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| death_cause =

| occupation = Writer, astronomer, professor, musician, stand-up comedian

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| known = Developer of Golden diagram for blackjack and the Magic Circle Strategy for rouletteInfluences -- Nina Grace Smith, L. Knowles Cooke, Frank Drake, W.J. "Jack" Welch, [[David W. Tucker]], Edward O. Thorp, [[Del Close]]

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| known = Developer of Golden diagram for blackjack and the Magic Circle Strategy for rouletteInfluences -- Nina Grace Smith, L. Knowles Cooke, [[Frank Drake]], W.J. "Jack" Welch, [[David W. Tucker]], Edward O. Thorp, [[Del Close]]

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| influences = Nina Grace Smith, L. Knowles Cooke, Frank Drake, W.J. "Jack" Welch, [[David W. Tucker]], Edward O. Thorp, [[Del Close]]

| contact = lesgoldencardcounting@yahoo.com

| reference = http://www.geocities.ws/les_golden http://www.oocities.org/goldenforstaterepresentativedrlesgo@aol.com; cell 773-837-3146

}}

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'''Les Golden''' is an internationally-known gambling writer based in Oak Park, Illinois. He has written for gambling.com, iGamingBusiness, gamblingonline, and [[Bluff Magazine|Bluff Europe]] print magazines. He became aware of card counting systems and became a card counter at the popular casino game of blackjack while a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, by reading the 1966 revised edition of Beat the Dealer,<ref>Thorp, E. O. (1966) ''Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-One'', Random House, New York</ref> the seminal work of mathematician Edward O. Thorp, who was aided in his computer simulations by programmers Julian Braun and Harvey Dubner.<ref>Thorp, E. O. (1966),''Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-One'', Random House, New York, pp. 93-94</ref> As a graduate student in astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, Golden made monthly trips to [[Reno]], [[Nevada]] and played blackjack using Thorp’s systems. He is the developer of the Golden Diagram technique for countering casino countermeasures at blackjack and the Magic Circle system for winning at biased roulette wheels. He currently resides in Oak Park, [[Illinois]], and [[Reno]], [[Nevada]].

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'''Les Golden''' is an internationally-known gambling writer based in Oak Park, [[Illinois]].<ref> http://www.illinoisauthors.org/authors/Leslie_Morris_Golden</ref> He has written for gambling.com, iGamingBusiness, gamblingonline, and [[Bluff Magazine|Bluff Europe]] print magazines. He became aware of card counting systems and became a card counter at the popular casino game of blackjack while a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, by reading the 1966 revised edition of Beat the Dealer,<ref>Thorp, E. O. (1966) ''Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-One'', Random House, New York</ref> the seminal work of mathematician Edward O. Thorp, who was aided in his computer simulations by programmers Julian Braun and Harvey Dubner.<ref>Thorp, E. O. (1966),''Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-One'', Random House, New York, pp. 93-94</ref> As a graduate student in astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, Golden made monthly trips to [[Reno]], [[Nevada]] and played blackjack using Thorp’s systems. He is the developer of the Golden Diagram technique for countering casino countermeasures at blackjack and the Magic Circle system for winning at biased roulette wheels. He currently resides in Oak Park, [[Illinois]], and [[Reno]], [[Nevada]].

