goldmoon's Full Review: Ben Mezrich - Bringing Down the House: The Inside ...
Eighteen days and counting until we leave for Vegas. Other than the possibility of getting attacked by terrorists (which one of our traveling companions has so kindly been talking about), we couldn't be more excited. To bone up for our trip, my husband and I have been watching countless episodes of the World Series of Poker, have been practicing at home and I've been reading books. Other than basic strategy books, the first book I've read to help me prepare is Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich. This book is the true story of how six MIT students took Vegas (and many other locales) for millions of dollars. Not only did I find the premise interesting, but I also thought I might learn a thing or two that would help me in Sin City.
The Plot
A non-fiction book, Bringing Down the House is written by Ben Mezrich, who was not part of the MIT card-counting team. Ben meets Kevin Lewis, who was part of the team, and Kevin offers up his story so Ben can make it into a book. Throughout the book, Ben interviews a couple of different people, including a stripper and surveillence expert, but these are pretty much useless and the bulk of the information comes from Kevin himself.
The story begins with Kevin being recruited by two MIT dropouts, Fisher and Martinez (their first names are mentioned, I think, but they are referred to by their last names throughout the book). After passing a few tests, Kevin is invited to join an ultra-secret team that counts cards for money--and wins big. Kevin begins his training and is soon ready to join the team in Vegas.
Through an elaborate team system consisting of a Spotter (someone who counts the cards until the deck gets hot), a Gorilla (the obnoxious player who throws down lots of money as a distraction) and the Big Player (the one who really takes advantage of the odds and wins big), the MIT team becomes extremely successful. However, trouble is brewing under the surface as Kevin (and a few other team members) insists on keeping another job while Fisher and Martinez rely solely on card-counting and are upset with the others for not being committed. Their problems get even worse when casinos around the country start catching on to what they're doing and begin banning them from casinos.
Although Kevin thinks about quitting as soon as they start getting banned, Fisher and Martinez refuse to quit and come up with ideas such as disguising themselves and even cutting loose half the team so they can get new faces and more dedicated players into the group. The punishments get harsher and the tension thickens throughout the book as the reader wonders when Kevin will finally call it quits.
The Good
As a card lover, of course I found this book interesting. I love Vegas, I love card games and I love fast-paced action and this book had all of the above. There's a lot of good stuff in here and it's very interesting to see how these genius rich kids interact with each other. The writing is also good. There isn't too much detail to be confusing, but enough to keep it interesting. The writing is clean and moves at a good clip, rarely getting bogged down. This is a fun book, especially for those who have been or want to go to Vegas. I will mention some negatives, but keep in mind that the positives outweigh them (even if I mention more of the negatives!).
The Not as Good
There are a few discrepancies that I noticed in the book that bothered me a bit. For example, in one section the author mentions that Kevin decided to never gamble in a hotel he was staying at after they ran into some trouble. Then, a couple of pages later, he's describing how he was staying in the MGM Grand and gambling there. Another issue is that Kevin traveled to Las Vegas under a multitude of different aliases, rarely being the same person twice. However, he mentions that he becomes good friends with various dealers, pit bosses and hotel escorts. Don't you think any of them would notice that he had a different name each time? I thought this was a little odd. If these discrepancies had happened in a fiction book, I would have written it off to bad editing. However, in a non-fiction book, it takes a bit away from the author's (and storyteller's) credibility.
Another issues is the characters. Now I know the author can do nothing about making the characters interesting if they're not, since this is non-fiction, but these are supposedly colorful geniuses who gamble for a living. They would have to be interesting, but this doesn't really come through. Kevin comes off as especially uninteresting, yet still an egotistical a@s. All of them are greedy and spoiled. It's inherently difficult for most of us to relate to genius whiz kids and the author doesn't make it any easier for us by making the characters more human. Maybe a little more personal information on Kevin or some of the others would help us be even more interested in their story. As it is, the story is completely focuses on the game and rarely goes into the personal life of any of the players.
I was also a bit disappointed that a few different ways of beating blackjack were presented in the beginning of the book (including tracking a shuffle and tracking a single card), but these were never mentioned again or properly explained. The book is focused on card-counting, which is explained, but you can get this information almost anywhere. If you're looking for any tips on how to beat the house, you're probably not going to get them here. These kids won because they were mathematical geniuses, so advice from them is kind of like computer advice from Bill Gates.
Overall
I thought Bringing Down the House was a fun, enjoyable read, especially considering that I'll be traveling to Vegas soon. I would recommend it to anyone who likes fast-paced true stories, especially those who also enjoy playing cards.
This is part of my own Preparing for Vegas Write-off. If you would like to join, please see my review on the subject. Anyone and any topic is welcome!
#1 National Bestseller! The amazing inside story about a gambling ring of M.I.T.students who beat the system in Vegas -- and lived to tell how. Robin ...More at Barnes & Noble.com
#1 National Bestseller! The amazing inside story about a gambling ring of M.I.T.students who beat the system in Vegas -- and lived to tell how. Robin ...More at Barnes & Noble.com
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