Rhis book needed to have more umph, more dynamite suspense. more of a sense of 'will we get away with it' to it. No pictures also makes this book lacking. I wanted to see the people who pulled all these card counting routines off. Pictures of the eye in the sky cameras. Pictures of casino bosses.

I don't read much since it's hard to find something that keeps me interested. I couldn't put this down! It's an amazing story, especially considering it's true. I didn't think there would be much suspense to the story, but man was I wrong. The way the author tells it, he hints at something that could be coming, and sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. I loved it. For those looking to buy a book to learn how to count cards...this isn't it! This isn't even really a book about basic strategy. They talk about it VERY little since it's needed for the story, but the book is focused on the journey of one young man (20s for most of the book...my age) through Vegas, Atlantic City, and finding himself and his place in the world.

I can't recommend this book enough. I loved it!

The reason why I'm focusing on the way the book relates to the movie is because this is the movie tie-in edition. After watching the movie I decided to read the book. I normally don't watch a movie unless I've read the book first. In this case, I'm glad I watched the movie first. The movie made it easier to understand the nonverbal and verbal cues they used to count cards.

It seems to me like the producers and writers just took the idea of counting cards and how the MIT kids did it and then Hollywood-ized the rest.

As a standalone, the book was good. Not only did they hit Vegas but they also a steamboat casino in the midwest, an Indian casino on the east coast and Atlantic City. The main character, Kevin joins the team because he is tired of his ho-hum life (because I'm sure life at MIT is so ho-hum).

Anyway, if you've watched the movie and are interested in a more factual and realistic setting in how they earned millions, you should read the book. Plus, there's an essay at the end by Kevin who teaches those who wish to learn how to count cards.

Loved ths book! I thought it was even more thrilling than the movie. Lots of fun and kept you enthralled and rooting for the "good guys".

This is a great story and the writing stands up to the quality of the story itself. It leads the reader through the rise and ultimate fall of a team that approaches Blackjack as if it were a sport that can be trained for and mastered rather than a game of chance. Absolutely great. Could have given greater perspective on those who developed the card counting methods that the MIT team built upon, but that's just a nit pick. Read this book if you have any affinity to playing games!

After seeing the previews for the movie "21", I remembered that there really was a group of students from MIT who took blackjack card-counting to a whole new level in casinos. To get the non-Hollywood version of the story before seeing the movie, I grabbed Bringing Down The House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions by Ben Mezrich. It's a fascinating look into how the MIT team formed, made millions, and subsequently got barred from nearly every casino in the industry.

Mezrich is a reporter who was given the chance to interview one of the main players, Kevin Lewis. Lewis was recruited into the group in 1994, and quickly rose up to be one of the "Big Players" of the team, one who could put on a character, step into a hot table, and make tens of thousands of dollars on a single hand. These weekend raids on casinos continued for the next four years, earning each of the participants an incredible return on their "investments". Couple that with the fact that the casinos treated them as whales (high rollers), and they were living a life that one could only dream of. Comped rooms, shows, travel, parties, etc... But things started going sour in 1998. The team was showing some major dysfunctional behavior, and a rival team (also from MIT) was threatening the secrecy of the routine. What started as a minor barring from one casino quickly (and violently) spread to nearly every other casino in Vegas. What really surprised them was the speed at which other casinos outside of Vegas (and even the US) knew about them and shut them down. Lewis decided at that point that his life was more important than the money, and left it all behind. The only question that remains is who or what tipped off casino security.

Mezrich wrote the book in 2002, so it doesn't necessarily dig deeply into the recent world of casino security. The security technology has only gotten more high-tech since then, and I'm sure that story would be just as interesting as the card-counting story. I was riveted by how Lewis and his team could execute their operation with so much precision, while at the same time having the casinos spend a ton of money to keep them coming back. But greed often destroys everything it touches, and this is no exception. Lewis wanted to be much more low-key when the heat started. But he was overruled by the head of the team, and that decision nearly got some of them killed.

In the fast moving world of scams, casinos, and technology, it's amazing that people could get away with this much over such a long time. It makes you wonder what other scams and attacks are occurring these days. Bringing Down The House is a good look at one way it was done successfully. But it almost begs for a follow-up to reexamine the state of casino security six years after the original story ended.

I found the story to be captivating and enjoyable. I was surprised at what a quick read it was. I read it in about 5 hours. But it made for a great read in one day at the beach. Don't expect deep plot lines or twists and turns, just a fun and fairly light account of a fascinating world.

