Anthony Curtis owns both the Las Vegas Advisor and the Huntington Press, both of which are considered major players in the world of gambling. While these publications are what he is most well-known for, Curtis is actually a talented poker and blackjack player himself.
Anthony Curtis began gambling early, making his first forays into gambling research while he was still in high school. When he was old enough to gamble on his own, he immediately set out to Vegas to immerse himself in an environment of skilled players, leaving his college career at Duke University behind and convincing his parents that he had publishing opportunities in Vegas. While he truly desired to play cards professionally, his white lie turned out to be closer to the truth than he originally thought.
A number of influential players connected with Curtis during his early years in Vegas, including none other than gambling author Stanford Wong. The players he met helped him refine his play style to the point that he was able to play professionally. During his stint as a full-time gambler, Curtis was a shrewd and strategically distrusting player.
He looked for opportunities wherever he could find them, even taking advantage of casino and player mistakes. Over time, Curtis focused his style on profitable play, avoiding opportunities that did not have favorable odds.
Curtis claims that the defining event of his career was getting to know Stanford Wong after joining his blackjack team. Curtis and Wong made an excellent team, with Wong sponsoring the then-poor Curtis so that he could play in numerous tournaments which ended up making them money. Curtis spoke highly of Wong’s strategic abilities and Wong seemed to see that Curtis had a sharp intuition in play.
Anthony Curtis left his professional gambling career in lieu of bigger opportunities in the gambling industry, the first of which was to launch his first publication, the Las Vegas Advisor, which was to be published by his new publishing house, the Huntington Press. He pivoted his notoriety as a player to publicize the advent of the Advisor, which resulted in immediate success for the publication and the publishing house. The Las Vegas Advisor is, to this day, considered a leading authority on the goings-on in Sin City, from promotional deals to new shows to general travel information.
Curtis’ own column in the Advisor focused on advantage play and savvy use of gambling coupons to reduce losses and increase your chances of netting wins. Following the success of the Advisor, the Huntington Press began to publish books by other professionals and gambling analysts.
Curtis was very selective with the authors that he chose to publish, and that choice paid off as the books credited to the Huntington Press are recognized worldwide for their strategies and tutorials.
Anthony Curtis was also involved in the organization of a number of blackjack tournaments, including the televised “Ultimate Blackjack Tour,” which brought a new ruleset of blackjack to the public. Unfortunately, Ultimate Blackjack Tour did not catch on in popularity, and the co-founder was involved with a highly-publicized scandal involving online gambling cheating.
Curtis had never been aware of or involved in the cheating, and expressed great disappointment in the fact that his friend and colleague had allowed cheating to be the reason for the end of a good career.
Curtis has made many television appearances on major networks and has continually expanded the influence of the Las Vegas Advisor and the Huntington Press. In recent years, he has begun to explore poker strategy, both in the publications of the Huntington Press and as a player, though he admits that he is not nearly as good of a poker player as those he publishes.
