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Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions | 
| Author: Ben Mezrich
Publisher: Free Press
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $14.99 (100%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  427 reviews
Sales Rank: 12056
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7
ISBN: 0743249992
Dewey Decimal Number: 364.1720922
EAN: 9780743249997
ASIN: 0743249992
Publication Date: September 9, 2003
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Product Description
#1 National Bestseller!
The amazing inside story about a gambling ring of M.I.T. students who beat the system in Vegas -- and lived to tell how. Robin Hood meets the Rat Pack when the best and the brightest of M.I.T.'s math students and engineers take up blackjack under the guidance of an eccentric mastermind. Their small blackjack club develops from an experiment in counting cards on M.I.T.'s campus into a ring of card savants with a system for playing large and winning big. In less than two years they take some of the world's most sophisticated casinos for more than three million dollars. But their success also brings with it the formidable ire of casino owners and launches them into the seedy underworld of corporate Vegas with its private investigators and other violent heavies. Filled with tense action, high stakes, and incredibly close calls, Bringing Down the House is a nail-biting read that chronicles a real-life Ocean's Eleven. It's one story that Vegas does not want you to read.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 422 more reviews...
 Interesting story, decent writing...I just wish it was true. December 29, 2008
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which I actually read after seeing the movie. I was not surprised that they made some changes and added and subtracted some things for the movie, but I have to admit that I was surprised at how much they went out of their way to make the movie bankable. It was a bit frustrating to discover that they literally made up huge chunks of the movie because they obviously didn't think the whole "overprivileged Asian kids beating Vegas" was dramatic enough.
As for the book itself, I was surprised to find, after a bit of research, that there was hardly any truth to it whatsoever. I reference a Boston Globe article that so many others have in their reviews:
[...]
Although I understand the changes that were made the lies that were perpetuated in the movie for drama's sake, it frustrates me that Mr. Mezrich essentially fabricated so much of this book simply to make it more "interesting". I would have read it had it not ever mentioned these MIT kids being chased out of Vegas casinos or suffering beat-downs at a casino in the Bahamas.
That said...it is still an interesting story and at least Mr. Mezrich did a decent job of telling it. It's a good read but anyone who picks it up needs to know that it is really more a work of fiction than of non-fiction.
 Great book November 22, 2008
Pros: Great book about MIT students who use their brains for more than science, but to take advantage of inefficient markets. Well written, fast paced and exciting.
Cons: None
Summary: Fast read about a real story that's exciting and fun.
Overall: 9/10
Interesting and Amazing November 12, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
In Bringing Down The House, Ben Mezrich tells the true story of a group of MIT students who count cards in blackjack. The story focuses on Kevin Lewis, and how he came to be an expert card counter. At no time is this story dull or boring. It will keep you into it until the very end. The story itself is unbelievable, which makes the book even more amazing. Mezrich does a great job of describing the thoughts and actions that each student took during the book. He also does a good job on showing each character's growth and development during the book. Kevin starts off the story as a shy Asian kid who is not happy with his job at the lab. Once his friends Martinez and Fisher show him the amazing world of counting cards, Kevins life turns completely different. The Las Vegas highlife and huge amounts of money turn Kevin into a completely different person. His change during the book is smooth and very believable. This is the kind of book that you will pick up and wont be able to put down. It's an easy and a very fun read. It will show you a different side of Vegas and a different side of Blackjack. Mezrich shows how difficult card counting really is and how much hard work it is to master it. Kevin and his team went out nearly every weekend to Vegas to count cards. Their lives in Las Vegas completely overshadowed their lives at home. Not only did the team spend almost every weekend in Las Vegas, but they had to keep their double lives secret from all their family and close friends. The team counted for over a year. Spending that much time together, there must be some problems they encounter. If you read this book I can guarantee you that you will not be disappointed.
 Tired of being lied to November 11, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Looks like Ben Mezrich can join the ranks of James Frey, Dave Pelzer and Kathy O'Beirne, who write fiction but call it non-fiction. After reading this book I decided to do some online research. Didn't take long to find this comment in Wikipedia "In 2008, Boston magazine and The Boston Globe investigated the accuracy of Mezrich's non-fiction, identifying occasions in his blackjack books where scenes were invented out of whole cloth." Very disappointing to discover another best seller that is so fabricated yet purports to be telling the truth.
I enjoyed reading it until I did some background research November 9, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Not sure what to say. There might be a kernel of truth to what happened, but it certainly didn't happen as described in this tripe. Anyone who falls for this sure is naive.
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