==Background==

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===Performing===

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[[File: LesGoldenNotEasyBeingGreen.jpg|thumb|left|175px| One of the leading environmentalist spokesmen and activists in Illinois, Les Golden as President of the CARE party in Oak Park, Illinois, secured the election of a majority on the Park Board which on their first day in office banned pesticides in the parks and recreation centers.]]Golden is a nationally-referenced animal welfare advocate and environmental activist,<ref>http://www.elephantinformation.com/CEMENT%20FLOORING%20or%20HARD%20DIRT%20GROUND.htm </ref><ref>http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-11-24/news/0411240206_1_new-trees-oak-park-district-mulberry-trees</ref><ref>Dwyer, Bill (2007), “Tree Fury at Field,” ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', July 10, p. 1; http://www.oakpark.com/News/Articles/07-10-2007/Tree_fury_at_Field</ref><ref>Noel, Josh (2007), “Oak Park tree-removal plan heads for debate,” ''Chicago Tribune'', July 12, p. 7; http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2007-07-19/news/0707181717_1_trees-park-renovation-plan</ref><ref>Golden, Leslie M. (2005), “Elephant deaths are a matter of physics,” ''Chicago Sun-Times'', January 28, p. 24</ref><ref>(2000) “Trailside needs a champion,” ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'' (editorial), November 1, p. 32</ref><ref>Vincent, Ed (2002), “The Lost Chukar,” http://www.suburbanjournals.com/Stories2002/Lost-Chukar-Returned-Home-2002.html, August 10</ref><ref>see, in addition, for example, Golden, Les (2002), “All it would take is a fence to keep critters alive,” ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', June 12, p. 41; Golden, Les (2000), “Les ‘Cut the Roadkill’ Golden says, Slow Down!”, ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', April 19, p. 25; Golden, Les (2000), “Hey, Sylvestri, save our furry and feathered friends,” ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', October 25, p. 34; Little, Rebecca and Trainor, Ken (2000) “Silvestri responds to Golden, Trailside,” ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', November 1, p. 2; Golden, Les “Let’s Save the Dogs” Golden (2002), “Ask politicians to make dog fighting a felony,” May 22, p. 32; (2008), “Inside Report: Les ‘Cut the coyotes a break’ Golden,” ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', January 23, p. 5; Linden, Eric (1991), “’Dandelion Dig’ idea blooming,” ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', May 29, p. 7; (2001) Golden, Les, “It’s not easy being green, but here are some ideas”, ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', April 11, p. 40</ref> a professional trumpet player, jazz vocalist, and band leader,<ref>http://villageofoakpark.com/Stories2002/2003-Les-Golden-comments-July4th-music.html</ref> and a professional actor with more than 100 stage, film, radio, television, and commercial credits,<ref> (1994), “A film career far (but not removed) from Tinseltown,”

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[[File: LesGoldenNotEasyBeingGreen.jpg|thumb|left|175px| One of the leading environmentalist spokesmen and activists in Illinois, Les Golden as President of the CARE party in Oak Park, Illinois, secured the election of a majority on the Park Board which on their first day in office banned pesticides in the parks and recreation centers.]]Golden is a nationally-referenced animal welfare advocate and environmental activist,<ref>http://www.elephantinformation.com/CEMENT%20FLOORING%20or%20HARD%20DIRT%20GROUND.htm </ref><ref>http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-11-24/news/0411240206_1_new-trees-oak-park-district-mulberry-trees</ref><ref>Dwyer, Bill (2007), “Tree Fury at Field,” ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', July 10, p. 1; http://www.oakpark.com/News/Articles/07-10-2007/Tree_fury_at_Field</ref><ref>Noel, Josh (2007), “Oak Park tree-removal plan heads for debate,” ''Chicago Tribune'', July 12, p. 7; http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2007-07-19/news/0707181717_1_trees-park-renovation-plan</ref><ref>Golden, Leslie M. (2005), “Elephant deaths are a matter of physics,” ''Chicago Sun-Times'', January 28, p. 24</ref><ref>(2000) “Trailside needs a champion,” ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'' (editorial), November 1, p. 32</ref><ref>Vincent, Ed (2002), “The Lost Chukar,” http://www.suburbanjournals.com/Stories2002/Lost-Chukar-Returned-Home-2002.html, August 10</ref><ref>see, in addition, for example, Golden, Les (2002), “All it would take is a fence to keep critters alive,” ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', June 12, p. 41; Golden, Les (2000), “Les ‘Cut the Roadkill’ Golden says, Slow Down!”, ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', April 19, p. 25; Golden, Les (2000), “Hey, Sylvestri, save our furry and feathered friends,” ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', October 25, p. 34; Little, Rebecca and Trainor, Ken (2000) “Silvestri responds to Golden, Trailside,” ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', November 1, p. 2; Golden, Les “Let’s Save the Dogs” Golden (2002), “Ask politicians to make dog fighting a felony,” May 22, p. 32; (2008), “Inside Report: Les ‘Cut the coyotes a break’ Golden,” ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', January 23, p. 5; Linden, Eric (1991), “’Dandelion Dig’ idea blooming,” ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', May 29, p. 7; (2001) Golden, Les, “It’s not easy being green, but here are some ideas”, ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', April 11, p. 40</ref><ref>(2004) http://www.oakparkjournal.com/2007/2007-Field-Park-ralley-July-8th-2pm.html</ref><ref>“Oak Park Environmentalist Persuades School to Save Taxpayer Dollars, Intergovernmental Cooperation the Key to Recycling Dutch Elm Mulch,” www.oakparkjournal.com/stories2004/2005-les-golden-mulch-nov.html</ref> a professional trumpet player, jazz vocalist, and band leader,<ref>http://villageofoakpark.com/Stories2002/2003-Les-Golden-comments-July4th-music.html</ref> and a professional actor with more than 100 stage, film, radio, television, and commercial credits,<ref> (1994), “A film career far (but not removed) from Tinseltown,”

