Sharks in the Desert

Book Description

The story fo the evolution of the gambling racket from mobbed-up vice to corporate success story as told through the biographies of the men who made it happen.

Customer Reviews:

Sloppy, Fragmented and Unfocused.......2007-03-22

This is a book that appeals to no one. If you're not already familiar with Vegas history, it is not a good place to start. And if you already know something about Vegas, it will not teach you anything new.

In theory, the structure of this book seems like a good idea -- devote a chapter each on the movers and shakers who built Las Vegas. The problem is that they all influenced each other, so separating them results in an arbitrary, fragmented, sometimes difficult-to-follow, narrative. Even the chapters themselves tend to jump back and forth in time and place. Structurally, the book just doesn't work.

Then there's the problem of sketchy information. Smith doesn't go into great detail explaining the why's and how's of events, leaving the reader with a great longing to know more about the individual characters of these men and what makes them tick. If you're looking for some good dish on Vegas -- which is what the snappy title promises -- there are better choices.

Compounding the reader's frustration are the numerous typos, spelling, and grammatical errors. Smith either had no editor or edited this himself. It feels like a first draft in serious need of a major rewrite and fact checking. It's difficult to believe Smith makes a living as a journalist. He must have a good editor at the Review/Journal.

The Real McCoy........2007-03-05

This book gives you the real story behind the Vegas gaming legends. Nobody does justice to this topic like John L. Smith. His research is impeccable.

It delivers on the title but in a less than thrilling way.......2006-10-31

This book is a fun read if you are someone who is familiar with Las Vegas. The book indeed delivers on what the subtitle, "..The Founding Fathers and Current Kings of Las Vegas" states. Each chapter is more or less devoted to discussing a specific person and the impact they had on setting the stage for the evolution of Las Vegas. I imagine those of you who have never been infatuated with Las Vegas will want to pass on this one.

Based on some of the anecdotes, it seems amazing that some of the Vegas hotels are still open today. The mobsters and the so called "straight laced" owners who ran (or still run) the hotels come off as either extremely brilliant or totally incompetent. It is no wonder that most of the Strip hotels have all been swallowed up by one or two companies. The author also seems to question if some hotels are completely honest when it comes to gaming.

The problem I had with the book was perhaps I was expecting something more chronological and dramatic. Instead, the book is like a compilation of old newpaper columns that are all put together in one place(of course, maybe that is not a surprise since the author is a newspaper reporter). Much like other books of that nature, the reading becomes almost repetitive and seems easier to take over a long haul rather than a week or two of reading cover to cover. Also note that there are a few typos and errors that make it seem like someone did a spellcheck with a computer rather than really proofreading it.

If you can stick with this type of book, you will probably enjoy it. Now this is the first book about Las Vegas I have read so I can not compare it to anything but I've got to believe there is probably something a bit more compelling.

Las Vegas history: from mob to corporate.......2006-03-16

The complete saga of Las Vegas from its early roots with the mob to modern corporate times is presented in a lively history of the city's real rulers in SHARKS IN THE DESERT: THE FOUNDING FATHERS AND CURRENT KINGS OF LAS VEGAS. Many made their fortunes developing the casino business the city is most famous for today - but many myths have surrounded their activities - myths which columnist Smith dispels in an investigative history which tracked mobsters and their connections to the city's rich and monied.

Great book and great shipping time.......2006-02-17

I received this book almost right away. It's a very good summary of the people of Las Vegas written by someone who knows, John Smith.

Positively Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion's World Series of Poker

Average customer rating:

Not what I expected
Good, but about 100 pages too long
2 Words .....Bor - Ring
Horrible
Well written trip through the 2000 WSOP and the Vegas trial of the century

Positively Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion's World Series of Poker
James McManus
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0374236488

Amazon.com

In 2000, novelist and poet James McManus was sent to Las Vegas, innocently enough, by Harper's magazine to write a story about the World Series of Poker held annually at Binion's Horseshoe. But then, as so often happens on trips to Sin City, something kind of ... happened. Rather than becoming an objective report, McManus's article evolved into a memoir as he put his entire advance on the line, got lucky with his cards and won a spot in the competition, and came much closer than anyone expected to winning the darn thing. The result, Positively Fifth Street, is just as dazzling, exciting, and disturbing as Vegas itself.

