Nevada Books

Another in the author's series of novels featuring Tony Valentine, who consults with casinos and law-enforcement about gambling scams and scammers.

In this tale, the second of two parts ("Deadman's Poker" being the first), Valentine remains in Las Vegas to discover how a blind poker player is scamming a poker tournament, which is being televised nationally by an ESPN-like cable sports network. Meanwhile his son Gerry goes to Atlantic City, where the scam originated, to find out what he can learn there.

Two of the characters from "Poker" reappear--Gloria, a female reporter for the network, who Valentine develops a relationship with, and a 72-year-old grifter named Rufus, who among other "wagers" bets that he can win a pingpong match against a champion.

There's a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor, and the side-stories about other scams are as always a treat. I didn't mind at all that it took the author 700 pages, total, to finish the story.

As a non-player, I didn't catch the playing mistakes, but there are other flaws -- Swain was trying to write too much to quickly, I think.

Note, on page 81, he has the doctor attending to Detective Davis saying, "The human body has a hundred quarts of blood. Eddie lost a tiny fraction of that. He'll be fine. Trust me."

I think it's more like 5.5 quarts.

Also, I think he changed the color of Gloria's eyes between "Deadman's Poker" and "Deadman's Bluff."

Then, there are typos not caught, etc. These are things I didn't notice in his earlier books. That doesn't mean they aren't there; just that I didn't catch them.

Having said that, I'm still looking forward to his next book, "Jackpot."

Maybe it is a lack of focus. Deadman's Poker left us all awaiting the revelation. You could pretty much guess what it would be : although, the specific element and technology awaited revelation. This novel takes up where Poker left off: the multi-million dollar poker tournament in Las Vegas. Same characters, same con, a few more twists. Strangly enough, in this sequel it is son Gerry who solves this question and his actions in Atlantic City are more in line with those of his father in the previous "Grift" novels. The reasoning concerning hats and tailoring is a fine piece of logic. (By the way, the wearing of ball caps vs the original dress code in Atlantic City casinos is cleverly introduced in Tony's lifetime wardrobe of black jackets.) Meanwhile Tony is in Vegas at a poker tournament attempting to solve card cheating while accompanied by poker player and aging con-man Rufus Steele. Rufus reminds me of my father once telling me that if someone bets he can make a barstool stand on a bar and sing Dixie, "Don't take that bet!" And this is the problem, a good part of this novel is dedicated to Rufus making bets which he wins by strict construction of the language and the comic nature thereof. The half-million dollar bets stretch the belief in anyone taking such "sure thing" wagers. Meanwhile, Swain dedicates print space to explaining scamsters' cant: "Brush off," "mucker," "Who shot Joe," etc. When he does get back to Tony solving the main puzzle it all seems a bit anti-climactic. All in all I think these two poker tournament novels are the weaker works in the set, but after all there's the TV phenomenon, and I guess some fans of Texas Hold em enjoy the background.

James Swain hit it right again with this two part novel. Filled with humor and insight into the dark side of wagering this is a book you won't want to miss.

Tony Valentine is getting a bit long in the tooth. He is over sixty now and can't bounce back from a beating with quite the speed of a younger guy.

So if you are James Swain and you understand that your cerebral hero must also be a man of action, you have to bring on someone to help Tony. And so we have Tony's son Gerry. His rough edges are sandpapered to a new smoothness. His flaws are prologue, but his present is blemish-free. tony doesn't worry anymore if Gerry's former profession-bookmaking-will get him killed. He worries if the people who want to kill Tony will kill Gerry for being just like Tony.

And this is the major flaw in this edition. The grifters are there, where they belong on the casino floors, and the scammers and the politician dance their symbiotic mating call. But it is Gerry not Tony who emerges at the end.

Just maybe, Swain is right. Tony needs someone to take the beatings. Or just maybe some editor has becided this for Swain. Time will tell if this is a good move. I am keeping my money on Tony though.

This book wasn't bad but it wasn't great either. I found the story entertaining enough but still fairly boring and contrived. I wouldn't recommend buying...

Jill Shalvis books are great. They catch you on the first page and you can not put them down. I love all of her books.

When I got this book I could not remember the genre - was it about ghosts, was it about heated romance or was it modern day romantic/mystery novel. It was so much more - Breanne's groom never shows for her wedding and Dean is needing some R&R from his police work. They end up in sharing a Honeymoon mansion in the mountains in the middle of the worst snow storm in history. All the staff are bizarre , the night go out and then things get very interesting. This book was good - a must share with my sister... Enjoy!