I saw the movie and was intrigued. The movie wasn't great by any means, but it did just enough to inspire me to want to know the "real story". The first thing I noticed about the book, was it was a lot smaller than I thought it would be. The thing I remember about the book after having read it, is that it was too long.

Frankly, I thought the book was too long and boring. There were parts that were interesting, and parts that kept me wanting to read more.... but "just barely". Most of the book was a chore to finish. I almost gave up a few times, figuring I've read enough. I did finish it, it wasn't horrible, but I'd rate it below average.

I'm not much of a book reader, even though I enjoy buying books I hardly ever read one completely and almost never a non economics book. But this particular book has given me the opportunity to feel everything the author wrote as if I was there, I don't know if I'm growing into a book reader but this book has an excellent writing very friendly and easy to read, it keeps your attention, long waiting hours on the doctor, bank or anywhere become short while you read it. Also it's a great introduction for the movie 21: Blackjack. If you're interested in card counting this isn't a "how to" book, although there is a essay in the last chapter on card counting that makes a more in depth description on the subject, it's more of a novel based on real facts. As one of the praises for the book says: "Perfect for a read on the plane down to Vegas".

I saw the movie 21 and this was still a suspenseful account, with lots of interesting details about learning card counting that didn't make it into the film.
Nice writing.

21: Bringing Down the House - Movie Tie-In: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions my review for the book is excellent. and this was my first time using amazon and i was very pleased.

I picked this book up at Logan International Airport in Boston after finishing a meeting at MIT. I had no backgound of the story, other than it involved a modified card counting scheme in Vegas. It was a compelling, fast-paced story that was made more fantastic given I had just left the campus. The book was finished by the time I landed at Dulles. I have a 14 year-old math wiz that I can see being drawn into the high stakes game. For Ben Mezrich's first outing in non-fiction, I feel he did a great job.

Very disappointing given I was looking for facts and not a bestselling fictional account of a story that would have been very intriguing on its own. Even as fiction, the story jumps back and forth in time too much and is very disjointed.

This is a heavily reviewed and popular book for good reason. I assume it's very close to being completely true and it's an easy to read, highly entertaining little book.

I think if you have any interest in the question about whether or not players can beat the house at blackjack, you will fill this book enlightening. The author does a very good job of delivering the story in a readable fashion that keeps your interest. The tension of the players' situation as they are identified as counters by casino security people is also expressed well in this book. I expect it will make an outstanding movie.

Ben Mezrich tells the story of a card counter of Blackjack, Kevin Lewis, and how Blackjack changed his life forever. In Bringing Down the House, he tells the inside story of six M.I.T. students who took Las Vegas for millions of dollars. Ben Mezrich, a Harvard graduate has written eight books, and this book has been made into a movie, titled "21". Ben Mezrich did a very good job in accomplishing his goal of letting the world know the exact story of how college student became rich. He interviewed many people, and all of them were from different backgrounds. During these interviews, Ben Mezrich was thorough and included everything that occurred in the interviews. During the time that Kevin counted cards, he had met people that one would not see every day and many very extremely peculiar. In one chapter, Mezrich meets with one of the pit bosses that Kevin was acquainted with, though this man knew him as David Lee, and Mezrich interviewed him, and wrote that he could not believe the stories this man was telling him, as many were more dangerous than one would think. In another chapter Mezrich met one of the women at a club that helped Kevin during his "working" days. She was a bright woman and she knew how to work Vegas, she assisted Kevin in working the casinos. During the story of Kevin and his Blackjack team, many of the accomplishments that were carried through were unbelievable. There is no one else that has lived the incredible, daring life that Kevin Lewis has, and I believe that Ben Mezrich captures the story perfectly. As I would read, I felt as if I was right there in Las Vegas with Kevin's team, playing the night away.

