In typical Mezrich fashion, he's tweaked the truth a little to make it a little more Hollywood. After all, how excited would you really get about a maths geek showing off his number crunching skills? But who bloody cares! I've grown tired of these reviews I have read about Mezrich's books where people complain that he has bent the truth. He freely admits that at the start of his books, so if you don't like it, don't bloody read his books! It's like complaining that you hate EastEnders, but have a picture of Phil Mitchell as your screensaver (well, sort of!).
Much in the mold of his best-selling novel Bringing Down The House, Mezrich centres his story around those super intelligent kids over at MIT, and this time their ringleader is Semyon Dukach; who became known as the 'Darling of Las Vegas' by the time he was 21 such was his success as a Nevada high-roller.
But unlike the kids in Mezrich's previous escapades of the MIT nerds in Vegas, this bunch took their exploits worldwide, taking down casinos in Atlantic City, Aruba, Barcelona, London, and the jewel of the gambling crown - Monte Carlo; all of them under the noses of unscrupulous people who did not take too kindly to having their money taken from them - legitimate or not!
I think the reason I liked this book a little more than Bringing Down The House was because I really liked Dukach. I'm not too sure how much of the real Dukach was in there, but he's written as a very cool character. Then again, anyone who passes themselves off as a Russian arms dealer has got to have a bit of edge to them!
This is a great summer read, not to be taken too seriously, but certainly if you let yourself go with the flow of the crazy journey Mezrich takes you on to bring this story to life, then you'll hopefully end up lost in this one just like I was!
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