In the midst of the go-go eighties and nineties, a group of overachieving, anarchistic MIT students joined a decades-old underground blackjack club dedicated to counting cards and beating the system at major casinos around the world. While their classmates were working long hours in labs and libraries, the blackjack team traveled weekly to Las Vegas and other glamorous gambling locales, with hundreds of thousands of dollars duct-taped to their bodies. Underwritten by shady investors they would never meet, these kids bet fifty thousand dollars a hand, enjoyed VIP suites and other upscale treats, and partied with showgirls and celebrities.
Handpicked by an eccentric mastermind -- a former MIT professor and an obsessive player who had developed a unique system of verbal cues, body signals, and role-playing -- this one ring of card savants earned more than three million dollars from corporate Vegas, making them the object of the casinos' wrath and eventually targets of revenge. Here is their inside story, revealing their secrets for the first time.
Master storyteller Ben Mezrich takes you from the ivory towers of academia to the Technicolor world of Las Vegas, where anything can happen -- and often does. Bringing Down the House launches you into the seedy underworld of corporate Vegas -- deep into the realm of back rooms, ever-present video cameras, private investigators, and the threats and tactics of pit bosses and violent heavies. Equipped with twenty different aliases and disguises, the group of young card counters struggles around these roadblocks to live the high life -- until one fateful day when Vegas violently follows them home to Boston. Suddenly, there can be no more hiding behind false identities; the high life folds like a bad hand of cards.
Filled with tense action and incredibly close calls, Bringing Down the House is a real-life mix of Liar's Poker and Ocean's Eleven -- and it's a story Vegas doesn't want you to read.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
"Ben Mezrich takes us where every man dreams of going but precious few ever have—beating the casino. In this rollicking truth-is-stranger-than-fiction tale, Robin Hood meets the Rat Pack as the hero steals from the rich and gives, um, to himself. Odds are you’ll love it." —Michael Capuzzo, New York Times bestselling author of Close to Shore
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Book Description Seller Inventory # 042724l
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0743225708
Book Description Condition: New. Book is in NEW condition. Seller Inventory # 0743225708-2-1
Book Description Condition: New. New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published. Seller Inventory # 353-0743225708-new
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Buy for Great customer experience. Seller Inventory # GoldenDragon0743225708
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard0743225708
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0743225708
Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover0743225708
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Brand New!. Seller Inventory # VIB0743225708
Book Description Condition: New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! 1.03. Seller Inventory # Q-0743225708