21

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

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.

Liked the movie, loved the book.

I had wanted to read "Bringing Down the House" before the movie "21" came out, but Audible didn't offer it as an audio book until then. So I saw the movie first. I liked the movie so much, that I immediately downloaded the audio book as soon as I could.

Just like many books made into movies, there are numerous differences between the two, but they are both very enjoyable. However, I preferred the book over the movie just because of how much more detail is provided regarding the card counting techniques and team play. Even though the book lacked the cheesy romance (as played out in the movie), it more than made up for it by being more realistic and believable.

A lot of other reviewers noted the narration was sub-par. While the narrator wasn't the best I've heard, he certainly wasn't the worst. (Although he did sound a little like Casey Kasem.) If you're listening to this in your car, you most likely won't notice the recording flaws. However, they will become apparent when listening to it with headphones.

If you're interested in seeing the movie and reading the book, go see the movie first. I think if I had read the book first, I would have been more disappointed in the movie.

Good Story / Bad Narrator

Let me start by saying that I have never written a negative review before. I found the story to be really interesting and entertaining. However; after five hours I'm giving up on the narrator. His voice isn't even that bad but the equipment used or maybe poor editing has resulted in every gulp/swallow being heard. After five hours it's like fingernails on a chalkboard.

Enjoyable but left you wanting a little

I enjoyed the story of the MIT Blackjack team. It was an engrossing story that kept you wanting to know more about the team's next experience. My only quibble was that the ending just kind of happened. Not a lot was wrapped up, that there was not much of a conclusion. However, this is sometimes the nature of reality versus a novel and because of that I say it is only a minor quibble. Overall, definitely worth the credit!