tu-160s were declared operational as air-launched cruise missile carriers under the START treaty. These were assigned to the 121st Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment at Engels and were joined in 2001 by the first of the eight refurbished aircraft formerly held in Ukraine. Although perhaps up to a dozen further airframes are nominally serviceable it seems unlikely that Russia has sufficient funds to rework these aircraft. Some sources claim that Russian Air Force currently operates 16 of these strategic bombers. In 2014 overhaul and modernization of the T-160s commenced at the Tupolev plant. The first modernized Tu-160M bomber was rolled out in 2016. Upgraded and refurbished aircraft are fitted with new radars, electronics and navigation equipment. It is expected that by 2020 more than dozen of Tu-160s bombers will be upgraded and will be in operational service with the Russian Air Force. US-based Platforms International corporation has acquired three demilitarized ex-Ukrainian Tu-160s which it planned to convert as Tu-160SK launchers for space vehicles. However this was never done. By 2017 a total of 16 bombers were operational with the Russian Air Force, plus one more was being upgraded to the Tu-160M standard. This upgraded warplane was planned to be delivered in 2019. There were plans to upgrade all 16 operational bombers to the Tu-160M standard. In 2015 it was announced, that Russian MoD plans to relaunch production of the Tu-160. It was announced that newly-build bombers will be fitted with new engines, new radars and new avionics. The newly-built bomber is referred as the Tu-160M2. So even though it will look similar, the Tu-160M2 will be essentially a new warplane. In 2018 a contract was signed to produce a total of 10 Tu-160M2 bombers for the Russian Air Force. Deliveries are planned to be completed in 2027. A planned price of a Tu-160M2 is $1.5 billion. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The famous card game known as blackjack has rocked the gambling world for centuries. Surely, people have lost a lot over it, but there were a lot of lucky winners over the years as well. The reality of it all is that probably some of the biggest wins haven’t been made public and will forever remain a secret between the player and the dealer, especially big wins from previous decades when there was no internet, no smartphones and no ever present media.
But just for fun, what are the biggest wins known in blackjack and who were the lucky players? Here are the top five.
No.5: Shoeless Joe
We have a mysterious case of a winner whose identity was never revealed. As is turns out, it was an elderly man known as the Blackjack bum or Shoeless Joe (not related to Chicago White Sox player). He was believed to be kicked out of the house by his wife and was evidently not taking care of his personal hygiene for a while.
He came into the Treasure Island casino in 1995, without any shoes on his feet, and sat at a blackjack table after cashing in his $400 social security check. The man was ignorant to basic blackjack strategy, splitting 10s and doubling down on hard 12s and hard 13s, but that week he managed to win around $1.5 million. However, it must have triggered his unpleasant side, as he became aggressively annoying, which gave casino management reason to rejoice when he finally lost and was thrown out of the casino.
No.4: Ken Uston
Blackjack Hall of Fame member Ken Uston was a complete opposite from our previous winner. Relyig on Edward Thorp’s Beat the Dealer book, he based his play on strategy, rather than pure luck, mastered the mathematical elements of the game and applied them on team play.
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He is referred as the creator of blackjack card counting teams, early predecessor of the notorious MIT team.
Between 1975 and 1981, Ken Uston and his team of card counters accumulated winnings resulting in a sum worth more than $4.5 million, running the impressive streak across multiple tables and numerous casino venues across the United States. Check our Blackjack History Infographics for more info.
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No.3: Kerry Packer
Our next contestant is the famous Aussie millionaire Kerry Packer. He was a media magnate, with a reputation of a passionate gambler – and was always considered one of the highest rollers in casinos worldwide. In 1991 he was sitting at a public blackjack table of the Las Vegas Hilton casino. It didn’t take him much to win $7 million for that one night. Apparently, the Hilton had a special private room made for him after that. When he came back the next year, he reportedly gave back $10 million to the casino, but he probably didn’t regret the loss all that much.
No.2: Don Johnson
One of the wins that set on fire the gambling world was certainly Don Johnson’s accomplishment in 2011. No, we are not talking about the famous ‘Nash Bridges’ Don Johnson, but it was also a pretty resourceful man, a CEO of Heritage Development LLC company. He had an unbelievable winning streak from December 2010 to April 2011, earning a total of $15.1 million playing in several major Atlantic City casinos.
The successful blackjack player first won $4.23 million at Caesars Atlantic City, then $998,000 at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa the same month. After a while, his luck struck again, big time. He won $1.8 million at Borgata again, and in two nights another $2.25 million. And lastly, he won $5.8 million at Tropicana Casino.
As he claims, he didn’t count cards apply any other technique. He simply took advantage of every favorable house rule there is, and won more as he played more. According to some interviews, he managed to negotiate a certain discount on his loses in order to keep playing, and it certainly paid off.
No.1: Kerry Packer
It’s not a mistake. We simply have to mention Kerry Packer once again. Not just because we want to, but because the man has had an extraordinary gambling career.
After becoming a regular at Las Vegas whenever he had time off or was on holiday, he came back for another round in 1995. Packer was reported to have played up to 8 hands simultaneously at multiple blackjack tables at Las Vegas MGM Grand this time. He placed bets of $250,000 per hand, and 20 times in a row there were only winning hands for him.
Within 40 minutes he finished his blackjack session cashing out $20 million. Allegedly, he renounced $1 million in favor of the dealers, leaving it behind as a tip!
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The world of blackjack is truly inspirational, wouldn’t you say?