Compuserve magazine, August, p. 55 </ref><ref>(1982) “Improvising Your Way to Success,” ''Spring'',1, 6, p. 34 </ref><ref> (1984) “The boss is never wrong,” ''Screen magazine'', October 1, p. 19</ref><ref>www.imdb.com/title/tt0097170/</ref><ref>www.locatetv.com/person/les-golden/118760</ref><ref>http://www.reelz.com/person/146084/les-golden/movie-friends/</ref><ref>Petrulis, Len (1982), “Golden TV ‘Spoof’ on Reality,” ''Berwyn Life'', May 19, p. 14</ref> including multiple principle Shakespearean roles with [[Oak Park Festival Theatre]], an Equity-contract theatre.[[File:WhoisLesGolden.jpg|thumb|200px|Les Golden Renaissance Man feature article]]

In 1966 Golden provided the stimulus for the formation of the [[University of California Jazz Ensembles]] by placing an ad calling for student jazz musicians in the [[Daily Californian]]. With the arrival of Dr. [[David W. Tucker]] to the Cal campus, the organization became the most prominent musical organization on the Berkeley campus. Golden was a trumpet player, soloist, and vocalist with the elite Wednesday Night big band. For seven years he was the emcee for the program, appearing at dozens of performances annually at concerts and jazz festivals throughout California.<ref>http://ucjazz.berkeley.edu/ </ref>[[File:DailyCalArticlebyLesGoldenUCJazz1968.jpg‎|thumb|left|175px|Article by Les Golden in the Daily Californian announcing the first concert of the University of California Jazz Ensembles]]

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Golden is an award-winning developer of sophisticated music notation software.<ref>Nolan, Herb (1989), “An Astronomer Tackles the Music Software Marketplace,” ''Upbeat'', November, p. 45-46</ref><ref>(1989), “100 Great Products for Under $100,” ''Electronic Musician'', December, '''5''', 12, p. 46</ref><ref>Mahin, Bruce P. (1989), “Choosing Music Notation Software,” ''The Instrumentalist'', '''43''', 11, p. 26-31</ref><ref>(1989), “Basic Composer,” ''Music Educators Journal'', April, p. 20</ref><ref>Kuzmich, John (1990), “Scoring With Computers,” ''Jazz Educators Journal'', '''23''', 3, p. 52</ref><ref>King, Patricia (1990),” “Basic Composer,” ''The Music and Computer Educator'', '''1''', 10, p. 26</ref><ref>(1991), “Basic Composer 4.3,” ''Compute'', '''13''', 2, p.90</ref>

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Golden is an award-winning developer of sophisticated music notation software.<ref>Nolan, Herb (1989), “An Astronomer Tackles the Music Software Marketplace,” ''Upbeat'', November, p. 45-46</ref><ref>(1989), “100 Great Products for Under $100,” ''Electronic Musician'', December, '''5''', 12, p. 46</ref><ref>Mahin, Bruce P. (1989), “Choosing Music Notation Software,” ''The Instrumentalist'', '''43''', 11, p. 26-31</ref><ref>(1989), “Basic Composer,” ''Music Educators Journal'', April, p. 20</ref><ref>Kuzmich, John (1990), “Scoring With Computers,” ''Jazz Educators Journal'', '''23''', 3, p. 52</ref><ref>King, Patricia (1990),” “Basic Composer,” ''The Music and Computer Educator'', '''1''', 10, p. 26</ref><ref>(1991), “Basic Composer 4.3,” ''Compute'', '''13''', 2, p.90</ref><ref>Lynch, Dennis, (1990), “Unlock your creativity via computers,” Chicago Tribune, February 23, Section 3, p. 3, http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1990-02-23/entertainment/9001160136_1_computers-apple-iigs-steve-jobs</ref>

He is a published jazz critic.<ref>Golden, Les (1994), “Ravinia places Chicago on map for jazz fans,” ''Northwest Leader'', August 3, p. 6</ref>

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===Astronomy Publications and Presentations===

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[[File: LesGoldenNEAR.jpg|thumb|right|150px| Les Golden, astronomer, founded the [[Near Earth Asteroid Reconnaissance Project]] while a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.]]Golden has published several peer-reviewed refereed articles on applications of probability and statistics to astronomy,<ref>Golden, Leslie M. (1971). “Evolution of Quasar Optical and Radio Luminosity,” ''Nature'', '''234''', 103; http://www.nature.com/nature-physci/journal/v234/n49/abs/physci234103a0.html</ref><ref>Golden, Leslie M. (1974). “Isotropy of Radio Source Populations from Comparison of Number - Flux Density Curves,” ''Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society'', '''166''', 383; http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1974MNRAS.166..383G </ref><ref>Golden, Leslie M. (1974). “Observational Selection in the Identification of Quasars and Claims for Anisotropy,” ''Observatory'', '''94''', 122; http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1974Obs....94..122G </ref><ref>Golden, Leslie M. (1979). “The Effect of Surface Roughness on the Transmission of Microwave Radiation Through a Planetary Surface,” ''Icarus'', '''38''', 451; http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0019103579901994 </ref> and has taught probability and statistics in the Heller Graduate School of Business at Roosevelt University in Chicago in addition to being an astronomy professor in the physics department and the Honors College of the University of Illinois at Chicago.