McManus details his battles not only against his opponents but also against "Bad Jim," the portion of his own personality that needs to get in on a poker game in spite of both common and fiscal sense. Besides telling his own story, he relates the considerably more unpleasant tale of Ted Binion, whose grisly death was blamed on Binion's former stripper-girlfriend and her ex-linebacker beau. In the hands of a lesser author, the pursuit of these separate through lines of poker and the seedy personal lives of wealthy casino heirs may have lead readers to wish the author had picked just one subject. But under McManus's careful watch, they're really pretty similar: steeped in adrenaline, mystery, deception, and skating on thrillingly thin ice. Each story underscores the other, a neat little "narrative as metaphor" device, while also painting a vivid picture of Vegas casino life. Poker, as anyone who has lost at it will tell you, is an intricate game and it's nice to see a top-notch author and player relate its finer points in an entertaining style that will appeal even to non-players. The author's hilariously self-aware and at times self-loathing style make Positively Fifth Street a fun read. But beyond that, his account of nearly winning the biggest poker tournament in the world and subsequently watching as the verdicts are announced for Binion's accused murderers makes for a great story. Even if it wasn't the one he was sent there to write. --John Moe

Book Description

Rough sex, black magic, murder, and the science—and eros—of gambling meet in the ultimate book about Las Vegas

James McManus was sent to Las Vegas by Harper’s to cover the World Series of Poker in 2000, especially the mushrooming progress of women in the $23 million event, and the murder of Ted Binion, the tournament’s prodigal host, purportedly done in by a stripper and her boyfriend with a technique so outré it took a Manhattan pathologist to identify it. Whether a jury would convict the attractive young couple was another story altogether.

McManus risks his entire Harper’s advance in a long-shot attempt to play in the tournament himself. Only with actual table experience, he tells his skeptical wife, can he capture the hair-raising brand of poker that determines the world champion. The heart of the book is his deliciously suspenseful account of the tournament itself—the players, the hand-to-hand combat, and his own unlikely progress in it.

Written in the tradition of The Gambler and The Biggest Game in Town, Positively Fifth Street is a high-stakes adventure, a penetrating study of America’s card game, and a terrifying but often hilarious account of one man’s effort to understand what Edward O. Wilson has called “Pleistocene exigencies”—the eros and logistics of our primary competitive instincts.

Download Description

In the spring of 2000, Harper's Magazine sent James McManus to Las Vegas to cover the World Series of Poker--in particular, the mushrooming progress of women in the $23 million event, and the murder of Ted Binion, the tournament's prodigal host, purportedly done in by a stripper and her boyfriend with a techniques so outre it took a Manhattan pathologist to identify it. Whether a jury would convict the attractive young couple was another story altogether. But when McManus sets foot in town, the lure of the tables is too strong: he proceeds to risk his entire Harper's advance in a long-shot attempt to play in the tournament himself. Only with actual experience at the table (he tells his skeptical wife) can he capture the hair-raising subtleties of the kind of poker that determines the world champion. The heart of the book is his deliciously suspenseful account of the tournament itself--the players, the hands, and his own unlikely progress in it. Written in the tradition of The Gambler and The Biggest Game In town, Positively Fifth Street is a high-stakes adventure, and a terrifying but often hilarious account of one man's effort to understand what Edward O. Wilson has called "Pleistocene exigencies"--the eros and logistics of out primary competitive instincts.

Customer Reviews:

Not what I expected.......2007-10-03

If you look at the reviews for this book, you'll see a wide range of opinions. From 1-star all the way up to 5-stars. I believe the reason for the wide range is because the book cover and descriptions (including the back) fails to manage the reader's expectations. Similar to many other reviewers, I expected a book 100% about poker and related topics. However, it's really 60% about Ted Binion's murder, and 40% about poker. I did realize that Binion's murder was a topic in the book, but I though it was just a backdrop for the poker story. The murder almost dominates the book. If I had that 60/40 expectation I think I would've enjoyed the book more. So i penalize it 1 star because it didn't meet my expectations. I also subtract 1 more star because the author goes off-topic way too often. Other reviewers rant on how off-topic the book goes, so i don't need to again. 3 stars.

Good, but about 100 pages too long.......2007-07-27

This is a very unique book that tells many stories in one - the murder trial of accused killers of Ted Binion, Jim's own sensational poker run, and mixed in is lots of tidbits of poker history and player profiles. Overall, it is pretty good, but could have been better were it not for too many tedious pages of personal history, minutia of the tournament, and philosophical digressions that had me yawning. A good quarter of this 400 page book just wasn't all that interesting to me. On the other hand, in reading other sections, I found that I couldn't put it down.