Unforgettable by Julie Ortolon, Nauti Nights by Lora Leigh,Hundreds of Years to Reform a Rake by Laurie Brown and Falling For Gracie by Susan Mallery.

Take the heat and sizzle from an episode of DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, mix it in with the mystery from MURDER, SHE WROTE, then stir it together with a dash of the exotic from SIX FEET UNDER and what you have is Jill Shalvis's romantic-mystery-comedy, GET A CLUE. The current installment in the "Wicked" Women Whodunit series, this book is sure to make you laugh, pant, and cheer-all at the same time.

Breanne Mooreland is having a really bad day. Left standing at the altar, she decides there's only one way to get over the embarrassment of being jilted-go on her honeymoon and rack up as many expensive charges as she can on Dean "the lying rat monkey's" credit card. But the day that started out bad is about to get a lot worse, when she's forced to endure the airplane flight from hell, loses her luggage somewhere over Timbuktu, and arrives at the mountain lodge only to be snowed in by the mother of all blizzards. Then, finally entering her expensive and all-ready-paid- for-by-Dean-and-filled-with-erotic-gift-baskets honeymoon suite, she finds a naked man standing in the shower. Her shower. A man who, for all intents and purposes, has absolutely no intention of vacating the suite-with or without Breanne's permission, and whether or not she decides to stay in the suite with him.

Now the phone is dead, the electricity is out, there's only the one house for the two of them, and there's a dead body in the attic. There's also a man who looks like a member of a motorcycle gang claiming to be the butler, a missing manager, a sexy maid, and a handful of other nefarious characters running around the house-and no one seems to know what to do or how to do it.

Now naked guy, aka San Francisco Detective Cooper Scott, is feeling desperate. Not only is he unbelievably attracted to Breanne, his houseguest, but now there's a dead body to attend to, a missing manager to find, and suspects to question. Breanne's honeymoon-all ready minus the groom-isn't shaping up to be much of a vacation, and Cooper's determined to keep her safe. And it doesn't have anything to do with the pink vibrator in their suite-really.

Jill Shalvis has penned another winner, an exciting mix of action-adventure, police procedural, wickedly funny whodunit, and steamy romance. You can't go wrong picking up a copy of GET A CLUE-but don't blame me if you're disappointed when the story is over.

Being jilted at the altar doesn't mean you can't go on a honeymoon, right? Breanne travels to the mountains in a snow storm no less to cash in on the honeymoon her fiancé booked with hopes of making him spend more, only to discover a surly but sexy man is already taking up residence in her honeymoon suite. The last thing burnt out cop Cooper needs is a high-maintenance, vibrator-wielding woman making demands. They reluctantly share accommodations while fighting an attraction to each other. When one of the staff is found dead, the two are tossed into a murder mystery with a motley hotel staff and AWOL hotel manager in the middle of nowhere without power or a way to contact authorities in an apparently haunted house.

Shalvis hit a home run with her story of murder and romance in the mountains which is actually quite funny. The bantering between Breanne and Cooper keeps the story moving at a brisk pace and the murder investigation will remind readers of silly movies like "Clue." And like any good Shalvis novel, the romance just sizzles right off the pages.

There are plenty of funny books on the market, but there are very few that can actually make me laugh out loud as I'm reading. Gutteridge also has a talent for weaving all of the characters together in such a way that turning the page becomes a necessity.

Snitch, the second entry in The Occupational Hazards series, continues to follow the humorous misadventures of the Hazard siblings as they enter the workforce following their parents' deaths and the dissolution of the family clown business. This time, daughter Mackenzie - who prefers to be known as "Mack" - takes center stage as an officer with the Las Vegas Police Department who dreams of working undercover. Her dedication catches the attention of Captain Laura Gates, who selects Mack for an task force dedicated to breaking up an auto theft ring. With little training and a personality distinctly lacking in guile, Mack is thrust onto a rag-tag team where her vibrant faith often makes her stand out.

However, even the most experienced team members bring baggage to the task force. Leader Ron is just shy of retirement but desperate to seize one last chance at a high-profile assignment. Jesse, the most experienced officer, has his heart set on working in narcotics and not property crimes. He masks his uncertainties with a grating bravado and aversion to taking orders that marks him as a "wild card." And then there's Kevin, who mysteriously seems the most ill-equipped to handle undercover work. When the assignment turns out to be much bigger and more dangerous than anyone dreamed, can this rag-tag group of officers rise to the occasion and bring down the bad guys?