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[[File: LesGoldenNEAR.jpg|thumb|right|150px| Les Golden, astronomer, founded the [[Near Earth Asteroid Reconnaissance Project]] while a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.]]Golden has published several peer-reviewed refereed articles on applications of probability and statistics to astronomy,<ref>Golden, Leslie M. (1971). “Evolution of Quasar Optical and Radio Luminosity,” ''Nature'', '''234''', 103; http://www.nature.com/nature-physci/journal/v234/n49/abs/physci234103a0.html</ref><ref>Golden, Leslie M. (1974). “Isotropy of Radio Source Populations from Comparison of Number - Flux Density Curves,” ''Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society'', '''166''', 383; http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1974MNRAS.166..383G </ref><ref>Golden, Leslie M. (1974). “Observational Selection in the Identification of Quasars and Claims for Anisotropy,” ''Observatory'', '''94''', 122; http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1974Obs....94..122G </ref><ref>Golden, Leslie M. (1979). “The Effect of Surface Roughness on the Transmission of Microwave Radiation Through a Planetary Surface,” ''Icarus'', '''38''', 451; http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0019103579901994 </ref> and has taught probability and statistics in the Heller Graduate School of Business at Roosevelt University in Chicago in addition to being an astronomy professor in the physics department and the Honors College of the University of Illinois at Chicago.<ref> http://www.springer.com/astronomy/astronomy,+observations+and+techniques/book/978-1-4614-3310-1?detailsPage=authorsAndEditors</ref>

[[File:TsunamiLecture.jpg‎|thumb|left|250px| Professor Leslie M. Golden lectures in 2005 on how the East Indian Ocean [[tsunami]]-generating earthquake led to a shortening of the length of the day.]]He lectures to adult and student audiences on the possibility of extraterrestrial life and the hypothetical shapes of their bodies. A frequent cruise ship lecturer, he was selected by Royal Cruise Lines to be their shipboard lecturer on the high seas during the 1986 apparition of Halley's Comet, and was the first University of Illinois professor selected to be a professor on the Institute of Shipboard Education's (ISE) Semester at Sea program,<ref>(1997), “Physics sails the world,” ''UIC News'' (University of Illinois at Chicago), April 30, p. 2; http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/uicnews/articledetail.cgi?id=4005</ref> teaching courses on astronomy and the possibility of extraterrestrial life in the fall semester of 1996. Among his popular writings on astronomy<ref>http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-01-20/news/0401200115_1_communication-satellites-mars-initiative-astronomy</ref><ref>http://www.ummah.com/forum/showthread.php?30437-Benefits-Of-A-Mission-To-Mars</ref><ref> articles.chicagotribune.com/keyword/astronomy/recent/4</ref> and public presentations,<ref>(2005) Anderson, Holly, “Day shortened by quake, astronomer calculates,” http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1N1-110D9F0B0030ACF0.html, January 5</ref><ref>http://blog.chicagoweathercenter.com/2004/12/</ref> he has been the featured speaker at the meeting of the Great Lakes Planetarium Association and was the keynote speaker for Chicago's Adler Planetarium on the occasion of the dedication of their new wing.

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"Where to start in introducing the complete one-off individual that is Les Golden? Actor, stand-up comedian, humorist UFO lecturer, singer, astronomer, cartoonist, playwright, trumpet player, voiceover artist, political activist . . . we could go on. You can probably tell that Les is a bit of a character. Luckily for readers, he's also a great blackjack player,"<ref>(2009) Lines, Chris, "A Word From the Editor," ''Gambling Online'', August, p. 8.</ref>

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"It would be an unusual man who really went by the name 'Cut the Taxes,' but Golden, of Oak Park, is an unusual man. He is an actor and educational software developer with a Ph.D. in astronomy; he is a trumpet player, writer and physics professor who devotes much of his free time to taxpayers rights issues."<ref>(1995) Zorn, Eric, This Candidate Is A `Cut The Taxes' Above The Rest," ''Chicago Tribune'', October 3; http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1995-10-03/news/9510030038_1_wallace-gator-bradley-candidates-taxes. See also, (1994), "A film career far (but not removed) from Tinseltown," ''Compuserve magazine'', August, p. 55; Krapf, Paula (1995) "Silence not Golden: aspiring local politico a man of many names, Faces," ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', September 20, p. 4</ref>