Overall, getting through the tedious sections was made worthwhile by not only his great tournament story, but a real education on the history of the game, and where it is at present. BUT, if you bore easily, this may not be the book for you.

2 Words .....Bor - Ring.......2007-07-19

This book is so boring in the beginning that I haven't even been able to finish it to get to parts that other reviewers say are exciting. I thought it was about the World Series of Poker and the murder trial. Instead I have to read about McManus' childhood. Of course I've seen him on poker shows and he seems pretty boring in real life too.

If you're looking for a poker book, pass on this one.

Horrible.......2007-06-04

Don't waste your money. If you feel you have to have this book buy it 2nd or even 5th hand. It is boring and not well written. I find myself simply skimming through many pages that get completely off the topic. If I could return any of the books I have purchased from amazon or anyplace else, this would be the one.

Well written trip through the 2000 WSOP and the Vegas trial of the century.......2007-05-23

James McManus (fiction author, sports journalist and sometime poker player) went to Vegas to cover the trial of the murder of Ted Binion (whose father started the World Series of Poker (WSOP)) and to cover the rise of women at the WSOP. He ends up taking part of the advance money, winning a play-in satellite tourney, and getting a seat at the 2000 WSOP.

He made it to the final table and fifth place.

He intertwines his own story (an amatuer amongst some of pokers greatest names) with stories of the trial (where Ted's girlfriend and best friend are accused of murdering him), Jim's own personal history, the history of poker and the WSOP and the parallels he sees between them all.

The insights into the game, the hands, the mannerisms, and particularly what Jim is thinking at the time (fold? call? raise? who's that beautiful dealer named Red?) dividing the voices in his head (see? not just me!) into Good Jim and Bad Jim, make the writing of the actual WSOP satellite and tournament the best part of the book. But the other stories are woven in intricately and smoothly (with only a few abstract jumps), mixing in Dante and Dostoyevsky to prove his point.

Since the book has been written, the number of players entered into the big Texas Hold-em WSOP tourney has climbed in from the $1.5 million Chris "Jesus" Ferguson won (and 512 entrants) in 2000 to 2006's $12million Jamie Gold won amongst the 8,773 entrants (and around 12,000 are expected this year).

Read it before the big one this July 6, and it will help you imagine the action.

License to Steal : Nevada's Gaming Control System in the Megaresort Age

Average customer rating:

Feeling Lucky?

License to Steal : Nevada's Gaming Control System in the Megaresort Age
Jeff Burbank , and 1861 to 1998 An Overview of Gambling in Nevada
Manufacturer: University of Nevada Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0874173396

Book Description

Murder, the Mob, prostitution, drugs, innovative (but illegal) financial dealings, and the brilliant use of technology for ill-gotten gain, all have been involved in the schemes of unscrupulous casino owners, employees, and gamblers throughout the decades of legal gambling. Gaming in Nevada is more stringently controlled than anywhere else in the United States, and in License to Steal, investigative reporter and editor Jeff Burbank provides a lively and highly readable case history account of some of the most significant--and most fascinating--cases adjudicated by the Nevada Gaming Control Board and Commission during a pivotal time for the growing gaming industry.

It is the responsibility of these two agencies to review the licensing of new and established casinos, investigate reports of suspected wrongdoing, and punish those found guilty. In providing a balanced and objective yet very entertaining account of these sometimes complex cases, Jeff Burbank uses legal documents, meeting transcripts, insider interviews, and contemporary newspaper reports. The book is enhanced by the author's lively and informative recent interviews with key figures in gaming regulation, past and present.

Customer Reviews:

Feeling Lucky? .......2007-02-05

If you've ever put a quarter in a slot machine, you might have wondered if the game is fixed or if you actually have a chance of winning. You know that the house always has an edge, but you assume you have a chance of winning, otherwise you wouldn't play, right?

In Nevada, where the economy depends on gambling, there are two regulatory agencies, the Gaming Control Board and the Gaming Commission. In general, the Commission licenses casinos and the Board enforces the laws regarding gambling. Together they have a responsibility to make sure the public has confidence in the gambling system.

Jeff Burbank used to be a business reporter for the Las Vegas Sun and then the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the two major newspapers in Nevada. He investigated the casino industry from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s. During that time there were a number of landmark cases that the Commission and the Board dealt with. In License to Steal, Burbank describes seven of the most controversial and entertaining cases.

