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Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions | 
 enlarge | Author: Ben Mezrich
Publisher: Free Press
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy Used: $3.15
You Save: $10.85 (78%)
New (8) from $6.07
Avg. Customer Rating:  421 reviews
Sales Rank: 88497
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7
Dewey Decimal Number: 364.1720922
ASIN: B001AQY05Y
Publication Date: September 9, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
#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 Hood meets the Rat Pack when the best and the brightest of M.I.T.'s math students and engineers take up blackjack under the guidance of an eccentric mastermind. Their small blackjack club develops from an experiment in counting cards on M.I.T.'s campus into a ring of card savants with a system for playing large and winning big. In less than two years they take some of the world's most sophisticated casinos for more than three million dollars. But their success also brings with it the formidable ire of casino owners and launches them into the seedy underworld of corporate Vegas with its private investigators and other violent heavies. Filled with tense action, high stakes, and incredibly close calls, Bringing Down the House is a nail-biting read that chronicles a real-life Ocean's Eleven. It's one story that Vegas does not want you to read.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 416 more reviews...
Quick and Entertaining Read September 26, 2008
I was pleasantly surprised at how well this book was written. Ben did a fine job of capturing, in words, what the MIT counting team experienced. In doing so, he brought the reader into the lives of the players and into the rush of the game/scam. This book will keep you turning the pages until you're done. Make sure that you set aside a few hours of uninterrupted time to read this book in its entirety. I read this book long before the movie came out and I want to say that the movie does this book an injustice. You're better off owning this book than owning the movie. This is a must read for thrill seekers and for the modest of gamblers. For ten bucks...you can't go wrong.
 Blackjack Story August 28, 2008
I liked the story behind what these kids did. It was exciting and scandolous. I didn't like the actual people in the story. Most of them seem like overpriveleged brats who were looking for a free lunch. I was also a tad disappointed with how simple their methods really were. It had less to do with brainy algorithims and more to do with teamwork and deception. All in all though, an interesting book.
Great Behind-the-Scenes Look at Card Counting August 20, 2008
This book came to my attention after hearing a radio interview with one of the MIT Card Counters. I immediately searched out this book, and it didn't disappoint. Ben Mezrich does a great job of boiling down a sophisticated card-counting system, following the rise and fall of one of the team's key members. And for those interested in the details, an essay on card counting mechanics by the main subject, "Kevin Lewis," is presented at the end of the book.
This was Mezrich's first forray into non-fiction and it shows at times with some cheesy and tedious metaphors and heavy-handed attemps at injecting prose into the action. Nonetheless, the book is short enough and the action quick enough that I wouldn't describe this as a major distraction.
If you liked "Rounders" or the casino scene in "Rain Man," then this book is probably for you.
 Great price for a great book! August 17, 2008
Book was like new and delivered as promised. Great book for a great price. Very easy transaction. Thank you!
Dazzling August 3, 2008
Mr. Mezrich, in "Bringing Down the House", gives us a fascinating account of a group of MIT students who took "card counting" at the blackjack table to a whole new level. This fast paced page-turner takes a thrill ride that reads like a novel. Great read!!
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