21

Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions

De: Ben Mezrich

Narrado por: Johnny Heller

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.

Book does not = Movie but that's not bad

21 is a fun Hollywood movie that is fast and funny. The book while not serious in nature shows more humanity. The story is not quite as exciting in print (on MP3) but the characters are much more interesting.

Excellent Adventure in the Life of a Card Counter

The book is fantastic. The details are perfect. Great story that was a quick listen!

...but hearing the narrator swallow through the entirety of the book was very unenjoyable.

Good story, annoying narrator

I’ve read the book before and was looking for some fluff while cleaning the house and thought I’d give this a listen. The narrator is…not great. His voice is kinda smarmy and it did nothing to make the story more interesting or intriguing.

Killed by Narrator

I have never wrote a review on here before. I am usually happy with all the narrators on the books I get here. This is horrible. I can't believe this guy is drinking and burping out loud on the book. I am considering just giving up and deleting the file.

I need to modify my review

Mr. Heller singlehandedly ruins this audiobook by drinking too close to the microphone, burping (don't do voice-overs and drink soda!)

This otherwise five-star book loses stars for this distraction.

Interesting for a while

This is an interesting book, at least at first, but I got a little tired of it. I don't know how many times the author emphasized that these guys were doing nothing illegal, even though they were always in fear of getting caught. I think the one the author was trying the hardest to convince was himself.

We all have something in us that longs for things to be easy for us, to have enough money without having to work for it, to take something like a big casino for all it can be taken for, but when it comes right down to it, conniving a way to do this is not very honest. It is a dangerous way to live. I can't say I was ever on the side of these guys. I didn't like their motive, their lifestyle or the horrible language. I hope they all grew up after this experience.

Very fun.

Plenty of twists and turns in a very interesting story. I would highly recommend.

Couldn't stop listening

Despite the bad reviews based on the "poor narration", I went ahead and got this book. There is nothing wrong with the narrator. There were no burps, gurgles, wheezing, or gulping to really notice. Not the best narration I ever heard, but certainly not worth some of the scathing reviews.

I like true crime stories, especially ones where the charater (or perpetrator) is a genuinly likeable guy getting over on the system (think Catch Me if you Can). This book rates right up there and was an exciting read. The movie with the same title does not compare, as it is completly re-written for Hollywood and changes just about everything. The book is MUCH better and details the life of the MIT students who used their brains to beat the system.

The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because the author switches back and forth from his point of view to the main character's, and proves a bit confusing at times. Other than that, an excellent book.

Better than the film

Where does 21 rank among all the audiobooks you???ve listened to so far?

Not among my top 10, but an interesting story.

What did you like best about this story?

I didn't know anything about card counting, so this was fascinating.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I finished it in a weekend.

Any additional comments?

Provided an insider's view of the gambling.

Great story, R-rated content for language and sex

The story was great, science nerds making a play on Vegas. I understood that when quoting the college kids that there would be some swearing--though perhaps more than I would have liked. However, the author made a point to describe the sexual depravity of the city in a manner that would have merited an R-rating if a film.