I think Snitch is a much better read than its news-themed predecessor, Scoop (Occupational Hazards, Book 1). Mack is a much better-rounded, more interesting, and less "cardboard" character than the previously featured Hayden. Gutteridge does a hilarious job dealing with Mack's quirks - like her quick temper - and a better job of presenting Mack's faith and homeschool background without feeling like she's brushing the fringes of cheesy stereotyping. Each ensemble member also benefits from stronger characterizations - I particularly enjoyed Gutteridge's portrayal of Ron's marriage. She does a terrific job of not only portraying Ron's work drive but also gives equal, insightful time to the challenges that face a marriage when one member thrives on a high-risk occupation. Since I'm a series reader, I would've preferred if Snitch had skipped recapping the Hazard parents' funeral (this time from Mack's point-of-view). This opening was so similar to Scoop's that it felt redundant as a result I had a harder time getting into the story - however for non-series readers this shouldn't be an issue. Strong character development coupled with brisk plotting, snappy dialogue, and hilarious, laugh-out-loud humor make Snitch a winning entry in The Occupational Hazards series.

I just finished Snitch, the second in the Hazards series by Renee Gutteridge. Renee's fine-tuned sense of humor shines through again in this fun book. Renee pulls together a cast of characters filled with quirks and puts them in an impossible situation. How are a bunch of untrained undercover cops supposed to penetrate and bust a stolen cars ring in six months? If that wasn't hard enough, she adds another level to the complexity.

The author does a great job of putting characters together who have nothing in common and watching the sparks fly. The book starts a teeny bit slow and then races to the end. And the slowness in the beginning is simply the creation of the task force. Once that's done, the book pulled me through.

If you enjoy books with a touch of sass, you'll enjoy this one.

This is the 2nd book in a series by Rene Gutteridge. As with her first book, I couldn't put it down. . .very funny. Her style reminds me of Anne Tyler's but I think it's even more engaging. The whole gist of this series is what happens to the family of home-schooled grown children in the years after their parents are killed in an accident. Each of the Hazards (their last name is Hazard) had dreamed of doing something besides their family's clown business upon maturity and with their parents sudden departure, this opportunity is now theirs. Has strong Christian references to Scripture and the main character's relationship with God. I highly recommend.

Rene Gutteridge's Occupational Hazard series returns with Snitch, a book featuring Mack Hazard as an undercover police officer in Las Vegas. The great thing about the first book in the series, Scoop, and in this one, is that it is a comedy with an ensemble cast. Also, beneath the quirky characters and outlandish situations, there is tense drama and a solid suspenseful plot.

Laura Gates is setting up an undercover unit to bust an auto theft ring. The unit will be small, and Gates insists it must include Mack Hazard, a young cop that wears her Christian faith on her sleeve. The assembled unit will be lead by Ron Yeager. Yeager is riding out the few years to retirement behind the desk. He reluctantly agrees to head the task force but soons find himself drawn back to the undercover work, much to his wife Nan's worrisome dismay. The task force contains a few other odd characters, including Dozer, who falls a sleep at random times, and Wiz, who has to go to the bathroom a lot.

The plot moves quickly as the group trains, then devises a plan to catch the auto theft ring. As the plot moves along it becomes apparent that Gates had another motive for setting up the undercover unit. Yeager must deal with his wife's worries about his health and the danger of going back undercover. Jesse, the experienced undercover office from a nearby town, is the hero of the novel, teaching the group his methods and at time rebelling against his boss.

I really enjoyed this fast paced novel. The many characters kept the plot moving and each scene offered something new and interesting. I have a few complaints. The novel is set in Vegas, but could have been an any big city. Vegas wasn't really much of the plot. Also, Mack Hazard, as the main character, shows little other than her intense Christianity. I wish she had a little more depth, especially relating to the weak, pushover, wannabe under cover cop pastor named Kyle.

Gutteridge is a good comedy writer, and with her background in suspense from the Storm seires, she is able to give this novel some added realism. Fans of the Boo series will definitely enjoy and I'm curious to see how the next book, Skid, plays out with Mack's brother, Hank.

