Hit Me! SolidWorks and “21″ The Movie

by Josh on March 26, 2008 · View Comments

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I’d like to hear it from the man himself, but according to DesignNews Jon Hirschtick, the nicest guy and founder of SolidWorks, was one of the original MIT blackjack team members depicted in the upcoming film, 21.

The movie, based on the book of the real events, stars Kevin Spacey who leads a group of MIT student to huge winnings in Vegas.

The part I doubt they embellish is when one of the guys uses about $1 million of that coin to help startup your favorite CAD company, SolidWorks. Pretty cool if true, and the side of the story you always wish you could hear more about. Game of Blackjack Jon?

Here’s the trailer for the movie, it comes to a theater near you March 28th.

Tagged as: 3d, cad, Solidworks

{ 34 comments }

Jason Raak March 26, 2008 at 6:53 am: Josh,

If you watch Gabi’s videos from her user group meeting last week Vic Leventhal also mentioned this tidbit of information. Amazing how it all ties back to the vast world of SolidWorks. Keep up the great work!
Josh March 26, 2008 at 7:23 am: Hey Guys, thanks! I’ll check out Gabi’s video.

Dale, that’s an excellent way too. Really good for getting a parallel plane against that surface REAL quick!
Ben March 26, 2008 at 8:30 am: Actually I have sat down with Jon and this is all true I heard it from him.

Ben
Ben March 26, 2008 at 7:30 am: Actually I have sat down with Jon and this is all true I heard it from him.

Ben
Al Dean March 26, 2008 at 7:58 am: when they had SW World at Cesears the other year, “lucky” Jon had to carry a letter that allowed him access to the venue, but not to the playing tables.. When they go back to LV, get jon on a quiet moment, go to cleopatra’s barge bar and get the story.. its the only place to hear a story like that dude..
Al Dean March 26, 2008 at 8:00 am: and you know the one about Scott Harris running guns into Cuba don’t you?
Ben March 26, 2008 at 9:07 am: Al,

I have not heard that one. Fill us in…
Ben March 26, 2008 at 8:07 am: Al,

I have not heard that one. Fill us in…
Josh March 26, 2008 at 9:08 am: awesome. I had heard he was part of the team, but not the part about a million buck from it helping start out SolidWorks. The details of that story have gotta be interesting.

Scott does have that kinda crazy look in his eyes … I kid!
Josh March 26, 2008 at 8:08 am: awesome. I had heard he was part of the team, but not the part about a million buck from it helping start out SolidWorks. The details of that story have gotta be interesting.

Scott does have that kinda crazy look in his eyes … I kid!
Gabi March 26, 2008 at 8:43 am: Yes, it’s true, Vic told us about it the night of the meeting. Amazing, isn’t it? He said he made enough money out of it to fund the early stages of the company. Sometimes it does pay to be smart!
Richard Williams March 26, 2008 at 10:52 am: Hey I live here in Vegas. Does that mean that SolidWorks was conceived here?
Richard Williams March 26, 2008 at 9:52 am: Hey I live here in Vegas. Does that mean that SolidWorks was conceived here?
Brandon March 26, 2008 at 8:28 pm: http://documents.scribd.com/docs/27awomsc4emt49...
See page 2
Brandon March 26, 2008 at 7:28 pm: http://documents.scribd.com/docs/27awomsc4emt493qey9r.pdf
See page 2
Josh March 28, 2008 at 9:54 am: Cool Brandon, thanks.
Josh March 28, 2008 at 8:54 am: Cool Brandon, thanks.
Chris March 28, 2008 at 1:30 pm: This is an article where Jon talks about it.

http://www.carthagepress.com/entertainment/x105...
Chris March 28, 2008 at 12:30 pm: This is an article where Jon talks about it.

http://www.carthagepress.com/entertainment/x1059919692
Josh March 28, 2008 at 12:49 pm: Hey, here’s two more sites on the subject:

Beard Revue (Thanks Nancy!)

It’s in the Cards
Richard Williams March 28, 2008 at 1:55 pm: “What happens here in Las Vegas, stays here in Las Vegas.” So how come SolidWorks was conceived here and born and raised on the east coast?
Richard Williams March 28, 2008 at 12:55 pm: “What happens here in Las Vegas, stays here in Las Vegas.” So how come SolidWorks was conceived here and born and raised on the east coast?
Jon Hirschtick March 30, 2008 at 10:15 pm: I did play on the MIT blackjack team. And it is true that I financed my first year working on SolidWorks through money I had saved from my blackjack days.

I would NOT say that SolidWorks was conceived in Vegas though.

21 is a fun movie, fun for us and fun for the average person. The movie characters, while not corresponding exactly to real people on our team, and the core storyline are reasonably accurate with just a bit of Hollywood-ism. However many of the events are 100% fiction.

I did get a chance to meet Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, etc. Photos here: http://www.beaupre.com/blog/index.cfm/2008/3/28/SolidWorks-founder-and-21.

Happy to provide more detail next time I see you all. Josh: don’t you give up your 3D life for the pro card counting journey!
mb March 31, 2008 at 2:07 am: I heard Jon hides cards in his beard. What a cheat.
mb March 31, 2008 at 1:07 am: I heard Jon hides cards in his beard. What a cheat.
Richard Williams March 31, 2008 at 9:30 am: In order to win bet on the MIT guys at the blackjack tables and not the house. Tools to win in life in your chosen careers, then I would bet on SolidWorks. Sounds like a sure bet to me. And remember, there are some damn good MCAD applications out there but any substitute for SolidWorks is just that a substiute and not the “real thing.”
Richard Williams March 31, 2008 at 8:30 am: In order to win bet on the MIT guys at the blackjack tables and not the house. Tools to win in life in your chosen careers, then I would bet on SolidWorks. Sounds like a sure bet to me. And remember, there are some damn good MCAD applications out there but any substitute for SolidWorks is just that a substiute and not the “real thing.”
Josh March 31, 2008 at 12:25 pm: Hi Jon! Thanks for confirming all this yourself. What an amazing time I bet and it's just plain cool what each hand eventually turned into and man, getting to meet all the people you have, users to celebrities. fun stuff. Thanks for sharing! and I'll keep my 3D job at least until I get some pointers from you
Josh March 31, 2008 at 11:25 am: Hi Jon! Thanks for confirming all this yourself. What an amazing time I bet and it’s just plain cool what each hand eventually turned into and man, getting to meet all the people you have, users to celebrities. fun stuff. Thanks for sharing! and I’ll keep my 3D job at least until I get some pointers from you
Mike Krall February 12, 2009 at 9:03 am: Saw the movie, love it, the whole idea of it. Did you film the meeting??????????????????????????

Although, becaues of that, and I've heard this from more than one source, if any casino thinks you are counting using any scheme, you will be “nicely' invited to leave.
Mike Krall February 12, 2009 at 10:03 am: Saw the movie, love it, the whole idea of it. Did you film the meeting??????????????????????????

Although, becaues of that, and I've heard this from more than one source, if any casino thinks you are counting using any scheme, you will be “nicely' invited to leave.
Mike Krall February 12, 2009 at 3:03 pm: Saw the movie, love it, the whole idea of it. Did you film the meeting??????????????????????????

Although, becaues of that, and I've heard this from more than one source, if any casino thinks you are counting using any scheme, you will be “nicely' invited to leave.
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