a fun airport pickup! good balance of glitzy drama and backed up statistics

This bood reads like a suspense novel- an easy read, that I finished in one sitting. I have to admit, I was riveted, although the writing itself leaves something to be desired.
My husband's aunt used to be a dealer in Atlantic City so I've heard a lot of stories from her, but this book really opened my eyes to the gambling industry. The book made me NOT want to gamble and pretty much squelched what miniscule desire I had to visit Vegas anyway.
I could see how easily one could get caught up in that lifestyle. Even though what they were doing wasn't illegal, there were a lot of moral questions involved here, and if I was their parent I certainly would not have been "proud". And then to make more money from the writing (and I use this word loosely) of a book. They could have used their intelligence in more productive ways? Though I have to admit I did find myself rooting for them and I have absolutely no sympathy for the gaming industry.

I love books about casinos! There really aren't enough of them. Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions follows six M.I.T. students who form a blackjack card-counting team. There were so many interesting nuggets of information throughout this gem. If I hadn't know that this was non-fiction prior to having read it, I would have thought that this was a literary thriller.

Did you know card-counting is not cheating? Apparently, it isn't. If you don't alter the outcome of the game in anyway, which you don't when counting cards, then you are not cheating. However, casinos don't look upon card-counters too kindly. Casinos have their own set of rules for handling card-counters.. involving ending up in back-rooms. It's all very mafia-like.



I read this book for my popsugar challenge, for the prompt "a book involving a heist" but I would have read this anyway. This was a page-turner of the highest-order. This was Ben Mezrich's first foray into non-fiction. He has written several other pieces of non-fiction, including Ugly Americans: The True Story of the Ivy League Cowboys Who Raided the Asian Markets for Millions, Rigged: The True Story of an Ivy League Kid Who Changed the World of Oil, from Wall Street to Dubai, and Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History. In addition, there is also a "semi-sequel" to this book, entitled Busting Vegas: A True Story of Monumental Excess, Sex, Love, Violence, and Beating the Odds.

I'd recommend this to anyone who likes the Ocean's movies and the movie that this book was based on, 21.

"Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions" by Ben Mezrich is a nonfiction work that takes a look at a group of MIT graduates and dropouts who develop and perfect a card counting system, which they use to great effect. Specifically, the book concerns Kevin Miller, who is apparently Asian despite the inventive pseudonym, and his involvement with the team of MIT card counters.

As I read this book, I kept flipping back to the frontispiece and wondering, sometimes aloud, why Mezrich has six other titles to his credit. Two of them are pseudonymous, to be fair, so maybe it actually got to the point where editors were asking themselves the same question. Or maybe this guy just won the literary lottery and no one else wanted to write this book.

This literary abortion breaks every rule I’ve established for how to write. He uses adverbs, puts exposition in dialogue, uses cliched similes, and every attempt he makes to “pretty up" his bland writing just makes you want to fly to wherever this jackass lives and punch him in the kidneys.

Some examples of this guy’s exemplary writing style:

"[his sisters were] helping his mother with the dessert — something to do with apples, cinnamon, and sugary pie crust."

Could it be an apple pie, asshole? Just say it! It’s okay to use the words “apple pie.” We’re not going to laugh at you (for that).

"[She] found the thrill of [blackjack] almost as addictive as the field of consulting."

I don’t get it. Does that mean she thought card counting was really boring, or is she just so ridiculous that she actually thinks “consulting” is an “addictive” proposition? I shudder to think. Is that what business school actually does to people?

"The team was operating like a well-oiled machine."

Did you really just say that? You’ve got to be kidding me. Who edited this trash?

"He said, “We’ve got costumes — some of the best money can buy — from some place in LA.”"

Okay, that’s technically proper use of a dash, ignoring the fact that it occurs in a completely unremarkable sentence (what's more important, that the costumes are expensive or that you can't remember where you bought them?). This stilted dialogue is just exposition with pointless quote marks wrapped around it. Maybe Mezrich reads a lot of Clive Cussler. There's a lot of this in the book, and to say that Mezrich has a tin ear for dialogue would be to play the game on his level. It's entirely possible that Mezrich has never, in fact, heard people speak.

Not only is this book poorly written, it’s boring. Avoid it and everything else Ben Mezrich has his hack name on. Remember, though, just because it doesn’t say “Ben Mezrich,” that doesn’t mean he hasn't been blacklisted and is now using another pseudonym.

One last snippet of this dude's literary brilliance:

"The two were best friends, cut from a similar mold."

Really. What a waste of time.

Oh, I guess I should tell you how it ends: the team gets banned from all the casinos and they have to fall back on their incredibly lucrative MIT engineering degrees. Poor little babies.

Bringing down the house was a thrilling and action-packed book that just leaves you wanting more. This book portrays the life of a regular college student named Kevin and his journey to being one of the most wanted and sought after gamblers in the country. I enjoyed this book, and so did many other people. One reader by the name of Petra said that in the book Kevin and his crew were doing nothing wrong in gambling and they broke no laws. I have to agree with Petra because I felt that the team thought long and hard about a way they can gamble legally and they succeeded. I feel the casinos were just angry that they were losing so much money and that is why they wanted to stop Kevin and his crew. I also agree with Petra that Kevin was a very bright boy. No average person could have pulled that off that fast, and that thought out. I believe we need more people like Kevin in the world but instead of using them for gambling, we can use them to create new technology, solve big issues in the world, or we can even use them to win or stop wars.