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"It would be an unusual man who really went by the name 'Cut the Taxes,' but Golden, of Oak Park, is an unusual man. He is an actor and educational software developer with a Ph.D. in astronomy; he is a trumpet player, writer and physics professor who devotes much of his free time to taxpayers rights issues."<ref>(1995) Zorn, Eric, "This Candidate Is A `Cut The Taxes' Above The Rest," ''Chicago Tribune'', October 3; http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1995-10-03/news/9510030038_1_wallace-gator-bradley-candidates-taxes. See also, (1994), "A film career far (but not removed) from Tinseltown," ''Compuserve magazine'', August, p. 55; Krapf, Paula (1995) "Silence not Golden: aspiring local politico a man of many names, Faces," ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', September 20, p. 4</ref>

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[[File:LesGoldenNameGame.jpg|thumb|right|175px| Les Golden is a true polymath, a Renaissance Man. His numerous activities have provided him with many names. Play the Les Golden Name Game! ]]Unlike many in society who were influenced and aided by family members in achieving success in given fields, Golden is entirely a self-made man. No one in either his maternal or paternal extended families have matriculated at an Ivy League college, earned a Ph.D, nor have had professional careers as an actor, stand-up comedian, playwright, political cartoonist, magazine editor, non-fiction writer, software developer, scientist, or professor. His identical twin brother and he are the only professional musicians in the extended families.<ref>Petlicki, Myrna (1997), “Golden memories,” ''Oak Leaves'' (Oak Park, Illinois), July 2, p. B3-6</ref><ref>http://villageofoakpark.com/Stories2002/2003-Les-Golden-comments-July4th-music.html</ref>

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“His interests form a list so long as to stagger the imagination. He is a stand-up comic who has performed all over the United States and Mexico, a professional actor in more than 100 plays, films and commercials; and he is the author of Basic Composer, PC-compatible software that is used to compose, play back, and print music and lyrics. (As an astronomer), in 1986 he went on a Halley’s Comet cruise, following the comet from Acapulco to Greece and transmitting reports to the Syndicated Writers’ Group.”<ref>(1991) “CB as a Channel for Discovery,” ''Compuserve Magazine'', December, p. 18</ref>

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[[File:LesGoldenNameGame.jpg|thumb|right|175px| Les Golden is a true polymath, a Renaissance Man. His numerous activities have provided him with many names. Play the Les Golden Name Game! ]]Unlike many in society who were influenced and aided by family members in achieving success in given fields, Golden is entirely a self-made man. No one in either his maternal or paternal extended families have matriculated at an Ivy League college, earned a Ph.D, nor have had professional careers as an actor, stand-up comedian, playwright, political cartoonist, magazine editor, non-fiction writer, software developer, scientist, or professor. His identical twin brother and he are the only professional musicians in the extended families.<ref>Petlicki, Myrna (1997), “Golden memories,” ''Oak Leaves'' (Oak Park, Illinois), July 2, p. B3-6</ref><ref>http://villageofoakpark.com/Stories2002/2003-Les-Golden-comments-July4th-music.html</ref><ref>Lynch, Dennis, (1990), “Unlock your creativity via computers,” Chicago Tribune, February 23, Section 3, p. 3, http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1990-02-23/entertainment/9001160136_1_computers-apple-iigs-steve-jobs</ref>

==Gambling Writings==

===Introduction to Card Counting===

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In the months before the premier Wednesday Night Band of the [[University of California Jazz Ensembles]], under the direction of Dr. [[David W. Tucker]], went in 1972 to Reno, Nevada, to compete in its first [[Reno]] Jazz Festival,<ref>www.unr.edu/rjf/</ref> Golden, a trumpet player and vocalist with the band and its announcer, purchased Beat the Dealer at the legendary Moe’s Bookstore in Berkeley, California, and studied Thorp’s complete point count system. In the next five years at Berkeley, Golden made monthly trips to Reno, with additional trips to Lake Tahoe and Virginia City, Nevada. In 1977 he moved to Los Angeles to perform research at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a National Research Council Resident Research Associate post-doctoral fellow in astronomy,<ref>http://nrc58.nas.edu/aodir/gen_page.asp?mode=detail&sql=idnumber='760817'</ref> and his gambling excursions were to [[Las Vegas]], [[Nevada]]. He continued to perform stand-up comedy at various venues including The Comedy Store and The Improv.