One story tells of the casino owner who had a Nazi memorabilia collection that he liked to exhibit to a few hundred close friends from time to time. He'd throw a party, sometimes on Hitler's birthday, to show off the collection. The parties were held in his casino, but not in public view. Word got around (apparently the collection was really something) and the Commission wondered if it shouldn't do something, since one of their mandates is to ensure the licensees (casino owners and operators) don't do anything to give Nevada a bad reputation. It was a touchy problem: a lot of people were offended, but what about freedom of speech? And wasn't it somewhat hypocritical to censure someone for offensive behavior in Las Vegas, which has a bit of a reputation for bad taste? In the end, they fined the casino owner. Even in Las Vegas, there are limits to bad taste.

Another story explained how a slot machine manufacturer had programmed its machines to make it look as if losing spins had just missed being winners - "near misses." The owners claimed that the machine wheels would spin randomly, as they are supposed to, but that once the spin had randomly been determined to be a loser, the wheels would re-adjust to show a near miss. This made it more exciting for the player, who would play more. But the regulators thought it might compromise the appearance of randomness. They decided the near miss feature would not be allowed, but when the company appealed on the grounds that retrofitting thousands of machines would be too expensive, the Commission cut them some slack. They still went bankrupt.

Then there's the story about a Gaming Control Board employee who found a way to rig the slot machines he tested so they would pay off when a certain sequences of coins was fed into them. Burbank tells how the employee also learned how to predict keno draws, using a computer program, and was trying out the system in Atlantic City, when casino security became suspicious. This was different from the slots - he hadn't rigged the keno game, he was using an algorithm that found an element of non-randomness in the draws and exploited it. I'm not even sure that qualifies as cheating according to Commission rules, but it certainly does by casino rules. The casinos can make up their own rules and anything that gives a player an edge over the casino is considered by the casino to be cheating.

Once Atlantic City authorities notified Las Vegas authorities, the employee's boss at the Board examined the employee's office computer and examined the records of payoffs the machines he had tested and found he and his friends and relatives had been hitting regular jackpots on the machines. This caused a real public relations headache for the Commission and for the casinos. Just the fact that an employee of the commission had been rigging slots for several years was bad enough. But then ABC-TV reported that the employee claimed that commissioners had abruptly stopped an investigation into rigged machines, and that they knew that the jackpot for the Megabucks statewide progressive slots could be triggered from the central computer center, and that several other companies were programming the slots to display illegal near misses. These were claims that should have been investigated immediately and vigorously, if only to maintain the appearance of an honest system. But they weren't.

License to Steal is fun to read as a collection of eccentric character sketches and descriptions of clever scams. But it's also disturbing. The Commission and Board members are all political appointees and the casino owners contribute to most of the political candidates. So when you drop a quarter in the slot and pull the lever (or more likely slip a $20 into the currency scanner and press the button), are you playing a fair game? Or would you rather not know the answer to that question?

Average customer rating:

Fascinating!!! A Must Read!
How casinos went from Bugsy Siegel to Donald Trump

Temples of Chance
David Johnston
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Customer Reviews:

Fascinating!!! A Must Read!.......2004-05-21

This is an absolutely informative and yet totally entertaining book about the inside of the gambling industry. David Johnston does a great job of detailing the evolution of the casinos, all the while making a strong case for its negative impact on society. Throw in the flashy gangsters, mobsters, lawmen, colorful tales of some of the biggest gamblers, incredible stories of rags-to-riches and vice-versa, and you have a real page-turner.

How casinos went from Bugsy Siegel to Donald Trump.......2004-04-29

"Temples of Chance: How America Inc. Bought Out Murder Inc. to Win Control of the Casino Business" literally tells the story of how the modern Las Vegas invented by Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel when he built the Flamingo gambling resort as World War II was ending, was run by mobsters for three decades, who were bought out be a new generation of "respectable" businesspeople in the 1980s. While the media was focuses on the excesses of Wall Street the casino industry was being taken over by the heads of well known publicly traded corporations, as well as junk-bond kings like Donald Trump, Merv Griffin, and Steve Wynn. In "Temples of Chance" journalist David Johnston documents the little-publicized transformation of what has proven to be one of the country's fastest growing and most lucrative industries.

Johnston explains how in just over a decade revenues from gambling went from $2 billion a year to $10 billion. The immense profit potential of the gambling business attracted corporate giants like the Holiday Corporation and Ramada, Inc., both of which sold off their namesake hotel chains at the end of the 1980s and sank their resources into the new megacasinos. However, Johnston's book underscores that "no matter who deals the cards, the game is always the same." Now business school graduates and skilled managers have replaced mob muscle and the new "loaded dice" are provided by computer geniuses who carefully stack the odds against players, government officials who support corporate deal makers, and even subtle psychological techniques that invite addictive behavior.