Bringing Down the House
By Ben Mezrich

By Hannah Chavez

Ben Mezrich gracefully combines his fiction like writing with the true story of the lives of six M.I.T. students, who legally won millions of dollars at blackjack, in his first non-fiction book, Bringing Down the House. In his book, Mezrich attempts to give the reader the inside scoop on a card counter's life and explain how those six specific students teamed up to carry out a nearly undetectable system.
Mezrich is the author of nine other books. He graduated from Harvard and worked several other jobs before publishing his first book, Threshold. Now, in Boston, Ben Mezrich is a columnist for the Boston Common and a contributor for a magazine in the UK called Flush. Two of Mezrich's books, including Bringing Down the House, have inspired movies. The film rights have also been sold for his most recent book, Rigged. Whether it is his journalistic habits kicking in or just part of the fun, Mezrich often gets involved in his research. For example, while writing Brining Down the House he smuggled two hundred and fifty thousand dollars past airport security and went up against the Japanese mafia while researching for his book, Ugly Americans.
Taking such risks seems to have paid off. He portrays Kevin Lewis's exciting story in an electrifying way that kept me on the edge of my seat at every moment. I learned the basics of blackjack and was taught the mathematical logic behind counting cards. The book also explained how to stay under the radar while counting at casinos.
Overall, the book was well written. The facts of card counting, and even a little Vegas history were subtly snuck into the story, so it was insightful, yet not boring. However, there were a few minor details that could confuse some readers. In the book, for instance, Mezrich changes the names of his characters without giving the reader much of a warning. Even so, the book was very enjoyable and I recommend it, especially to people who enjoy math as much as I do.

This story is amazing, the story has inspired me to try my hand at counting. Anyone interested in learning to count cards need to try out "Real Deal Blackjack: Learn to Count" software. http://www.realdealblackjack.com . If not interested in counting or blackjack this is still an awesome story.

I haven't seen the movie inspired by this book, but I doubt the movie could be as gripping and fast-paced as this true story. It's difficult to see how so much detail could be recalled after the fact without a little embellishment, but that does not mean that the overall storyline of Bringing Down the House is fictitious. The story is crafted in such a way as to pull in the reader from the start and rush them down the road of high-stakes gambling and the best that Sin City has to offer. A quick and entertaining read, this book is full of a wide range of characters and may even inspire the reader to try his hand at card counting. Skip the movie, this book is much more engaging.

Bringing Down the House, by Ben Mezrich, was the book that got me hooked on non-fiction. I used to be only interested in fiction books, like fantasies and adventures, but this book opened my eyes to the amazing stories that have actually happened in our world. This book chronicles the adventures and feats of Kevin Lewis and a group of MIT students who stole millions from Las Vegas by counting cards. After Kevin got bored of his routine lifestyle of school, swimming, and sleeping, he traded his life in to join his friends Jason Fischer and Andre Martinez for wild moneymaking nights in Vegas. Led by ex-card counter Mickey Rosa, the team of kids went from casino to casino with their complex method of code words and signals. When a team member's arms were crossed, it meant that the deck or table was hot, which means that a group of high numbered cards were coming up. At that point, the designated BP, or Big Player, would sit down at the table and start betting the big money. The Big Player was the team member who could put on a convincing act for casino security, count cards, and know when to bet his money. They did it all. This is the role that Kevin took on after proving himself to the team. In addition to the plot, another quality I liked about the book was that the whole story wasn't just one of success and bravado. As the teams luck begins to run out and more and more casinos bar them, feelings in the group get heated and the suspense builds. Overall, this book tells a great story of adventure, greed, and betrayal, all the while keeping the reader enthralled. Mezrich has crafted a masterpiece and his awards are well earned. The only thing I would change about this book would be to make some of the card play more exciting, as it gets a bit boring and repetitive as the book goes on. Aside from those minor and tolerable problems, this book makes for one heck of a ride.

a fun and entertaining read. although i caution you the movie "21" is not nearly as good and hollywood did a lot of "improvising" and movie magic to try and make it more dramatic than it really was. in essence that was what make the movie bad.

It only took me 2 days to read this book, once I started to read it I couldn't put it down, it was really awsome reading, I would highly reccomend this one.

Despite recent allegations of factual inaccuracies and narrative exaggerations, most prominently in a recent Boston Globe article, Mezrich still cranks out a thoroughly engaging read. I finished this book in five days, which is fast for me, especially considering I had a major paper due on the fifth day. This book is compelling, although not the most well-written work I have ever come across. The prose is adequate, no more, no less. The lead characters are reasonably well-developed, but again, there is substantial room for improvement in that regard. The hook is the story, which draws you in even if you are not a gambler.