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[[File: LesGoldenUnitedAirlines.jpg|thumb|left|125px| International poster-boy for United Airlines. These brochures were available at every UAL ticket office and airport terminal in the world. An accompanying poster was on the wall in every UAL ticket office and airport terminal in the world as well as being printed in every major American newspaper (and perhaps foreign as well).]]In the months before the premier Wednesday Night Band of the [[University of California Jazz Ensembles]], under the direction of Dr. [[David W. Tucker]], went in 1972 to Reno, Nevada, to compete in its first [[Reno]] Jazz Festival,<ref>www.unr.edu/rjf/</ref> Golden, a trumpet player and vocalist with the band and its announcer, purchased Beat the Dealer at the legendary Moe’s Bookstore in Berkeley, California, and studied Thorp’s complete point count system. In the next five years at Berkeley, Golden made monthly trips to Reno, with additional trips to Lake Tahoe and Virginia City, Nevada. In 1977 he moved to Los Angeles to perform research at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a National Research Council Resident Research Associate post-doctoral fellow in astronomy,<ref>http://nrc58.nas.edu/aodir/gen_page.asp?mode=detail&sql=idnumber='760817'</ref> and his gambling excursions were to [[Las Vegas]], [[Nevada]]. He continued to perform stand-up comedy at various venues including The Comedy Store and The Improv.

[[File:CountonLesLogojpg.jpg‎|thumb|240px|Logo for Les Golden's popular "Count on Les" columns for gambling.com print magazine]]

===Writings===

He has written for ''Gambling.com'',<ref>http://www.professional-poker.com/news/2006/nov/764-gamblingcom-poker-content.htm.</ref><ref>http://www.gambling.com/Blackjack/tips-strategies/194/the-blackjack-breakdown</ref> ''Gambling Online'',<ref>www.gamblingonlinemagazine.com/casinos.php</ref> ''iGaming Business'',<ref> http://www.igamingbusiness.com/content/shannon-elizabeth-heats-gamblingcom-magazine</ref> and ''Bluff Europe''<ref>http://www.sbg-globalblackjack.com/p/blackjack-news-headlines-for-september-02-2011</ref><ref>en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluff_Magazine</ref><ref>www.bluffeurope.com/</ref> magazines, and as a newspaper columnist as a casino advocate.<ref>Golden, Les (1992). “Pleasant Home: Here's a Worthwhile Gamble,” ''Oak Leaves'' (Oak Park, Illinois), July 31, p. 21</ref> His writing reflects his Renaissance man<ref name=''tinsel''>(1994), “A film career far (but not removed) from Tinseltown,” ''Compuserve magazine'',

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August, p. 55</ref><ref>(1995) Krapf, Paula, “Silence not Golden: aspiring local politico a man of many names, Faces,” ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', September 20, p. 4</ref><ref>Trainor, Ken (1997), “Who is Les Golden?”, ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', April 2, p. 29-37</ref><ref>(1998) Silver, Moe (name adopted by writer Ken Trainor for purpose of article), “The Clone Ranger divides again”, ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', April 1, p. 52</ref><ref name="Shrewish">Trainor, Ken (2001) “Funny, he doesn’t look shrewish,” ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', August 1, p. 2</ref> multiple knowledge bases. With a technical background, many of his articles deal with probability issues in casino games, focusing on roulette, craps, and blackjack, and discussing such topics as the central limit theorem, the normal curve, and Gambler's ruin, and often employing Monte Carlo simulations and references to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, an area to which he had been introduced at Cornell University by his mentor Frank Drake and which is one of his research and public lecture areas as an astronomer.<ref>(1983). “People Focuses on Fellow Who Makes ETs His Specialty,” ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', November 16</ref><ref>(1983), “Rosary prof makes stars come to life for ‘ET’ class,” ''Suburban Sun-Times'' (West), July 1, p. 14</ref><ref>(1984). ”Halley's Comet, Alien Life Highlight Astronomer's Talk,” ''Harlem-Irving Times'', March 2, p 3</ref> With his stand-up comedian background, his style has been described by one of his editors, “You can probably tell that Les is a bit of a character. Luckily for readers, he’s also a great blackjack player,”<ref>Lines, Chris (2009), “A Word From the Editor,” ''Gambling Online'', August, p. 8.</ref> and by Dave Bland, the editor of ''Flush Magazine'', "Les Golden is a comedy genius. I could write more but it really is as simple as that.”<ref>http://triblocal.com/oak-park-river-forest/community/stories/2010/06/cut-the-taxes-golden-is-now-cut-the-cards/</ref> A professional actor with a Kevin Bacon number of 3 who has studied with Ann Woodworth of Northwestern University and Del Close of Chicago’s The Second City improvisational nightclub, Golden periodically writes about applying acting techniques to camouflage both being a card counter and also being a member of roulette and blackjack teams.<ref>Golden, Les (2010), “So, Do You Feel Lucky, Punk. Well, Do ‘Ya? ,” ''Bluff Europe'', October, p. 88-89</ref><ref>Golden, Les (2010), “Yonder Lies the Castle of my Fodder,” ''Bluff Europe'', November, p. 90-91</ref><ref>Golden, Les (2010), “The Rain in Spain Falls Mainly on the Plain”: Camouflage by Status,” ''Bluff Europe'', December, p. 90-91</ref>

