Kayote B. (kayote) reviewed The Man with the $100,000 Breasts : And Other Gambling Stories on + 254 more book reviews
I debated a while before getting this book. While reviews were positive, some implied if you weren't interested in gambling, especially poker, it wouldn't be interesting.
I'm glad I didn't listen to those reviews and picked it up. First off, while there is a long poker chapter, it is hardly the entire book. He wanders through all sorts of various gambling--dogs, horses, poker, casino, sports betting, etc. He writes about some of the colorful characters, or those behind the scenes that make it go, and sometimes just about the game itself. None of which am I inherently interested in -- I am risk averse and not that interested in the flashing lights of Las Vegas or similar. I entered a football pool once mainly to go to the party at the end, and buy a scratch-off lotto ticket now and then b/c they bring back fun childhood memories (I could make one last ALL afternoon).
Doesn't matter.
The author loves his subject and it comes through in the writing. I'm reading Euland's book on writing and she says as long as you write what you see and feel the reader will be infected by the same feeling. Konik can do it. I was fascinated start to finish in the book. People who live in a world I am barely aware of came to life on the page, the comparisons of dog racing to black jack (here's a hint--house cut is much higher in the first), the feel of a Miami dog park racing. The discussion of card counting and Big Game nights which are the only time the counters are allowed in the casinos (legal doesn't mean the casino's let you play if they figure out you know what you are doing). I understand better how odds are set, why, and what problems this can cause.
I think my favorite chapter was the legal betting on anything--the insurance company that insures any promotion you want to have. They charge based on the chance of having to pay out--so they didn't charge much for the "Win a million if you can find Elvis", for example. They know the chance of making a half-court shot, and how it compares with the chance of landing a paper airplane in a garbage can at the same range. Someone had a good idea for a company and the odds-making skills to back it up. I also enjoyed the old poker gambler, who played in the old west right through til not long ago. He used to carry a gun, and used it at times.
Even if you aren't interested in gambling, if you are interested in life in general, this book provides some fascinating reading. If you are heading to Vegas, there is a chapter on which games you can expect to lose the least, and why not to listen to any "expert" you meet on the plane! (If you read an earlier chapter he shows, with the help of a man who wrote the book and many of the rules he showed in the book, of how to get complimentary items for as little as possible).
I'm glad I didn't listen to those reviews and picked it up. First off, while there is a long poker chapter, it is hardly the entire book. He wanders through all sorts of various gambling--dogs, horses, poker, casino, sports betting, etc. He writes about some of the colorful characters, or those behind the scenes that make it go, and sometimes just about the game itself. None of which am I inherently interested in -- I am risk averse and not that interested in the flashing lights of Las Vegas or similar. I entered a football pool once mainly to go to the party at the end, and buy a scratch-off lotto ticket now and then b/c they bring back fun childhood memories (I could make one last ALL afternoon).
Doesn't matter.
The author loves his subject and it comes through in the writing. I'm reading Euland's book on writing and she says as long as you write what you see and feel the reader will be infected by the same feeling. Konik can do it. I was fascinated start to finish in the book. People who live in a world I am barely aware of came to life on the page, the comparisons of dog racing to black jack (here's a hint--house cut is much higher in the first), the feel of a Miami dog park racing. The discussion of card counting and Big Game nights which are the only time the counters are allowed in the casinos (legal doesn't mean the casino's let you play if they figure out you know what you are doing). I understand better how odds are set, why, and what problems this can cause.
I think my favorite chapter was the legal betting on anything--the insurance company that insures any promotion you want to have. They charge based on the chance of having to pay out--so they didn't charge much for the "Win a million if you can find Elvis", for example. They know the chance of making a half-court shot, and how it compares with the chance of landing a paper airplane in a garbage can at the same range. Someone had a good idea for a company and the odds-making skills to back it up. I also enjoyed the old poker gambler, who played in the old west right through til not long ago. He used to carry a gun, and used it at times.
Even if you aren't interested in gambling, if you are interested in life in general, this book provides some fascinating reading. If you are heading to Vegas, there is a chapter on which games you can expect to lose the least, and why not to listen to any "expert" you meet on the plane! (If you read an earlier chapter he shows, with the help of a man who wrote the book and many of the rules he showed in the book, of how to get complimentary items for as little as possible).