Even considering that certain events and characters are fabricated to varying degrees, plotting is "Bringing Down the House's" greatest strength. The story moves quickly and believably. As Mezrich points out numerous times, card counting is not illegal, so casino bosses can't have you arrested and won't physically harm you if you get caught. Unlike in the unfaithful movie adaptation "21," the worst that will happen to you is that you will get thrown out of the casino and eventually blacklisted. No running through kitchens away from vengeful security guards or any such nonsense like that - maybe twenty or thirty years ago your health and safety would be in jeopardy, but not today or even in the 1990s, which is when the book is set. Mezrich is smart enough to not try to convince you otherwise; the producers of "21" are not (he also didn't include a pointless romance with the main character and one of the female players). Even in the sole scene when one of the players does get assaulted (not by a casino security guard), it is presented in a way that doesn't stretch credibility, even though it never actually happened. The same can be said for the book's denouement, which is also largely fictionalized.

While it should be noted that the group of MIT students in this book are not the progenitors of the card-counting techniques or team strategies to "beat Vegas," that doesn't change the fact that their story is still quite interesting. One serious issue I take with this book is that the non-fiction label is questionable; putting a vague disclaimer at the book's beginning does not justify the kinds of manipulations performed on the existing material. Nevertheless, despite its numerous problems with authenticity; writing style, which is a bit flaccid; and characterizations, some of which are a little generic, it's a quick read that is worthwhile, if not entirely rewarding.

This was an Easter basket hit! The book was well received, on time and in great condtion.

According to a Boston Globe article here ():

""Bringing Down the House" is not a work of "nonfiction" in any meaningful sense of the word. Instead of describing events as they happened, Mezrich appears to have worked more as a collage artist, drawing some facts from interviews, inventing certain others, and then recombining these into novel scenes that didn't happen and characters who never lived. The result is a crowd-pleasing story, eagerly marketed by his publishers as true - but which several of the students who participated say is embellished beyond recognition."

Moreover, the Globe continues, "Both Mezrich and the book's publisher, Simon and Schuster's Free Press, see nothing to apologize for. The book, they point out, was published with a disclaimer (in fine print, on the copyright page) warning that the names, locations, and other details had been changed, and that some events and individuals are composites, created from other events and individuals. Nearly all the details and facts in the book were culled from his research, Mezrich says, and where they were compressed or creatively rearranged, the fundamental truth of the story he tells is undiminished."

***

So--like the fake Holocaust memoir and the false story of the white girl who grew up black L.A. street gangs--we have here a fictional book which is purporting to be pure non-fiction. It's being marketed as non-fiction. And it isn't. It is, at best, a broadly fictionalized account rather than a recounting of the actual occurrence.

I would not object to paying for an entertaining piece of fiction on the subject. I would not even mind if the book were being marketed as a fictionalized account.

It's the "well, we know it isn't what actually happened, but so what?" attitude that I find reprehensible.

Seeing the previews of the movie made me remember how great of a book this was. It's a great story with a surprising amount of suspense and action, that will have you reading nonstop. It also shows just how difficult it was to do what they did, which makes it even more impressive

I am intriqued by adventure and survival stories. I like to read sories of adversity and overcoming it. So why I'm I reading about a group of narcisists who like to go to Las Vegas and gamble. Because when David beats Golith it becomes an adventure, if David does it more than once it is then a true life survival story.

The fact that a extremely astute person can get even a little of the edge over the great gambling institutions is intriquing. The idea that this little edge can be levereged further by using a team is brilliant. So brilliant the casinos go to great lengths to make it impossible. The battle of these underdogs vs. the storied Vegas with it's greed and power ups the ante (no pun inteded).

It is downright fun watching Vegas go down even if the hubris these privileged primadonas exude seems to make them less like you and me and more like jerks. If they weren't going up against an entity detested more than "big oil" we may not root them on...But, you will root for them as they leave carnage in the pits because you know given the opportunity, you would do the same (hopefully you would not let it become your life and religion since your moral compass balances you).

Ben Mezrich's book is a bit slight, but is fun and you'll likely zip through it in a couple of sittings because it has good tension and the constant thrill provided by the six is palpable as they manipulate the odds.

This is a somewhat entertaining book that might have rated four stars if it were true. Under no circumstances would this book be rated five stars--it is just not that well written. Now that the movie is out, which itself plays fast and loose with the contents of the book in order to entertain us (since the goal in the movies is rarely truth), the book's veracity is getting more attention. Read the other negative reviews here as a starting point. Then read the article in the Ideas section of today's Boston Globe Ideas section. A synoposis--the author plays fast and loose with reality, and many of the people involved with the team don't recall many of the 'facts' the author claims they were involved with. One glaring example is a team member being beaten up by casino goons. It apparently never happened, but certainly makes for exciting narrative, doesn't it? If you want an engaging story, it might be worth reading. If you want non-fiction, look elsewhere.