Another Goodreads reviewer by the name of Greg. Greg stated that the harsh dialogue in the book gave it more of a "vegas" feel. I highly agree with Greg because even though the author did use some harsh language, it was needed to help you visualize the book better and help you feel what the characters are feeling better. I thought the author did a great job with this. I also agree with Greg that the writer's style of writing made this book even more exciting. In parts of the book where the author describes how Kevin is sitting at a table acting cool, but on the inside he is scared. The author uses his unique format to let you be able to picture how Kevin looks from the outside. It makes him seem calm, collected, and confident, but the authors also describe how on the inside he feels nervous, scared, and a little overwhelmed.

This book was not meant for everyone. Some moments in the book where Kevin is at a club, and it describes his addiction to drugs and alcohol may not be comfortable for some readers. However, I do feel everyone should give this book a shot because not only is it action packed but there is a lot you can learn from it. For example, Kevin could have prevented all the chaos he experienced in the end if he knew how to control himself and stop. He could have also prevented it if he listened to his friends and family. His very close friends Jill tried to explain to him that this would not end well if he kept on going. However, Kevin did not stop, and we can learn from this that you should listen to other people's advice, especially the advice from people that love and care for you. Overall I really enjoyed this book and highly encourage everyone to read it.

poorly written but an interesting story

Bringing Down the house is a good read. I enjoyed the book. It really made me want to keep reading. Every chapter ended with a “cliffhanger”. I just had to keep reading. The characters and well described places really brought me into the book, and into the world of Kevin Lewis.
I see people saying how they do not enjoy the fact that Ben Mezrich added some extra events that didn’t happen to the real team. I do agree with this, since more than half of the book is completely fiction. I understand that these were added to the book to give it more of a story, but I felt as though Ben really stretched it. Even some of the characters are just mixtures of the real people.
Other people are saying that they don’t style of writing used in the book. This one I disagree with, to a certain extent. Some of the writing felt a little ‘over-the-top’. A few sections I didn’t think were needed in the book and were just there to add more pages to the book. Such as the relationship with Felicia. I felt as though that relationship didn’t add to the book at all.
tA reader that would enjoy this book the most would be someone that enjoys fiction with a little bit of non-fiction. Readers would enjoy this book if they like a lot of suspense. Each chapter end with you wanting more. Wanting to find out what happens to Kevin Lewis and his team of MIT students. The characters in Bringing Down the House were very well developed! Each character, except Felicia, added something new to the adventures our team goes on, and really helped moved the story along. A strength in the book was its gripping plot. It very made you feel as though you were inside the book. It helped you follow along as it switched from Ben learning about Kevin Lewis’ adventures in the present, to following the team through their own adventures.
This book really made me question how I feel about the whole idea of gambling. It made me wonder if what they were doing was the right thing to do. Which I do agree after finishing the book. At first I thought they can’t be doing this, they are rigging the game in their favour. But after finishing I learned that they are just increasing their chances, evening their odds, and using math to do it.

This is a really simple read, but good when you're looking for something quick (like a 2 hour plane ride). It kept me interested(except the parts where they talk about card counting strategy) and I didn't really want it to end.

It might not have been as good if it wasn't the first book I read in months, but it sure did serve it's purpose!

This was an interesting read! Very different from my typical genres. The story was fast paced and read like fiction. I kind of doubt I’ll read it again, but I did enjoy it!

Excellent book, read whilst chilling by the pool on holiday and was a really enjoyable read.

A team of MIT students become successful blackjack players utilizing card counting techniques. Their system was efficient and profitable although not without risk.

Suspenseful and great fun. My son has a good friend who has been a professional gambler for years. He doesn't do this, though, because it's true, you do become unwelcome once you have won too many times, or if you come in as a team.(It seems credible, too, that it might be illegal to signal someone to come join a card game at the very moment you know the shoe is loaded with face cards and aces).

It's an exciting book to read--and I've read it twice--simply because it is so daring, and Vegas seems like such a powerful entity to challenge. I am glad the writer did not include all the casino names and the minutiae that others seemed to crave. For one thing, the urban topography of Vegas changes constantly. The MGM burns to the ground, is rebuilt further up the street. A couple of casinos don't do well and go under, but then Steve Winn throws up some brand new ones...I think if the writer had become too specific with each and every casino, color scheme, manager's name, etc., it would have become irrelevant within a year, as employees change, walls are repainted, casinos are razed to put up mega-casinos.

Obviously, the book was not published because of the writer's skill with prose, but with such an interesting story to tell, I am glad it was published. I greatly enjoyed it, and passed my copy on to a couple of friends before I sent it to a charity used-book sale. This is light reading, but also a page-turner. If it sounds like something you might enjoy, read it.