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August, p. 55</ref><ref>(1995) Krapf, Paula, “Silence not Golden: aspiring local politico a man of many names, Faces,” ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', September 20, p. 4</ref><ref>Trainor, Ken (1997), “Who is Les Golden?”, ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', April 2, p. 29-37</ref><ref>(1998) Silver, Moe (name adopted by writer Ken Trainor for purpose of article), “The Clone Ranger divides again”, ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', April 1, p. 52</ref><ref name="Shrewish">Trainor, Ken (2001) “Funny, he doesn’t look shrewish,” ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', August 1, p. 2</ref> multiple knowledge bases. With a technical background, many of his articles deal with probability issues in casino games, focusing on roulette, craps, and blackjack, and discussing such topics as the central limit theorem, the normal curve, and Gambler's ruin, and often employing Monte Carlo simulations and references to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, an area to which he had been introduced at Cornell University by his mentor Frank Drake and which is one of his research and public lecture areas as an astronomer.<ref>(1983). “People Focuses on Fellow Who Makes ETs His Specialty,” ''Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest'', November 16</ref><ref>(1983), “Rosary prof makes stars come to life for ‘ET’ class,” ''Suburban Sun-Times'' (West), July 1, p. 14</ref><ref>(1984). ”Halley's Comet, Alien Life Highlight Astronomer's Talk,” ''Harlem-Irving Times'', March 2, p 3</ref> With his stand-up comedian background, his style has been described by one of his editors, “You can probably tell that Les is a bit of a character. Luckily for readers, he’s also a great blackjack player,”<ref>Lines, Chris (2009), “A Word From the Editor,” ''Gambling Online'', August, p. 8.</ref> and by Dave Bland, the editor of ''Flush Magazine'', "Les Golden is a comedy genius. I could write more but it really is as simple as that.”<ref>http://triblocal.com/oak-park-river-forest/community/stories/2010/06/cut-the-taxes-golden-is-now-cut-the-cards/</ref><ref>http://triblocal.com/members/dianenichols/mentions/</ref> A professional actor with a Kevin Bacon number of 3 who has studied with Ann Woodworth of Northwestern University and Del Close of Chicago’s The Second City improvisational nightclub, Golden periodically writes about applying acting techniques to camouflage both being a card counter and also being a member of roulette and blackjack teams.<ref>Golden, Les (2010), “So, Do You Feel Lucky, Punk. Well, Do ‘Ya? ,” ''Bluff Europe'', October, p. 88-89</ref><ref>Golden, Les (2010), “Yonder Lies the Castle of my Fodder,” ''Bluff Europe'', November, p. 90-91</ref><ref>Golden, Les (2010), “The Rain in Spain Falls Mainly on the Plain”: Camouflage by Status,” ''Bluff Europe'', December, p. 90-91</ref>

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Golden has won multiple awards for his writing, including the prestigious Eric Hoffer and Lili Fabilli Laconic Essay Prize,<ref> http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/undergraduates/hofferprize.htm </ref>, the Griffith Observatory Science Writing Competition,<ref> (1974), Griffith Observer, number 6 </ref>, and the First Prize in the [[Nicolaus Copernicus]] International Essay Competition (American Council of Polish Cultural Clubs). Gambling.com's website refers to Golden as “gambling.com magazine’s resident blackjack genius.”<ref>http://www.gambling.com/blackjack/tips-strategies/194/the-blackjack-breakdown</ref> His research into the gambling game of 21 has been published in a peer-reviewed scholarly journal.<ref> http://www.appliedprobability.org/content.aspx?Group=tms&Page=tmsabstracts36_1#eight </ref>