Interesting stories and an easy read in terms of getting through the book quickly but the stories don't seem to follow any sort of order or sequence of events. Would have been much better had it included a list of characters because there's a lot of jumping around w/ the same people and if there was a chronological sequence of events or some other similar structure so that it would have been easier to follow.

Did enjoy learning just how deep the mob was involved in building Las Vegas.

While you can take many of these Las Vegas mob stories with a grain of salt, Steve Fischer nonetheless delivers them in such a way that they simply must be believed, if only for the nostalgic romance of them. Even if some of the more colorful accounts are embellished a bit (and I have no proof that they are, but the cynic in me can't help but think so), the audio version of this book has been a fantastic addition to my collection. Fischer's thick accent and convincing delivery are enough to make me feel like I was there too.

Note that in addition to reading the text itself, Fischer often interrupts himself with side notes and reminders to the listener, a practice that you quickly get used to and grow to appreciate, especially when he jumps around through periods of time. And while you can frequently hear him turning the pages of his manuscript and his side notes occasionally revert to unapologetic plugs for an upcoming book, the presentation remains well-paced, well-read and utterly entertaining. I've really, really enjoyed this one.

Steve Fischer has created a literary trip back to Vegas in its classic era... and what a strange trip it is! The Mob played by their own rules and the lore of Sin City is seldom more compellingly recalled than in this book of stories by a man who carries the town's history in his bones. Some of the tales are funny as hell while others are downright chilling. A very good book for those who want to know how Vegas used to be.

I enjoyed reading this book. The author revealed factual information about early life in Vegas. It was interesting reading about the mob with a humorous bent to their shenanigans.

This book was recommended to me by a bookstore in Vegas. They didn't have it in stock so I purchased it from Amazon on my return to Australia.

While I found this book very informative and factual, it is rather repetitive at times and I found myself asking, "didn't I just read that?" It is apparent in some sections that the information is fairly scrambled and does not flow.

This book is more or less a summary of the days when the mob ran Vegas, as opposed to a detailed account of this era.

Of note, even though the book contains 240 pages, the font is somewhat larger than most books and can be read in a matter of hours.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone who is after a brief run down on the mob and the days they ran Vegas.

I'm sure I'll see Las Vegas in a different light after reading this book. You can't help but be fascinated by these larger-than-life characters. Steve Wynn is without a doubt the most interesting character in the book, but viewing the city as a competition between titans is something I've never really comprehended on trips to the Strip before. It's a great easy read, with lots of interesting facts. I agree with some reviewers who had problems following the (hazy) timeline, but it didn't diminish from the overall enjoyment.

I just visited Las Vegas and loved it, it was much better than I expected it to be after having toured all around Europe! I bought this book at the airport book store in Vegas as the assistant said that was the book everyone had been asking after. It was a fascinating and entertaining read, with particularly inside information on how Steve Wynn approaches business and also how it contrasts with that of Kirk Kerkorian and Gary Loveman at Harrahs.

I couldn't put it down and recommend it to anyone who has visited Las Vegas and is wondering how it go to be the town that it is today.

Binkley presents an insightful and lively account of some of the players who operate in a world where nothing succeeds like excess. It is a world that the author knows well from her years of having covered the industry as a Wall Street Journal reporter, but, despite being granted unprecedented access to Las Vegas' movers and shakers, she remains a detached observer. From backroom deal-making to outsized egos to glitzy spectaculars, Binkley covers it all with a sprightly writing style, providing insights into what makes men like Steve Wynn, Kirk Kerkorian, and Gary Loveman tick.

It was a world I knew nothing about other than a few business trips to Las Vegas, but I found the book highly entertaining and learned a lot about how about how three very different visionaries plotted a path to success. I will enjoy my next business trip to Sin City much more having read this book. I recommend it highly.

A great summation of the last 15 years of Las Vegas, the influences that made it what it is, and the big personalities that rule the land. One negative comment I have is the movie is really two stories in one, Wynn/Kerkorian their deal and influence, and how Loveman/Harrahs elbowed its way from a smalltime operator to major player.

The majority of the book is about Wynn and his influence in Las Vegas and how it developed from the Mirage to the Bellagio to the Wynn. And of course the big occurrence is the buyout of Wynn's operation by Kerkorian when he senses the stock weakness caused by Wynn's lack of management skills. A very fascinating story!

