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.

Not Completely True - Poor Speaker

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I did enjoy the story, especially the beginning part. However, I read up on MIT team afterwards and a good part of the dramatic stuff didn't happen. I guess the writer needed to do this to create a better story but I feel like it was sold as a completely true story when really most of the characters are composites.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Most interesting part of the story was the beginning where he talks about how he got into card counting and how they do it.

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

Maybe but I would be very skeptical. His voice was raspy and I didn't think his accents weren't that good. The worst part was the noises he would make with his mouth at some points.

Do you think 21 needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No - think it is a one book story.

Yes and No.

I will say of all the books that I have purchased from Audible, this is certainly the worst when it comes to sound. While I think the narrator does a good job, the other noises (being swallowing, etc), can be a little distracting. That being said I also think it depends on how you listen. If you are listening to your book with headphones you will notice it a lot more. I however listen in my car on the way to work and it was not that bad.

In the end, the book is worth the irritation of the sound. The narrator does have a good voice for the book, it's just to bad the sound engineer did not do his job. Still I highly recommend the book.

What's the Problem?

Before I decided on the book, I was so scared of the narration from all the bad reviews, that I almost didn't get it. But after seeing the movie "21," and being an avid gambling fiend myself, I decided to take my chances. It was an intriguing story with hints of the movie, and I didn't hear any of the complaints about the narrator. In fact, I just heard an engaging story, which is what a halfway decent narrator is supposed to do. If you liked the movie, you'll love this book.

Mixed

Good story. But not a fan of Johnny Heller. He sounds like a cartoon detective. It is disgusting listening to him swallow all the time.

Fabulous!

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. The story was interesting and I thought that the narrator did a great job (and he had a nice voice).

amazing story line

I love hearing gambling stories and cheating scandals. this is great because it's not a cheating story but a success story of pretty easy card counting with much more strategy then you might think.

Way better than the movie!!!

I read this book when it first came out and I loved it, so when I came across it again on audio, I had to get it! It was just as good the 2nd time around! I love listening to the story of this Blackjack Card Counting team made up of MIT students!! Although it is about real events that occurred, it is told like a fictional novel. I wasn't at all bored at any point in the story, and I could easily picture each character and scene as the story unfolded. The movie doesn't even do the book justice. Had I seen the movie before I read the book, I would have liked it, but since I didn't, I wasn't really impressed...at all. There is so much more that happens than what the movie shows (obviously, or else we would be watching a 10 hour movie, and people do not really want to do that). If you have an interest in Vegas, gambling, and hearing about ways people "beat" systems that only set others up for failure, then this book is for you!

Although I LOVED the audiobook, reading it was even better, in my opinion. This is the first time I have said that about an audiobook vs. printed copy; these days, I prefer the audiobook 9 times out of 10. I'm not sure if it was because it was the first time hearing the story of this team of dedicated geniuses who took Vegas for MILLION$$$ of dollars, or if it was because there were so many interesting pieces of information that I wanted to turn back to and read again (I know that Audible has the bookmark feature, but it's not the same to me as being able to flip back to a marked page). Either way, please do not let my opinion sway your decision to get this audiobook...it is fantastic!

The narration is great, even though in places it seems like you could hear where the recording of the audio stopped and restarted back up (or places it was edited). This also could have just been my phone, too, rather than how it was recorded and edited. This did not take away from my rating, though, because I was so engaged in the story! I highly recommend this book. Thank you for reading my review! :-)

Story is Great, Narrator is not ...

What made the experience of listening to 21 the most enjoyable?

The story itself is great and there is a lot of suspenseful moments that keep you on edge and wanting to listen more.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Kevin, the main because you just wanted to route for the guy to take all of the casino's money.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Oh where do I start? The narrator was HORRIBLE. I think with a little editing skills and common sense you could edit out all of the water drinks and gulping that guy does sometimes what seems like after every sentence. It really distracted from the story and was very annoying. He also try's to do character voices, but in a very bad way. They all almost start off normal and end with a fake New York or Boston accent. Just terrible.

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

Yeah, when Martinez was getting the heck beat out of him for counting cards and just using his brain to beat the casino and not cheating.

Any additional comments?

Story great, narrator terrible.

Good Book.. HORRIBLE Narrator

The content of this book is very good and interesting. Unfotunately, the narrator does such a horrific job that it makes it almost unlistenable. I will NEVER buy a book if this guy is reading it again!

the narrator is fine

I've listened to at least 100 audiobooks, and I'm not sure what the issue people have with the narrator. Take the plunge if the topic interests you and you listen a lot - I don't think the narrator is what people didn't like about the book.