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Book Reviews of Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions

Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions
Bringing Down the House The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions
Author: Ben Mezrich
ISBN-13: 9780743225700
ISBN-10: 0743225708
Publication Date: 10/8/2002
Pages: 272
Rating:
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 52
4.1 stars, based on 52 ratings
Publisher: Free Press
Book Type: Hardcover
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

55 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

 readergaltoo avatar reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 42 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
This is an exciting read and an interesting study of human nature, as the students organize their "club" and the winning (at first) is all about beating the house. Very quickly their dependance on the money brought in by their new venture takes the competition in a new and scary direction.

Riveting!
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 4 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
A thoroughly-entertaining real-life how-to on beating the casinos at their own game (NOTE: many of the techniques used here may no longer work -- casino owners know how to read books, too). The authors made millions all across the country, then told this tale. Wow.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on
Helpful Score: 4
The book was so much better than the movie...but aren't they always!
I highly recommend this book. It's a good read and well written. Plus, you get the tips on how to count cards....if you're daring enough to try it...
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 117 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
A fun read...the amazing inside story about a gambling ring of M.I.T. students who beat the system in Las Vegas...and lived to tell how! In less than three years, the students take some of the world's most dophisticated casinos for more than $3 million by playing blackjack.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 234 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Amazing how these math genius's were able to "beat" the system for as long as they did. Although a true story, it read like fiction. If you have watched the movie "21", but haven't read the book, I would suggest reading the book as there are many differences including the ending. Ben did a great job telling the story through the eyes of one student who was a Big Player.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 22 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
A really interesting insight into the double lilfe of these MIT Students and how they bamboozled Vegas. It was a really good book. It made me want to go to Vegas!
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 14 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Reading the details of the teams' strategy and members' double lives was highly entertaining. Mezrich wrote a good book about an incredible story.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 32 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
SO FUN! A real page-turner. I got so anxious at some points I had to skip a few pages or put it down for a while to relax!
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 4 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
The story of how these MIT students mastered a foolproof method for card counting got my husband into reading. Yeah! I did skim a few parts, but was enthralled at the system they developed and the extreme success they experienced for a long time.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 63 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Well written, very interesting story, well developed start to finish, and great material! Lots of fun to read!
DaveB avatar reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 10 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
This was pretty great book.Mezrich really did take what could have been a somewhat menial story and brought it to life. Its a good read, I think, a bit better than the movie.
hluvstadance avatar reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 4 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
A fun, quick, easy read. It should appeal to a wide variety... back-alley-dice player to scholar.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 14 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
A quick and intense read about beating the odds at Vegas Blackjack.
victoriamorton avatar reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 10 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
highly entertaining. much much better than the movie!
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 173 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
The book that inspired the movie - this is a truly unbelievable and astonishing account of the infamous MIT blackjack team (well,one of them anyway). Even if you've never gambled, after seeing the astonishing results the team achieved, you might think of researching tickets to Vegas. A very engaging story with a likable subject who lives out many people's fantasy.
checkingmypulse avatar reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on
Helpful Score: 2
I'm not into gambling at all but I loved this book! Fast-moving, intriguing story
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 13 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Very good book, I actually watched to movie first (21). I can see the thrill of cards and wish that you could beat the house as being so many peoples down falls.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 6 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Great book! Alot of fun to read and very informative for people who don't know the ins and outs of Blackjack!
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This is an excellent book to read on a trip to Vegas! Fun exciting true story.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 27 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Excellent book about MIT students who beat the gambling system by counting cards. Could not put it down.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 45 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Those crazy MIT students--making hundreds of thousands of dollars by counting cards. Quick read with some interesting info about how Las Vegas operates behind the scenes.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Riviting! Loved it!
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 16 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
The book is based on a true story....meaning 90% Fiction and 10% Non-Fiction...But still a good read.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 22 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Quick, interesting read. Somewhat awkwardly written, but a good story.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 26 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Greatbook. Quick read!! Makes you want to go to Vegas and try to find the card counters!!
