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'21' - Math whizzes deal a new game

From left, Jim Sturgess, Jacob Pitts, Liza Lapira, Kate Bosworth and Kevin Spacey appear in "21," about MIT students who took Vegas for millions.

Taking a gamble at the box office, the fact-based movie '21' opened Friday (March 28, 2008) in theaters around the country.

The film reveals the true story of six Massachusetts Institute of Technology students who learn the art of card counting. Among the team is Ben Campbell, a student looking for a way to pay for his tuition. Campbell is invited into a group of MIT's most gifted students, lead by an ingenious math professor. Like a good professor, he has his students put their skills to practical use outside of the classroom — straight to the floors of Las Vegas' casinos. With fake IDs in hand and the ability to see numbers unlike most human beings, the students become masters of the card tables. They are drawn into a world of money and power as they win millions of dollars.

The film includes Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey and Lawrence Fishburne.

Archive highlights

As reality, OK, but as art ...

Fri, Mar 28, 2008

By Joe Brown

The big winners in the blackjack-themed “21” are the casinos at Red Rock Resort and Planet Hollywood, both of which get a good ride, product placement-wise.

Melodramatic, but with a seal of approval

Fri, Mar 28, 2008

By Jeff Haney

Dave Irvine and Mike Aponte — who risked, and won, big money in Las Vegas with the MIT team in the 1990s — had generally favorable impressions of “21” after ...

Show times for '21'

Thu, Mar 27, 2008

By Stephanie Kishi, Mike Lyle, Rob Ponte

Based on factual events, "21" is the story of six MIT students who won millions Las Vegas casinos after becoming experts in card counting. The movie, opening March 28, will ...

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