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Is this book different than American Roulette, also by Richard Marcus? I thought the book was quite good.
I’d have to say I’m quite partial to Gambling Wizards.
Yes it looks as if they have produced a new cover and title for the book.
I have not read many gambling books, but I really enjoyed reading this one:
Bringing Down the House
burgi82 wrote:I have not read many gambling books, but I really enjoyed reading this one:Bringing Down the House
My boyfriend read this book and said it was fascinating – then incidentally we watched a special documentary on TV one evening about the group – some of the students were interviewed. It was really interesting and well worth the read – especially if you’re in the industry!
Nice list of gambling movies, Buddy.
I’m particularly fond of the Hustler and The Gambler, in fact.
Some other great gambling-related movies:
The Cooler
Havana
The Color of Money
Two for the Money
High Roller – The Stu Ungar StoryThanks Randy, Annabelle and Burgi. I’ve just read the reviews of ‘Bringing down the House’ on Amazon and it definitely looks like a great read.
I haven’t actually seen ‘Havana’ or ‘The Cooler’ but there are a couple of movies in my list which are only loosely based on gambling…especially Oceans 11.
Saying that, Oceans 12 was one of the most dissapointing cinematic experiences I’ve ever had. :rollover:
I liked casino, but I wouldn’t put it #1, seemed to be more about organized crime; De Niros & Pescis characters than gambling.
I loved two for the money as well, maybe it was too new? Have never seen the Stu Unger story :whoa: I really do need to check it out!
I’m a bit of a De Niro fan which has influenced my rankings…
I’ve only recently seen Raging Bull where his performance was just awesome.
Two more great gambling books:
Fast Company by Jon Bradshaw
The Man With the $100,000 Breasts by Michael Konik.
Another great gambling movie, Guys and Dolls but then I am partial to musicals and Damon Runyon.
Two for the Money was really great, unless you’re tired of seeing Pacino play a flawed but entertaining mentor to a young man. (A genre all its own, it seems.)
The Cooler is fantastic. I think Alec Baldwin got a best supportin actor nod for it.
And Konik’s book is really entertaining, although I thought Bringing Down the House tried a little too hard to be lurid and sensational.
I enjoyed Two for the Money because I used to be in that industry and lived off of sports. It did a decent job of showing the handicapping business. They left off the part where a service will alternate sides with each caller to get a 50% potential buy-back. :whoa:
Another movie I liked, because it was funny, was Let It Ride.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097731/