ilovebooksanddogs avatar reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 360 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This was a really good interesting read!!
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book was entertaining although it lacked the action that I wished for. Can't wait to see the movie!
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Amazing. It was like reading "Ocean's Eleven" in book form...but knowing that the action was real...and legal. Also a must for anyone interested in economic game theory.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on
Helpful Score: 1
Very interesting and a good story too!
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 6 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Quite interesting how they got away with it. But nobody gets away with something forever. Good read but some overkill with the methods.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on
Helpful Score: 1
Very interesting. Inside look at Vegas.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on
Helpful Score: 1
fun, easy read
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 40 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
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. Tense action, high stakes, and incredibly close calls.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 19 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I just finished reading this book. I have had it on my shelf to read for some time, but I just hadn't gotten around to it. Since the movie is now out I wanted to read the book first. I am sorry that I waited so long because I LOVED this book. It was fast-paced and exciting. I thought it was a thoroughly fun book. Kind of reminded me of Ocean's Eleven.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on
Awesome book! The inside story of six MIT students who took Vegas for Millions. A real page turner.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 19 more book reviews
Loved this book! Excellent & intriguing.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 11 more book reviews
Very Interesting. Makes me want to dash over to Mohegan Sun for a quickie!
Paul-RLT avatar reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 176 more book reviews
This book is non-fiction "loosely defined" - as some names have been changed and some characters are composites and some circumstances altered. Having said that, the book gives a great account of the MIT blackjack enterprise and the "attacks" on the casinos especially in Las Vegas. Also, included in the book are quite a few details re: card counting and playing blackjack in general. I found the last 1/3 of the book the most interesting - as the casinos gradually become aware of these attacks and begin countermeasures and confrontations.
All in all, an excellent read.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on
Excellent story!
buzzby avatar reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 6062 more book reviews
Ha! Mark Davis took Vegas for millions, and he's treated like a hero.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 75 more book reviews
A fun book--complete fluff, but entertaining for its inside look at vegas.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 36 more book reviews
My copy is a paperback, not a hardcover.
"The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions." That quote is from the front cover of the book and is a better synopsis than any I could write.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 86 more book reviews
From the back cover - The amazing inside story about a gambling ring of M.I.T. students who beat the system in Vegas - and lived to tell how.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 9 more book reviews
Pretty intense read about the real life behind poker hustlers. Reveals a lot about Vegas and gambling that you'd never see elsewhere. Great for poker players and non gamblers alike.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 19 more book reviews
incredible!
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 213 more book reviews
I really like this book a lot! I highly recommend it. Very entertaining.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 47 more book reviews
this book is great!
iowagirl avatar reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 9 more book reviews
You won't want to put it down.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 28 more book reviews
Fun, disposable read.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 404 more book reviews
"The story is told through the eyes of the author, who met one of the students at a party and was so intrigued by his outrageous tale that he was compelled to put it into a book.
This is a story of a group of math whizzes, most of Asian descent, who used the art of card counting, worked as teams, and legally won as much as 4 million dollars during the few years they spent their weekends in the Vegas casinos, living the high life." amazon review
jenvalet avatar reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 47 more book reviews
True story of MIT Students - I found it interesting since I work with MIT grads. Good story.
ajdowning avatar reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 21 more book reviews
I couldn't put down Bringing Down The House. As the casinos begun to increase their security, I had to find out what happened to the card counters in the end. This book is nonfiction but it has the pace of a thrilling novel. I like how the past and present are separated into different parts. I wanted to find out about the present but only could find out by reading the past sections or reading further into the book.
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 1775 more book reviews
These are really bold guys who know how to apply math. Working as a team, they came up before the casinos got wise and banned card counters, but had a good run for several years in the late 1990s.
The story is told in short, punchy chapters about events in Boston, Atlantic City, Las Vegas, etc. from a given time in the past to the present day. The author gets to work as 'an extension of Kevin's bankroll.' Realism!
It includes a short chapter on How To Count Cards and Beat Vegas by Kevin Lewis. "Blackjack is the only game in the casino that is beatable over an extended period of time, because blackjack is subject to continuous probability. This simply means that what you see affects what you are going to see.
Blackjack is a game with a memory."
No index, so I reduce my evaluation by one star.
toni avatar reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 351 more book reviews
Very interesting book. My son in college is reading it now - hope he doesn't get any ideas! :)
reviewed Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions on + 87 more book reviews
The inside story of 6 M.I.T. Students who took Vegas for Millions

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