The small statue of a reclining nude, seen on the desk of the Harvard med Professor Bob Phillips during Ben's Robinson Scholarship interview, is by Venezuelan-born sculptor Maria Gamundi.
The first night the group gambles in Las Vegas they are in the Hard Rock Casino, however the table at which Ben gambles says "Red Rock Casino". When he switches tables it says "Hard Rock Casino."
All the cards in the casino scenes have rounded corners opposite the index numbers, identifying them as used cards that have since been removed from use on the casino floor and altered so they can never be sneaked back into play.
Jill says that she is "comped" a suite at the hard rock hotel, however as a counter/spotter she should only be making minimum bets, which wouldn't be enough to get a free suite out of a Vegas Hotel.
How did the casinos react to the book and upcoming movie?
A
This seems to be a question many people ask. People seem to think the casinos are not thrilled with the movie and book. The opposite couldn't be more true: the casinos love it! So much so they allowed the 21 producers to film scenes for the movie in several Vegas casinos. It takes a big bank roll, much patience and most importantly great skill to count cards and even then you may not make a profit. The everyday person reading the book or seeing this movie who tries counting cards in a casino will lose over 95% of the time. The casinos welcome players like that and worst case for them, if you start to win too much money they can kick you out.
Q
Did they really go to Vegas on weekends to play blackjack?
A
Yes, in the book he talks about taking the early evening flight America West #66 out of Logan nonstop to Vegas. They would leave MIT as nerds and arrive in Vegas as high rollers. They would return on Sunday night in time for class Monday morning. They didn't go every weekend, but went very often.
Q
What deal did Cole cut with Mickey at the end?
A
It might have been that Mickey would give Ben a passing grade and Cole would not turn Mickey in to the IRS