Busting Vegas: The MIT Whiz Kid Who Brought Casinos to Their Knees

Unabridged
Author: Ben Mezrich
Narrator: Ben Mezrich
Genres: Non-Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Date: October 2005
Length: 6 hours
Ratings:
Formats:
  • CD
  • WMA

Overview

Semyon Dukach was known as the darling of Las Vegas. A legend at twenty-one, this cocky hotshot was the biggest high roller to appear in Sin City in decades, a mathematical genius with a system the casinos had never seen before and couldn't stop -- a system that had nothing to do with card counting, wasn't illegal, and was more powerful than anything that had been tried before.

Las Vegas. Atlantic City. Aruba. Barcelona. London. And the jewel of the gambling crown -- Monte Carlo.

Dukach and his fellow MIT students hit them all and made millions. They came in hard, with stacks of cash; big, seemingly insane bets; women hanging on their arms; and fake identities. While they were taking classes and studying for exams during the week, over the weekends they stormed the blackjack tables, only to be banned from casinos, harassed, on the wrong end of guns, and beaten in the notorious back rooms of casinos.

The stakes were high, the dangers very real, but the players were up to the challenges, the consequences be damned. In the classroom, they were geeks. On the casino floor, they were unstoppable. "Busting Vega$ is Dukach's unbelievably true story; a riveting account of monumental greed, excess, hubris, sex, love, violence, fear, and statistics that is high-stakes entertainment at its best.

Reviews (5)

Busting Vegars

Written by Sally M on February 14th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 4/5

Riveting! Well written, well read, and especially for those of us who are not high rollers, it was an eye-opening look at that part of casino industry. The absolute gall and guts it took to pull off (and not pull off, but then try somewhere else) the huge winnings in spite of the security of the casinos, well, it could only take "kids" like these.

Great Book. well delivered.

Written by Marvin from Omaha, NE on January 8th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 5/5

This is a great story I look forward to more of Ben's books. This is not the classic MIT blackjack team this is a very unique story about a few of the elites in it that actually cheated, not counting cards, but full on cheating.

Busting Vegas

Written by Charlie Dixon on June 24th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 4/5

Surprisingly good story, this one impressed me. This would make a great Hollywood movie, action packed and good characters. Fast paced. Almost hard to believe at times.

Nerd adventure

Written by Anonymous from Portland, OR on March 18th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 4/5

If you're a self acclaimed nerd like me you'll love how this group of kids were able to outwit the kings of Vegas and beyond. Some of the non-math stunts seem a little far fetched, but still a great fast paced story!

Great Story

Written by Anonymous on May 20th, 2006

  • Book Rating: 5/5

This was by far the most addictive audio book I have gotten; I did want to leave my car. I highly recommend this one for anyone who wants to listen to a suspenseful true story. I do want to mention that the beginning of this book is a bit awkward and a little hard to follow but stick with it, it gets a whole lot better.