Based on a true story, "Bringing Down the House" offers comedy, suspense, drama, and the feeling that you too have won millions and that you're ready to take on the house, just by reading it. Kevin Lee, an MIT student with amazing skills in math, was recruited by two friends to join them in a Blackjack club at school in the mid 90's. From here, the book takes us on a neon-filled and highflying spree as Kevin and his team travel to and from Las Vegas, winning millions by taking advantage of the house rules. The book slows down when the action suddenly stops as the author, Ben Mezrich, takes us from the 90's to present time (2002, when the book was published) where the he tracks down main players to interview them. These parts lack the spark the other scenes offer. When Kevin is on his first gambling escapade, he learns all new casino terminology. These jargon has actually helped me understand a lot more of the dialogue from the Ocean's Eleven movies. All in all, "Bringing Down the House" is a fun and fresh experience that lets you walk away with more than a read and hopefully a stack of chips. I'll bet you'll like this book!This MIT student should get a Ph.D. in 21.

I was totally immersed; imagine yourself part of the scenario - VERY ENTERTAINING. Recommended!

This book was interesting and fun to read. See the movie -- but read the book, it is much better. Also, check out E.O. Thorp's BEAT THE DEALER -- the book that started it all [there is a cameo of the book in the movie too]. Thorp has a new book coming out in 2009.

A fantastic REAL STORY! I read the whole book in 24 hours and it even teaches you some methods at the end of the book to give you a edge on playing Blackjack.

I highly recommend this book!!!

Ben Mezrich has successfully turned his hand from cards to the pen. He has captured the frantic lifestyle of the MIT students as they take on the house. Set to the electric backdrop of Las Vegas, you won't be able to put this one down.

Owen Zupp
DOWN TO EARTH: A Fighter Pilot's Experiences of Surviving Dunkirk, The Battle of Britain, Dieppe and D-Day

Ben Mezrich has successfully turned his hand from cards to the pen. He has captured the frantic lifestyle of the MIT students as they take on the house. Set to the electric backdrop of Las Vegas, you won't be able to put this one down.

DOWN TO EARTH: A Fighter Pilot's Experiences of Surviving Dunkirk, The Battle of Britain, Dieppe and D-Day

Ben Mezrich has successfully turned his hand from cards to the pen. He has captured the frantic lifestyle of the MIT students as they take on the house. Set to the electric backdrop of Las Vegas, you won't be able to put this one down.

This was a fast paced read, with lots of excitement, and it is easy to see why they are making a movie based on this (the movie uses the title of "21").

An intriguing look into the world of Vegas, the author does a nice job of presenting the mathematics involved in the scheme without bogging down the flow of the book.

As seen on shows like "Vegas", the counter measures casinos have in place to prevent the activities the characters undertake are demonstrated with sometimes chilling effect - facial recognition technology, and in particular the sharing of information not just by casinos along the Vegas Strip but with locations throughout the world.

I was actually surprised at the total dollar amounts involved - I expected more to be at stake to cause such a ruckus, but it shows just how serious the casinos are about protecting their cash flow.

An exciting and interesting read, recommended for both gamblers and fans of adventure, fictional or otherwise.

This book was mostly fiction. The MIT students did succeed in counting cards successfully but the author embellished the story to the point of fiction in many cases. Nevertheless, it is fairly interesting as a light read although not very well-written. For a much more interesting look at card counting read another book called "Striking It Rich: Golf in the Kingdom with Generals, Patients amd Pros". I enjoyed this book immensely. It was written by an MIT grad who actually did the card counting and it shows. It is also about MIT and medicine (the guy is now a plastic surgeon) and golf (he is a pro golfer also) but the chapter on his former life as a card counter is fascinating and much more informative that BDTH.

I'm an MIT alumnus and was friends with some blackjack team players at various times between 1979 and the present. Whenever Mezrich writes about something where I have personal knowledge, he seems to be fabricating information. This applies even to simple stuff, e.g., he talks about people "graduating from MIT with honors", something that is possible at Harvard, where he studied (one hopes he did not study journalism or factual research there), but not possible at MIT. He talks about some of his characters being MIT engineering majors and being elected to the Phi Beta Kappa Society, whose own Web site states clearly that "To be eligible for election, students must have pursued a broad program of study in the liberal arts and sciences" (i.e., engineers are not eligible).