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[[File: LesGoldenAsteroidDiscovery.jpg|thumb|left|175px|The beginnings of the [[Near Earth Asteroid Reconnaissance Project]] was the subject of an article in Compuserve Magazine, which also discussed his being a writer for the Syndicated Writers’ Group reporting as a Halley’s Comet lecturer on the high seas.]]Golden has won multiple awards for his writing, including the prestigious Eric Hoffer and Lili Fabilli Laconic Essay Prize,<ref> http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/undergraduates/hofferprize.htm </ref>, the Griffith Observatory Science Writing Competition,<ref> (1974), Griffith Observer, number 6 </ref>, the International Compuserve Magazine Essay Contest,<ref>(1991) “CB as a Channel for Discovery,” ''Compuserve Magazine'', December, p. 18</ref> and the First Prize in the [[Nicolaus Copernicus]] International Essay Competition (American Council of Polish Cultural Clubs). Gambling.com's website refers to Golden as “gambling.com magazine’s resident blackjack genius.”<ref>http://www.gambling.com/blackjack/tips-strategies/194/the-blackjack-breakdown</ref> His research into the gambling game of 21 has been published in a peer-reviewed scholarly journal.<ref> http://www.appliedprobability.org/content.aspx?Group=tms&Page=tmsabstracts36_1#eight </ref>

===Golden Diagram===

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===Magic Circle strategy===

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The game of roulette, being a game of Simple random sample|statistics without replacement, is not amenable to systems such as card counting, which rely on the non-randomness of the particular game. If, however, the roulette wheel is not perfectly level, laboratory studies, most notably at the ~~National Measurement Office|~~British National Weights and Measures Laboratory, and theoretical studies have shown that a skillful croupier can by virtue of muscle memory release the roulette ball with a speed and at a location on the table to bias the bin in which it comes to rest.<ref>Dixon, P. (2005). “Roulette Wheel Testing,” ''Report on Stage 3.1 of NWML/GBGB Project Proposal''</ref><ref>http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2007/ph210/hall1/</ref>

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[[File: DrLeslieMGoldenTextbookFlyer175.jpg|thumb|right|200px| The bookseller flyer for Laboratory Experiments in Physics for Modern Astronomy.]]The game of roulette, being a game of Simple random sample|statistics without replacement, is not amenable to systems such as card counting, which rely on the non-randomness of the particular game. If, however, the roulette wheel is not perfectly level, laboratory studies, most notably at the British National Weights and Measures Laboratory, and theoretical studies have shown that a skillful croupier can by virtue of muscle memory release the roulette ball with a speed and at a location on the table to bias the bin in which it comes to rest.<ref>Dixon, P. (2005). “Roulette Wheel Testing,” ''Report on Stage 3.1 of NWML/GBGB Project Proposal''</ref><ref>http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2007/ph210/hall1/</ref>

The Magic Circle strategy takes advantage of this potential bias and the non-random location of the various bets on the roulette wheel.<ref>Golden, Les (2009). “Vodka Can Make You Tilt: How You Can Win At Roulette,” ''Bluff Europe'', November, p. 90-92</ref><ref>Golden, Les (2009). “With The Tips In This Article You’ll Become Wealthy Beyond Your Wildest Dreams!,” ''Bluff Europe'', December, p. 90-92</ref><ref>Golden, Les (2010). “Beginners in the Casino: Camouflaging Team Roulette,” ''Bluff Europe'', January, p. 90-91.</ref> Golden showed that, after influencing the croupier to direct the ball into certain sectors of the roulette wheel, a team of players can lay bets in strategic locations on the wheel to secure profitable play.

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*''Astronomy 101'', UIC Press (1994)

*''A Field Guide for Political Activists: How to Generate Support and Turn Out Your Voters'', Lee Brooke (2008)

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*''Laboratory Experiments in Physics for Modern Astronomy'', Springer Science+Business (~~2011~~)

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*''Laboratory Experiments in Physics for Modern Astronomy'', Springer Science+Business (2012)<ref> http://www.springer.com/astronomy/astronomy,+observations+and+techniques/book/978-1-4614-3310-1</ref>

==Selected Theatrical, Film, Radio, Television, and Commercial Credits==

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==External links==

*[http://www.geocities.ws/les_golden] Home Page

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*[http://www.mywikibiz.com/Les_Golden_(Interview)] An Interview With Les Golden

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*[http://www.mywikibiz.com/Near_Earth_Asteroid_Reconnaissance_Project] N.E.A.R.

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*[http://www.mywikibiz.com/University_of_California_Jazz_Ensembles] U.C. Jazz

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*[http://www.mywikibiz.com/KALX] KALX Radio 90.7 FM

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*[http://www.illinoisauthors.org/authors/Leslie_Morris_Golden] Illinois Authors Listing

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*[[http://www.worldcat.org/title/laboratory-exercises-in-physics-for-modern-astronomy/oclc/773666079]] World Catalog Listing

==Categories==

Drlesmgolden

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