After completing the acquisition the book slows down somewhat as it tells the tale of middle market Harrah's and how it busts into the big time by acquiring Ceasar's. This book explores the mathematical focus at Harrah's and how it increases profitablity. While it's interesting reading how a glorified math professor rises to casino president while retaining his old lifestyle, this section is the least interesting at least for me.

In summary this is a fascinating read of a fascinating city. Just a walk down the strip let's anyone see every part of American culture good and bad as Las Vegas is the mecca of most Americans at some point in their lives.

The Wall Street Journal reporter Christina Binkley was that paper's lead reporter in Las Vegas for 10 years. In "Winner Takes All" she pulls together that experience - both the knowledge and her contacts - and delivers a compelling, enthralling narrative of Vegas' transformation over that period.

The book's sub-title says "Steve Wynn, Kirk Kerkorian, Gary Loveman and the Race to Own Las Vegas." Binkley posits that a series of mega-deals have apportioned Vegas into three controlling companies: MGM Mirage (headed by Kirkorian); Wynn (Steve Wynn's eponymous new post-Mirage venture); and Harrah's (helmed by ex-Harvard prof Loveman). Binkley appears to have had little access to Kerkorian, (no one does, but read Bill Vlasic's classic Taken for a Ride: How Daimler-Benz Drove Off With Chrysler for a better peek at him) but ample access to his lieutenants. She obviously had developed a cordial relationship with Loveman. What stands out is her relationship with Wynn and wife Elaine. It's extensive, to say the least. She's clearly enchanted with the guy.

In fact, that relationship leads me to my major problem with the book - it simply lacks credibility to leave Sheldon Adelson - Chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sand Corporation (Venetian, Sands Convention Center, Palazzo) - out of the story. He, as much as anyone, set the pace for Vegas during Binkley's years of coverage. And, he made the leap to Macao ahead of any of his Vegas peers. It's blatantly obvious from the text that Ms. Binkley has a history with Adelson. Yes, he's famously dyspeptic and probably has little use for her. But Adelson has also feuded publicly and nastily with Steve Wynn. Wynn uses Binkley here quite transparently to take a number of gratuitous slams at Adelson. She's little more than a water-carrier in that regard. That's sad because it detracts from the overall excellence of the book in a very distracting way.

A tale of the tape:

p. 89 - Adelson described as a "would-be mogul" who "irked Wynn"

p. 93 - Adelson is "warring with Wynn"

p. 209 - Adelson described as Wynn's "nemesis and neighbor"

p. 250 - The "eccentric" Adelson takes Sands public and is "catapulted from obscurity to number 19 on the Forbes 400" (Hello?? COMDEX, anyone? This guy was hardly obscure pre-Sands; his success was far from the luck and accident implied here).

p. 271 - 272 - Wynn takes a moment to "pity" Adelson...'It's too bad he's not in better health and able to enjoy it more. He's in a wheelchair.' That's cold, man.

p. 276 - "Loveman lost the Singapore bid to Sheldon Adelson." Adelson didn't win it, right? Loveman lost it. It's like Adelson and team had no role and won by default. Hardly.

I've not cherry-picked the negative references - those are the ONLY references! Juvenile stuff. What a shame.

Dry Wells, Nevada is a withering one horse town where there is little else to do but drink and fight.

But that's about to change.

Mick Callahan was a successful psychiatrist with a promising future in the City of Angels but when the stresses of the limelight finally caught up with him, Mick finds himself unemployed and bordering on the desperate.

Being out of work, Mick jumps at the opportunity to return to Dry Wells to make a quick buck filling in for an old friend and radio personality, Loner McDowell. Back in his hometown, Mick is quick to realize that one can never be completely free from one's past.

Upon his return, a dapperly dressed man is found murdered in an alley, killed mobster style and the coincidence is not lost on the longtime lawman, Sheriff Bass who had many memories of the juvenile Callahan return, suddenly too fresh in his mind.

Before long Mick finds himself at the heart of a web of deception and murder, torn between the prospect of salvaging his career and the moral dilemma of helping root out a ruthless killer or killers before another life is lost...

Even if that life is Mick's own.

Memorial Day is a fantastic mystery colorfully written and fun to read. Harry Shannon creates a perfect environment in Dry Wells as the backdrop for an ever changing murder mystery rounded out nicely with a slew of possibilities as to the identity of the killer(s) for the reader to consider. Every turn the story takes confounds the seemingly straight forward way in which the reader decides who the guilty party is, but does so without disrupting the simplicity of the ultimate outcome.

