21: Bringing Down the House
Movie Tie-In: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions
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Product: Book
ISBN-10: 1-4165-6170-6
ISBN-13: 9781416561705
Publisher: Pocket Star
Country:
Year: February 26, 2008
Edition: Reprint
Size: 10.41 x 17.02 x 3.05cm
Number of pages: 352
Weight: 159gr
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ISBN-10: 1-4165-6170-6
ISBN-13: 9781416561705
Publisher: Pocket Star
Country:
Year: February 26, 2008
Edition: Reprint
Size: 10.41 x 17.02 x 3.05cm
Number of pages: 352
Weight: 159gr
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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The long-running New York Times bestseller that has become a cultural phenomenon, Bringing Down the House is an action-filled caper carried out by the unlikeliest of cons –- supersmart geeks. Gambling pervaded the M.I.T. campus, and genius kids with money and glittering futures were just as likely to be found in a Paradise Island casino as in the school library. A highly elite group of mathletes was recruited to join The Club, a small, secret blackjack organization dedicated to counting cards and beating the major casinos across the nation at their own game. As a successful ring of card savants, backed by a mysterious ringleader and shadowy investors, they infiltrated Vegas and won millions.
The long-running New York Times bestseller that has become a cultural phenomenon, Bringing Down the House is an action-filled caper carried out by the unlikeliest of cons –- supersmart geeks. Gambling pervaded the M.I.T. campus, and genius kids with money and glittering futures were just as likely to be found in a Paradise Island casino as in the school library. A highly elite group of mathletes was recruited to join The Club, a small, secret blackjack organization dedicated to counting cards and beating the major casinos across the nation at their own game. As a successful ring of card savants, backed by a mysterious ringleader and shadowy investors, they infiltrated Vegas and won millions.
The Boston Herald acclaimed it as »a suspenseful tale that portrays the players as Davids going up against Goliaths.« And Bill Simmons of ESPN magazine exclaimed, »This book made me want to gamble! Vegas! Vegas!« Filled with tense action, high stakes, and incredibly close calls, Bringing Down the House is a nail-biting chronicle of a real-life Ocean's Eleven. It's one story that Vegas does not want you to read.
reviews
Go up against the Vegas machine at your peril 
If you go into a casino thinking you'll win on a consistent basis you are only fooling yourself unless you are playing blackjack and are a trained card counter – in other words you're a casino's nightmare in action. A well trained team of blackjack card sharks can drain a casino as this book shows, but it's not simply card counting skill that is needed to do this, you also need an awareness of your legal rights in the particular casino you are working in (laws differ in states and countries and on Indian reservations as to what is »cheating«) and an ability to play a part and not »look« like a card shark (eg old or young white guy). This was an interesting, if somewhat superficial book. It's obvious a lot has been left out of the story as the details aren't particularly fantastic in a lot of areas, and you couldn't learn to card count at Vegas reading this book, but it might give you some ideas if you already know how. For people who have a passion for cards and know Vegas well I suspect this book will be a bit old hat and it might give some future MIT students some bright ideas – but no matter how bright you are the casinos will find ways to tighten security so they can catch you and bar you with their equally bright security services so I found this an entertaining read, but it's not something I'd bother reading twice.
If you go into a casino thinking you'll win on a consistent basis you are only fooling yourself unless you are playing blackjack and are a trained card counter – in other words you're a casino's nightmare in action. A well trained team of blackjack card sharks can drain a casino as this book shows, but it's not simply card counting skill that is needed to do this, you also need an awareness of your legal rights in the particular casino you are working in (laws differ in states and countries and on Indian reservations as to what is »cheating«) and an ability to play a part and not »look« like a card shark (eg old or young white guy). This was an interesting, if somewhat superficial book. It's obvious a lot has been left out of the story as the details aren't particularly fantastic in a lot of areas, and you couldn't learn to card count at Vegas reading this book, but it might give you some ideas if you already know how. For people who have a passion for cards and know Vegas well I suspect this book will be a bit old hat and it might give some future MIT students some bright ideas – but no matter how bright you are the casinos will find ways to tighten security so they can catch you and bar you with their equally bright security services so I found this an entertaining read, but it's not something I'd bother reading twice.
Could not put it down! 
Loved this book! Way better than the movie '21'. Anybody would enjoy this plot regardless of age, sex, interests etc. Fast paced and easy to read. Great addition to any vacation!
Loved this book! Way better than the movie '21'. Anybody would enjoy this plot regardless of age, sex, interests etc. Fast paced and easy to read. Great addition to any vacation!
Bringing Down the House
I really liked this book, although it made the students' activities seem a little too innocent. The MIT teams claim that the card counting strategies they employed were legal, and they were, and casinos aren't owed anything, but greed is still greed. It's a fun account though about how some smart, goofy youngsters were able to pull the wool over jaded Las Vegas's eyes, for a while. I learned something too about card counting in blackjack (»blackjack is beatable«).
I really liked this book, although it made the students' activities seem a little too innocent. The MIT teams claim that the card counting strategies they employed were legal, and they were, and casinos aren't owed anything, but greed is still greed. It's a fun account though about how some smart, goofy youngsters were able to pull the wool over jaded Las Vegas's eyes, for a while. I learned something too about card counting in blackjack (»blackjack is beatable«).
In It Till the End
There is not much to say about this book except that once I got to the second page, I never put the book down again!!!! This was an exceptional read and deserves all the hype you heard about this book. Great buy and a perfect addition to any library public or private!!!
There is not much to say about this book except that once I got to the second page, I never put the book down again!!!! This was an exceptional read and deserves all the hype you heard about this book. Great buy and a perfect addition to any library public or private!!!
Fascinating Read!
I read this book last year on summer vacation. I brought it to casually read on the beach through out the week, but instead read it all in one day. It was so riveting that I could not put it down. Once I read the book, I bought the movie – major disappointment. The movie was terrible and did not follow the book. They took certain liberties in the movie to make it more »Hollywood« but they just didn't have too (in the movie for instance, the main character's dad passed away, but in the book, he's alive and well and provides an interesting backdrop to the plot). Buy the book, skip the movie.
I read this book last year on summer vacation. I brought it to casually read on the beach through out the week, but instead read it all in one day. It was so riveting that I could not put it down. Once I read the book, I bought the movie – major disappointment. The movie was terrible and did not follow the book. They took certain liberties in the movie to make it more »Hollywood« but they just didn't have too (in the movie for instance, the main character's dad passed away, but in the book, he's alive and well and provides an interesting backdrop to the plot). Buy the book, skip the movie.
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Prof. Michael Lewis
W. W. Norton & Company, New York City; 2004
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last update: 3/11/2010
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