 Curtis became interested in gambling at age 16 when he read "How to Win at Blackjack" by Charles Einstein.After dropping out of Duke University, Curtis moved to Las Vegas in 1979 shortly before turning 21 to pursue gambling professionally.He participated in a team run by Stanford Wong that engaged in tournament play in and around Las Vegas and is known to have won $72k after placing first at a Matchplay Blackjack tournament at the Las Vegas Hilton.