Harry does a bang up job with Memorial Day and has a true knack for creating characters we can all identify with in one way or another and making subject matter somehow personal. So whether you love a good mystery or thriller, curl up on the couch with Memorial Day and enjoy the fireworks from the comfort of your own living room!

Over the past few years, I've read Harry Shannon's short stories, both in the horror and crime fiction genres, published in various e-zines. For a few venues, we've been table-of-contents mates. Memorial Day, the debut Mick Callahan mystery, then was a genuine treat to read.

For starters, I cite its originality in the narrator/protagonist. Mick is an ex-boozer, ex-TV personality, and head shrink who has a deeper vein of compassion and generosity than he seems ready to admit. But he's not really the reluctant or ambivalent hero. He's smart enough not to take himself, just his investigative work, too seriously.

This yarn is set in the fictitious town of Dry Wells, Nevada (population: 278). As the novel's title implies, it's the Memorial Day weekend. Mick is filling in temporarily on the local radio station, doing his call-in help program. A troubled girl phones in, saying she's in trouble and fears for her life. Dubbing her "Ophelia", Mick can't extract more information from her.

After the radio show on the way back to his motel room, Mick stumbles on a grisly murder in a dark alley. The sheriff is on the scene and makes Mick promise to keep the murder quiet over the weekend -- a most strange request. Thus, the novel's intriguing premise is set up.

Mick's AA sponsor is Hal Solomon, a wealthy, retired businessman who happens to be in London. They communicate via phone and email to discuss the investigation in Dry Wells. Mick's unusual sidekick Hal earns a second mark for originality.

I found much to enjoy in this novel. The prose is energetic and sharp. The desert setting is crisp and vivid. The dialogue between the characters is seamless and natural. Memorial Day has echoes of James Crumley and James Lee Burke, but it remains as an original.

Memorial Day is an excellent mystery. Mick Callahan is a wonderfully flawed hero but he isn't so flawed that we have to spend pages upon pages wallowing in his angst. This is a tight book without any chaff. The bad guys were very well done; I detested every one of them.

If you like Harry Bosch and Dave Robicheaux then you will like Mick Callahan.

This book is perfect for anyone who enjoys mysteries. Its main character, Mick Callahan, is the best of Clint Eastwood and Dr. Phil rolled into one. You don't know if he's gonna shrink the people he meets or just haul off and beat 'em up. Great fun! I liked it enough to buy Eye of the Burning Man too.

I heard about this book while reading the reviews of another book and thought I'd give it a try. I was not dissappointed. The book started out a little slow for me, but quickly picked up speed. In fact, it was almost impossible for me to put the book down while reading the last 100 pages. The story itself was interesting and somewhat unnerving. Mick Callahan is a great character. Extremely flawed but very likable. Hopefully, we will find out more about him in future books.

Jerry Tarkanian seems to be a decent, likeable guy, evidenced by both his autobiography's narrative voice, and the "shark tales" inside. Tark is laid-back, self-deprecating, funny, and respectful in his tone and delivery, and his life's story shows he could get along with of all kinds of people, and was a valuable friend to have: everyone is a "good guy", with some rare exceptions, and Tark wanted to coach all of the kids and take all the adults out for a meal and a round of drinks.

Tark's larger than life, yet down-home, blue-collar personality developed by rising from a difficult home life (tough Armenian background, father died at 10, little money) to earn a series of coaching successes virtually right out of the gate- the guy never had a losing season at any level, and boasts an overall career record of 988-228 (.813). And coaching basketball was not originally a noble calling for Tark- it instead represented sort of a path of least resistance for an athletic guy whose grades were mediocre and who didn't want a desk job.

Coach's genius lies in recruiting, and most of the book recounts his amusing and clever escapades trying to bring talent to his schools. Tark recognized early on to utilize junior colleges to his advantage, to target niche players, and to embrace black athletes that other schools sadly (and suicidally) avoided during the 1960s. He visited kids and their families at their homes, regardless of how tough the neighborhoods were. He wasn't easily dissuaded by a kid's poor grades or legal troubles, without first assessing his character and potential. He was the consummate Las Vegas host, and had the whole city at his disposal (including, to a degree, Sinatra, who actually made a couple of recruiting visits for Tark), and could convincingly show visitors the kind of time they could expect to have by playing for UNLV. His list of contacts throughout the US was outstanding - he had high school coaches and scouts everywhere feeding him guys, and all the right jucos to park them in if they needed to cool their heels first.

