21

Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions

By: Ben Mezrich

Narrated by: Johnny Heller

Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

In the midst of the Go-Go '90s, the culture of greed infused the MIT campus. A small blackjack club sprang up, dedicated to counting cards and beating the house at major casinos around the country. The Club grew slowly at first, but by the late 1990s, the right people had come up with the right system to take some of the world's most sophisticated casinos for all they were worth. In less than two years, this ring of card savants earned more than $3 million from corporate Vegas. This is the true story of how they did it.

Bringing Down the House is everyman's dream, certainly every gambler's dream, and gambling is a growth industry on the East and West Coasts.

A cross between Liar's Poker, Ocean's Eleven, and The Cuckoo's Egg, this fast-paced caper features the most unlikely of heroes, a bunch of super-smart MIT geeks. Before the dot.coms kidnapped the mathematical geniuses of MIT, here's what higher education produced from the dark underbelly of the Ivy League, where kids with brains, money, and bright futures were just as likely to be found gambling in a Paradise Island casino as putting in time in the library.

©2002 Ben Mezrich (P)2008 Simon and Schuster, Inc.

Great Listen

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, wish I was one of the group.

What other book might you compare 21 to and why?

none

Which character – as performed by Johnny Heller – was your favorite?

Kevin

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

Just thought it was good. Very interesting on both sides of the play. I could have gone on and on.

Entertaining book

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

this is a good story that is done well.

Have you listened to any of Johnny Heller’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Good

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

i believe it was and i did see it. The book is much better then the movie.

hit me again dealer👍

awesome book, about a life many dream of having. not like the movie so much, but better and more realistic. no k spacey, so more work place safe 😜

Great book! Narrator is Fine!!

If you love black this is a great book. Don't let the bad narrator reviews stop you he is fine.

Entertained

I appreciated the insight into this world. I knew one of
The MIT players and would say the story told is a pretty good depiction.

A descent story but I found the reader obnoxious.

What did you like best about 21? What did you like least?

It was an interesting story. The reading was horrid. It may have just been a personal thing but by the second chapter I almost didn't want to listen any more except I really wanted to hear the story. His inflections and what not simply got on my nerves. It is like he exagerated to a point of being obnoxious.

Would you be willing to try another one of Johnny Heller’s performances?

No.

Was 21 worth the listening time?

Yes

Fun story

Much better than the movie... Obviously! It really left me wanting to know more about this side of gambling. Checkout Holy Rollers documentary too.

Held my Interest

I thought the narrator did a good job. I didn’t hear any of the belching or coughing that other reviewers have complained of. He did decent accents as well.

Good story and narration

Good story, more detail than the movie. Narrator does a good job trying to give each character a voice/identity.

Good story, strong characters.

Would you listen to 21 again? Why?

It's the kind of story that is most interesting when you don't know what is going to happen, but I would consider listening again after a while.

What did you like best about this story?

The insight into Vegas. Card counting is interesting, but gets old quick. However unlike a card counting book, this book is more about a team and how Vegas responds.

What does Johnny Heller bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He did a nice job with voices and emotions

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not that kind of book.