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A wearable computer was conceived in 1955 to predict roulette, leading to a collaboration with Claude Shannon at MIT in 1960‑61. The device was tested in Las Vegas during the summer of 1961 by the Shannons and Thorps. The cigarette‑pack‑sized analog computer achieved an expected 44 % gain on roulette bets, confirmed in Las Vegas tests, but a hardware issue limited sustained betting, and its existence remained secret until 1966.
The first wearable computer was conceived in 1955 by the author to predict roulette, culminating in a joint effort at M.I.T. with Claude Shannon in 1960-61. The final operating version was rested in Shannon's basement home lab in June of 1961. The cigarette pack sized analog device yielded an expected gain of +44% when betting on the most favored "octant". The Shannons and Thorps tested the computer in Las Vegas in the summer of 1961. The predictions there were consistent with the laboratory expected gain of 44% but a minor hardware problem deferred sustained serious betting. We kept the method and the existence of the computer secret until 1966.
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A New Interpretation of Information Rate
J. L. Kelly · Bell System Technical Journal · 1956 · 1.6K citations
A new interpretation of information rate
John D. Kelly · IEEE Transactions on Information Theory · 1956 · 362 citations
The Optimum Strategy in Blackjack
Roger R. Baldwin, Wilbert E. Cantey, Herbert Maisel et al. · Journal of the American Statistical Association · 1956 · 59 citations