Here's my story about counting blackjack successfully. It takes place in 2014, at the now-demolished Riviera. At the time, the Riviera was pretty run-down, definitely one of the cheapest places on the Strip. I was in Vegas for the first and only time.
They had single-deck blackjack that had a unique side bet. Basically you could make additional bets that you would get dealt a natural blackjack, with a couple variations like getting an extra payout for suited blackjack.
This side bet was even more amenable to counting than standard BJ. The morning after I saw it, I did a quick simulation and discovered that the odds turned player-friendly if you went a single hand without seeing an ace.
I went down and played it. There was a crowd on Saturday night, and the deck was shuffled basically every hand. No good. Sunday morning I had the table to myself. I bet aggressively, starting with $5 min bets and going to $50 if I went two hands without an ace.
The dealer knew almost immediately that I was counting. He made a few snide remarks, but didn't kick me out. No idea why not. Maybe because the side bets are usually suckers' bets, so that gave me some camouflage.
I had a great run of luck, doing way better than expected. In an hour or so I was up $1500. Along the way I hit a suited BJ for $250. The dealer called over the pit boss, who told him to pay me, and then side eyed me for the rest of the session. I left only because I had to get to my flight.
The cashier's cage gave me a hassle about cashing in brown $500 chips. I guess they rarely got any big winners there.
Overall great experience for me. I'm not at all surprised they closed the casino soon after.
I employed a basic counting system I learned from a book and tried it out on my first and only visit to Vegas about 20 years ago. This was at the Stardust.
It was a miserable afternoon. I don't think the dealer cared, but the other players to my left were pissed when I asked for hits on seemingly nonsensical hands. "Hey, you stole my card again" was a typical complaint. I ended up slightly ahead but never played again.
Loved the Riv, I was there at a very similar time as you I think. I liked the steps when you walked in, and all the places they shot Casino at. I saw a cool show in the theater which is also shown in Casino. I guess I’m more a movie guy than a casino guy, but I love Vegas. The food court was absolutely run down and awful and we lost at roulette, but I don’t bet large. Hats off to you for having a good counting game. I play blackjack like a sucker but I usually do OK.
If the relevant part was that you didn't see an ace... fun semantic question: is it counting if the only number you track is 0?
As for why a casino might let a counter stay: many try but not all are good at it so they're still losing money. A counter might not be accurate, or misplay other decisions like splits and doubles, or not bet bigger enough when it's favorable, or tilt after some bad luck and bet bigger when it's not favorable enough.
Interesting. Why would a dealer care if someone is winning? Usually big winners tip the dealer handsomely.
Card counters (and advantage players in general) are much less likely to tip well compared to the average gambler. The sort of people who think they're making money on a game also tend to recognize that tips cut into profits.
Dealers care because the casino cares, and pays them to care.
Having never been to a casino, I've always wondered, on what grounds will a casino ask you to leave? Just that it's private property and they no longer want to serve you? It makes it pretty transparent that the house always wins, and even when they don't they can ask you to leave, ensuring they always win.
I love the implication when someone is asked to leave but, "the rest of you, you losers can stay."
The casino has no problem just telling you, "you're too good for us". Depending on the situation and the mood of everyone involved, you may be told you're welcome to play other games, or you might just get trespassed.
Note that due to a New Jersey court ruling, casinos in Atlantic City actually can't bar people for counting cards. In general the game conditions there are worse to make up for that.