The framing story for "Temples of Chance" is the story of Akio Kashiwagi, the boldest gambler in the world, who is wagering $14 million an hour for days while playing baccarat at Trump Plaza. As the first chapter ends Kashiwagi is has a pot of $18.6 million and the Donald is getting nervous. However, Trump has hired Jess Marcum, a physicist who helped invent radar and "a lonely atheist in the temples of chance because he did not believe in Lady Luck" on his side. Kashiwagi does not have a chance, but we do not find out how this game plays until the end of the book.

Ultimately "Temples of Chance" makes a convincing case that any wager placed on legal gambling in America is a sucker's bet, the exception being if you are one of the power brokers on the inside. Johnston has a whole series of horror stories reflecting the mentality of greed that drove corporate investors to sponsor casinos on Indian reservations, Mississippi riverboats, and every place it can get a foothold. Johnston maintains that the logic underlying government support of the expansion of legalized gambling is pretty stupid in light of the evidence that while legal gambling can offer short-term economic relief, it creates no new wealth, and has not and cannot permanently revive struggling economies. The value of this 1992 book as a warning has obviously waned, but it still provides a fascinating look at how Wall Street moved in on the mob to make a killing at the gaming tables.

Average customer rating:

Satisfying novel and poker lesson

All-in
Pete Hautman
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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No Limit

Mr. Was Mr. Was

Rash Rash

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The Bloodwater Mysteries: Skullduggery (Bloodwater Mysteries)

ASIN: 1416913254

Book Description

"You know how they say you can't climb out of a hole till you hit bottom?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm trying to find the bottom."

At seventeen, Denn Doyle isn't old enough to gamble legally, but thanks to his talent for reading tells, he's made a fortune -- and along the way, he's upset some of the most notorious Texas holdem players in Las Vegas, including Artie Kingston, who had already lost his nightclub to Denn. But now Denn's luck has run out and he's just about broke. His only chance is a million-dollar, winner-take-all tournament at Artie's new casino, but Denn can't play unless he comes up with the $10,000 entry fee. Denn's future all comes down to one hand of poker.

National Book Award-winning author Pete Hautman introduced Denn Doyle in No Limit, of which School Library Journal said, "Fast paced and powerfully delivered...as taut and suspenseful as a high-stakes game." Here he deals another hand of love, luck, and greed in the high-stakes world of poker.

Customer Reviews:

Satisfying novel and poker lesson.......2007-08-03

All-in is a terrific follow-up to No Limit. I can't wait for the next installment in Denn's story.

Average customer rating:

Crime Or Recreation Gambling
Brook & Others
Manufacturer: Information Plus
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K6G0SA

The Gambler and the Bug Boy: 1939 Los Angeles and the Untold Story of a Horse Racing Fix

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The Gambler and the Bug Boy: 1939 Los Angeles and the Untold Story of a Horse Racing Fix
John Christgau
Manufacturer: University of Nebraska Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

“Scandal on the Turf!” the Los Angeles Times proclaimed. It was October 1940, a mere few months after Seabiscuit had won the Santa Anita Derby, and now this bombshell: “Six Jockeys Admit Horse Races Fixed.”

The Gambler and the Bug Boy recounts this dark chapter in horse racing history. At its center is Bernard “Big” Mooney, a flashy L.A. bookmaker who began his seedy career by threatening young jockeys with death if they didn’t “pull” their horses. His unwilling partner is Albert Siler, a callow, eighteen-year-old apprentice rider (a so-called bug boy) from eastern Oregon. John Christgau tells how Big Mooney manipulated this promising rider and how Siler tried to escape the gambler’s criminal grip without ruining his career. Christgau's book gives all the harrowing details of the unraveling plot and the botched court case that followed which riveted the attention of the nation. Told in full for the first time, this story brings to light a little-known but important horse racing scandal.

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Gambling - Crime or Recreation?

Manufacturer: Information Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 157302063X

Gambling Crime or Recreation?: Crime or Recreation (The Information Series on Current Topics)

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Gambling Crime or Recreation?: Crime or Recreation (The Information Series on Current Topics)

Manufacturer: Information Plus (TX)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 157302015X

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Gambling: Crime or Recreation
Carol D. Forster
Manufacturer: INformation Plus
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LZ1WIS

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