Of course, Tark had his scrapes with the NCAA, and seemed unfairly targeted, particularly once recruiting rules got tougher. He was open and honest about his troubles- and his disdain for the NCAA investigators- and didn't seem to be whitewashing events. For one, he won a $2.5 million settlement against the NCAA, as retribution for their misguided hyper-vigilance of his program. And he also is forthcoming about where he technically bent the rules. He gives the impression that overstepping NCAA boundaries while recruiting (including, for instance, buying a kid a sandwich or magazine from your own pocket) is like speeding or web-surfing at work: everyone does it to at least a minor extent, and you only get caught by flagrantly abusing the system, or because someone with ulterior motives is paying too close attention to the little stuff. It seemed to be the latter for Tark, but a fighting spirit and the loyalty he inspired in those around him meant the system never had him beat.

Boy, I was a huge UNLV fan while Tark was there, and I loved that team that beat Duke by 30 in the finals. Thus, I bought the book, and I enjoyed it. In virtually every chapter, there is a funny story or a simply outrageous story that I'm sure is true. Tark tells his story, and he seems to hold nothing back. Tark is truly unique.

My problem with the book is the Tark portrays himself as a "victim" of some sort of witch-hunt by the NCAA. I've no doubt that the NCAA was unfair-grossly unfair-to Tark. Yet I grow weary of self-proclaimed "victims."

Yet I suggest you buy it and read it. You'll laugh because it is funny.

And if you were a huge UNLV fan like I was, it will bring back some good memories.

Remember the incredible defense that Stacey Augmon played? If not, this book will bring back memories such as Stacey, et al.

I am a long time basketball fan, especially college BB. I remeber all the names the Tark mentions in the book and it was very enjoyable to read, I couldn't put it down. I loved the "inside" information the book gives as the average fan doesn't always know about what really goes on. I am huge Al McGuire fan so that was fun also. I would urge any basketball fan to buy this book.

Great book. I was in LV, NV during Tark's tenure at UNLV. Tark originally got crosswise with the NCAA when he criticized them in his basketball column at Long Beach State. The NCAA never let go after that. UNLV administration unfortunately bought into the argument that a school can either be academically or athletically based and never understood the vision of a powerful synergistic relationship (i.e. USC, Notre Dame, TX, etc., etc.). The administration and anti-Tark boosters basically invited the NCAA in for an audit that took years. The end result was a severely truncated basketball dynasty and a huge hit in academic and adminstrative credibilty from UNLV's President Maxson on down. UNLV has not achieved significant academic standing and and has never recovered athletically. However, Tark is $2,000,000.00 richer secondary to prevailing over the NCAA in a court of law, in addition to his 1990 NCAA basketball court championship.

I have not and will not bother to read this book, as I would not trust any of the facts. As an example, Wetzel recently (Yahoo!, 4/2/06) published an article bashing the UCLA basketball program. The entire basis for this was a "quote" that Wetzel attributes to Bill Walton. Nothing could be further from thr truth!

In his article, he states the quote was written by Walton ("Those quotes come from none other than Bill Walton, maybe the greatest Bruin of them all, in his 1978 book `On the Road with the Portland Trailblazers'"). This is false. The book was written by Jack Scott. In the Author's Note, Scott wrote: "Bill never asked to read even one page of the manuscript - never mind the entire manuscript - before it went to the printer. Consequently, I am solely responsible for the book's content. You should not automatically assume that Bill agrees with all of the opinions I express throughout the book..."

There are numerous other examples. When called on his error, Wetzel indicated that HE DID NOT EVEN HAVE A COPY OF THE BOOK he quotes, so could not confirm or deny the error!! Horrifying! Despite being called out, he has never made a correction to the story nor printed any retractions.

He is an untrustworthy writer, and clearly makes up and misrepresents the facts to sell his product.

BEWARE!

Real life action. Awesome criminal mindset! Shows that you can come to this country and achieve the American dream"Even if it's Illegal"!!

What a story...one of my top picks from the non-fiction genre. Action, adventure, brutality, justice. Amazing story.

This is an amazing story, with details little known even in Nevada.
The writing could be better, but it's still worth reading.

