Schwarzenegger Nominates Blackjack Dealer for California Chief of Justice

California state governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has nominated Filipina-American Tani Cantil-Sakauye to lead the state’s high court. The nomination still needs to be confirmed by a state commission before Cantil-Sakauye appears on ballots in November. If elected, she would be the state’s first Asian-American chief justice, the court’s first Filipina justice, and the court’s first trained blackjack dealer.

As a student, Cantil-Sakauye received training as a blackjack dealer. With her training, she was able to get a job dealing blackjack during summers and weekends at Harrah’s Casino in Lake Tahoe. She used the money she earned to help pay her way through law school at the University of California. After finishing her law degree, Cantil-Sakauye went back to the tables for a short time, dealing blackjack again in Reno.

That was decades ago. Cantil-Sakauye soon landed a job at the Sacramento District Attorney’s office, and began a long career working with the California legal system.

“Being nominated to serve on the highest court in California is a dream come true,” Cantil-Sakauye said. “As a jurist, woman and a Filipina, I am extremely grateful for the trust Governor Schwarzenegger has placed in me.”

Will Cantil-Sakauye’s command of blackjack rules and blackjack strategy help her fight for justice if elected? It certainly might; after all, MIT blackjack legend Jeff Ma attributes much of his success in the world business to his blackjack, as he reveals in his new book.