Mezrich and his publisher get many facts wrong that they could have easily checked with Google and Wikipedia. It makes a reader wonder about the stuff that cannot be independently verified...

I dont think Mr. Mezrich is a very good writer, but he has told
an interesting story. (Mr. Mezrich is without doubt a better writer
than me, just not terribly good among writers whose books
I've read, imho). I like playing blackjack, and I have an idea how
hard it is to count cards in a casino setting. No, I can't do it
effectively, but I don't believe it changes the odds as dramatically
in the player's favor as the book describes. Still, I enjoyed
"Bringing Down the House" as
"partial fiction".

This is another great book by a great author. The book captures all of the excitement and suspense that the students must have experienced. The book made you want to experienece what the kids were going through and at the same time want to stay away from Vegas forever.

I really enjoyed this story. I teach math and the application of probability to gambling is really interesting. The book is short and moves along quite nicely. The story has a nice arc of Kevin Lewis going from recruit to "big player" to getting out of the business. I would recommend highly.

Hard to believe this really happened. Even for the Math-challenged, the strategy was well explained and seems plausible. This is not a plot-driven story, its more of an account retold in 3rd person with great research and interviews mixed in for cred. The author is not the most gifted writer, but does a great job making this a fun and light read...hard to put down. There are some unanswered questions at the end of the novel. I guess because it is non-fiction, we'll never know some aspects such as the casino's side of the story.

I wonder how much of it really happened (the author gives us a suspicious amount of detail for events he didn't witness and he only learned about years later, and he must have changed several of the names of people who didn't want to be incriminated, yet doesn't mention having done so, except in a couple of cases) but even if half of what he wrote really happened, this is a hell of a book.

The story of the MIT geeks who decided to use their mathematical talents to count cards and make a fortune playing Blackjack is an absolute page turner. I read it in one sitting and I couldn't wait to see how it ended. I personally like to play a little Blackjack, but you don't need to gamble to enjoy this riveting story. Ted Turner was right: there's nothing more interesting than real life.

Forget the arguing over fiction vs. non-fiction. If you just let your mind go and read I think you'll enjoy it. It definitely helps to have at least a moderate interest in blackjack, gambling, or cards in general. The fact is that this team did exist and this is what happened to them. Take it for what it is, a good story and a fast read.

This is a fun book to read if you have been to Vegas a bunch of times. Some of the stories are stretched a bit but still enjoyable for the person who loves winning money in Vegas.

I didn't like the chapter's where the author changes the story line to interview the people. However, I did like the excitement through out the rest of the book. Overall it is an entertaining book that keeps you excited and keeps you interested.

The story is intrinsically fascinating and Mezrich writes an entertaining book about it. I would have preferred it if he had gone a little deeper into the specifics (more steak, less sizzle). And there are several places, where Mezrich lied (beatdown in the islands, black chip on table, etc.). At least according to the principals, whom I've corresponded with.

Very clever way of card-counting; wondered how you could count into 6 decks of cards, and they give you a system that works over the "long-run".

The inconsistencies begin on page one as the character "gazes at his cards" and decides whether to make a wager. In Blackjack, however, you must wager before you are dealt any cards so that sequence couldn't have happened. The tone is set for the rest of this novel. Yes, novel. Even people who don't know blackjack and haven't been around casinos will sense that a large portion of this book is fiction. But if you don't take it too serious and you're able to get past the "first draft feel" it can be an entertaining read.

What all the rest of the reviews say are true -- this is an exciting drama of a group of brain-power-overloaded MIT students taking on Las Vegas. What I will add is that this is a perfect flight book. A friend lent me a copy for my 10+ plane ride and this made the flight bearable. Personally, I'm not very versed in blackjack, let alone casinos. Regardless, I found the book enlightening, exciting, enjoyable, and even educational (in blackjack/gaming lingo). Overall, the value of this book is purely based on its entertainment factor; nothing more, nothing less.

A look at the ever growing sophistication of the duel between casinos and the professional card counters who realise that they do, indeed, have an edge at blackjack.

Technology and increased surveillance is slowly and surely bringing this to an end. Where it doesn't, there is still the good old beat up the winners technique if you fancy try it in Uzbekistan or somewhere.

If you like Vegas, Money, and an awesome time, read this book. I read it in 2 days, and I hardly read.