{"product_id":"busting-vegas-a-true-story-of-monumental-excess-sex-love-violence-and-beating-the-odds-9780060575120","title":"Busting Vegas: A True Story of Monumental Excess, Sex, Love, Violence, and Beating the Odds","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHe played in casinos around the world with a plan to make himself richer than anyone could possibly imagine -- but it would nearly cost him his life.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSemyon Dukach was known as the Darling of Las Vegas. A legend at age twenty-one, this cocky hotshot was the biggest high roller to appear in Sin City in decades, a mathematical genius with a system the casinos had never seen before and couldn't stop -- a system that has never been revealed until now; that has nothing to do with card counting, wasn't illegal, and was more powerful than anything that had been tried before.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLas Vegas. Atlantic City. Aruba. Barcelona. London. And the jewel of the gambling crown -- Monte Carlo.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDukach and his fellow MIT students hit them all and made millions. They came in hard, with stacks of cash; big, seemingly insane bets; women hanging on their arms; and fake identities. Although they were taking classes and studying for exams during the week, over the weekends they stormed the blackjack tables only to be harassed, banned from casinos, threatened at gunpoint, and beaten in Vegas's notorious back rooms.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe stakes were high, the dangers very real, but the players were up to the challenges, consequences be damned. There was Semyon Dukach himself, bored with school and broke; Victor Cassius, the slick, brilliant MIT grad student who galvanized the team; Owen Keller, with stunning ability but a dark past that would catch up to him; and Allie Simpson, bright, clever, and a feast for the eyes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the classroom, they were geeks. On the casino floor, they were unstoppable.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBusting Vega$\u003c\/em\u003e is Dukach's unbelievably true story; a riveting account of monumental greed, excess, hubris, sex, love, violence, fear, and statistics that is high-stakes entertainment at its best.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMezrich, Ben:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003eBen Mezrich graduated \u003cem\u003emagna cum laude\u003c\/em\u003e from Harvard in 1991. He has published twelve books, including the \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e bestsellers \u003cem\u003eThe Accidental Billionaires\u003c\/em\u003e, which was adapted into the Academy Award-winning film \u003cem\u003eThe Social Network\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eBringing Down the House\u003c\/em\u003e, which has sold more than 1.5 million copies in twelve languages and became the basis for the Kevin Spacey movie \u003cem\u003e21\u003c\/em\u003e. Mezrich has also published the national bestsellers \u003cem\u003eSex on the Moon\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eUgly Americans\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eRigged\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eBusting Vegas\u003c\/em\u003e. He lives in Boston.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"William Morrow \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50491339833618,"sku":"9780060575120","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_9d60c428-891a-4bee-98d5-b2eaa52acd5b.jpg?v=1730539286","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/busting-vegas-a-true-story-of-monumental-excess-sex-love-violence-and-beating-the-odds-9780060575120","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}