Richard W. Munchkin

Originally from Des Plaines, IL, Munchkin started playing chess and gin rummy at the age of three. His first exposure to the idea of playing for profit came when he was 12, when a family friend mentioned playing backgammon for money. Munchkin was able to put himself through Columbia College in Chicago where he received a BA in Theater Arts by playing backgammon and poker professionally. After graduating from college in the late 70s, he moved to Las Vegas and worked as a dealer and occasional pit boss at The Castaways Casino. While working in the casino he learned to count cards, and after a few years was making more money playing blackjack than dealing, so he quit to become a full-time professional blackjack player.

In 2004 Munchkin competed in Season 1 of the World Series of Blackjack, a series of televised blackjack tournaments hosted by the Game Show Network.

In 2009 Munchkin was inducted into Blackjack Hall of Fame.

Between 1987 and 1999 Munchkin wrote, produced and/or directed in over 20 movies and television shows primarily in the adventure genre including Evil Obsession, Fists of Iron, Ring of Fire and L.A. Heat.

In 2002 Munchkin authored Gambling Wizards.[1] In it he chronicles his interviews with some of the most famous gamblers in the world including Doyle Brunson Tommy Hyland and Chip Reese.

He is a contributor to Blackjack Magazine, All in Magazine and Blackjack Forum

Munchkin currently hosts a weekly radio show, Gambling with an Edge,[2] which can be heard on KLAV in Las Vegas.

Gambling Wizards: Conversations with the World's Greatest Gamblers Huntington Press, April 2003, ISBN 978-0-929712-05-5

Blackjack Forum Interviews with Tommy Hyland, Al Francesco, among others.

• Richard W. Munchkin on IMDb
• Richard Munchkin Blog
• Richard Munchkin Blackjack Apprenticeship Interview Part 1
• Richard Munchkin Blackjack Apprenticeship Interview Part 2
• Richard Munchkin Quora profile
• Blackjack Hero – Richard Munchkin