Great book on a little known robbery spree in La Vegas in the 90's. The book is very good at setting up the character's backrounds and life stories.

The cover blurb got me to buy this book; it led me to think I was going to read some sort of real life "Ocean's 11." But it's not. The author recounts a series of what amount to snatch-and-grab armored car heists as well as a botched cashier's cage robbery at the Bellagio. The robberies are not very interesting, and the characters aren't very interesting either. There's too much luck, incompetence and happenstance in the events, all of which diffuse any drama. Added to that is the fact the author can't decide in which tense to write the book -- he jumps from present tense to past tense, in a rather disorganized way, while providing lots of extraneous detail. This would have been much better as a 40 or 50 page section of an anthology crime book, but at this length, it's bloated. If the subject interests you, check it out of the library...it's certainly not good enough to warrant a place on your bookshelf.

This book definitely sheds a light on poker as it was in the early 80s. The backgrounds given on the players of the time are extremely informative and enlightening.

One thing I found interesting was the author talking about Doyle Brunson writing his book, the classic, Super System and how it began to change the poker scene. Similarly with Sklansky. How the once hard learned craft was becoming easily accessible in book form, making players harder to win against. Now 25 years plus later, the vast amounts of literature out there is just mind boggling. It has made the competition that much stiffer, yet I sometimes wonder if it has also put that much more meat in the meat market for the true pros of the game.

In closing, I loved the book. A truly amazing read. You get a good feel for how poker was and get a glimpse of how the landscape was beginning to change. I highly recommend this book.

This is the first modern poker yarn by a legendary poker player and yes, literary critic. It seems half the UK poker players get their bonafides by how closely connected they are to Mr. Alvarez and his weekly game.

This book is not to be missed. The previous reviewer holds against that it was written before the current poker boom (or is it poker bubble). It chronicles such minor figures as Stuey Ungar and the WSOP. What poker player cares about that?

The latest poker memoir writers all pay tribute to this influential book. See what all the fuss is about.

Far better than some of the current narratives written by really weak players. I want to name them, but I won't.

This book is a must have for the serious poker library. While many of the poker players that Alvarez writes about in the book have now become household names, they were virtual unknowns (outside of their peers) when he wrote this book. This book really was groundbreaking in many ways.

Reading this book will enable you to appreciate the mentality of the hi-limit players before poker became mainstream and commercialized. If you want to appreciate a little more about the history of the World Series of Poker, this is a good place to start. The event was not always the "circus" that it has become today.

Alvarez has a nice writing style that is entertaining and easy to read. This is a quick read that you can get through in a few hours. I recommend it.

"The Biggest Game in Town" is a book exploring the lead up to, the characters behind, and the culmination of, the 1981 World Series Of Poker. My main criticism of the book has little to do with the text itself. With poker becoming more mainstream, it was inevitable that the stakes would become higher, the stories would become crazier and this title and others like it would be left behind. As an example, the main prize in this book is several hundred thousand dollars. Compare this to the million dollar prize pools that are now being generated on an almost weekly basis and the reader can be forgiven for being dismissive about a first prize of "only" $375,000. The book recounts tales of businessmen being "stuck" for $50,000 but again compare that to the recent colossal struggle between Andy Beal and the Vegas professionals, where Beal initially gained the upper hand but eventually lost $10 million. Perhaps the one reason I would recommend the book is for its fleeting glance into the life of Stu Ungar, perhaps one of the greatest players to ever grace the felt. However, other than that I would say that there are many other poker titles I would recommend reading first, for example Nolan Dalla's "One of a Kind", a book that I suspect will stand the test of time.

This book is a time capsule of a very different Las Vegas. The Vegas of the late 70's and early 80's was centered around the downtown area, with none of the all-encompassing resorts on the Strip. This is the heyday of Binion's Horseshoe, when Benny Binion was holding court at the most over-the-top gambling paradise. Unlike other casinos, the Horseshoe had to limits on the bets it would accepts and played host to the most outrageous gamblers and bets of the time.

All the greats of poker legend appear here--Johnny Moss and Nick the Greek Dandalos in their 1949 many-weeks-long marathon multi-million dollar game, Doyle Brunson, wacky cowboy gambler Amarillo Slim Preston, and formidable strategist Jack Strauss, among others.

This is a must-read for any poker player. For a modern look inside the World Series of Poker, try James McManus's Positively Fifth Street.