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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.

Extremely compelling

I too have listened to quite a few books over the past few years and I can't think of any book more exciting than this. Despite the corporate image Las Vegas has nowadays, I suspect this description of how the city really functions is probably accurate. When the group is getting caught (you know they had to--otherwise where is the story?) I found myself becoming extremely nervous. This type of reaction doesn't happen too often in listening to non-fiction. Definitely a worthwhile listen, maybe for a long boring car ride.

Feel like a trip to the casino???? Don't bother!!

I enjoyed the book. It was a fast read and kept my interest well. Not quite as good as the movie. The ending was different and I thought the movie tied things up better and made it more exciting. If this is truly a factual story, it has killed my desire to try my luck at the cassino. Not all together a bad thing!

Interesting

Enjoyed the book, but not one of my favorites. I wish they had been more reflective.

Background noises

Great story but difficult at times to get into because of background noises from the narrator. Swallowing, gasping etc could be distracting . I found that if I listened to it in my car playing it through the radio sound system it wasn't so obvious

Interesting

I saw several negative reviews about the narrator but I did not find the narration to be a problem at all. The story is interesting. I wonder if things have changed in 20 years making this story impossible today.

Good book ruined by bad narration

You know how you feel when you're first getting a cold? You know, where you can feel that lump of phlegm stuck in your throat, and you find yourself subconsciously swallowing harder and harder to try to get rid of it? I think this narrator was coming down with a cold, because all I could hear was his constant swallowing, gulping, gasping, and wheezing--it's very distracting.

The story is entertaining and for the most part well written, though the author does sometimes lapse into stereotypes and cliches.

Great

This book held me captivated. There has been the big craze since this movie came out or maybe earlier, so I jumped on board. I listened to this book and then did internet research, granted many people don't consider that type research reliable, I did it because it was easier. From what I understand the author took some liberties which is understandable, I really enjoyed it. I am not going to go and start counting cards, but it made me talk to folks who are black jack fans alot more and see their take. Enjoy.

Simply a Fantastic Book

I knew about the book, but saw the movie first. You can definitely see hints of the movie in the book...but the book is much, much better. I find myself getting tired of my commute....this book make me look forward to my three hours in the car each day. Really good.

Great story - Cocky Writer, terrible narrator

The story is great and every casino enthusiast should read this book. Much better than the movie although I did enjoy the movie as well.

Two things

1. The writer is bit cocky when writing about himself and will make you roll your eyes many times

2. The narrator is awful, the whole time it sounds like he hasn’t had a drink of water in a week, his mouth is so dry and it’s extremely distracting the noises his mouth makes.

Amazing

I loved the story and it was well read I just couldn't put it down. I recommend this title to everyone.