Review/Opinion of "21:Bringing Down the House"

Bringing Down the House was really an amazing book. If you know me, then you probably realized five years ago that I HATE (yes I know, a very strong word) non-fiction books. I always find that people who write non-fiction books have sort of a strange style of writing that I just dislike. Well, Bringing Down the House is like a whole different level. If I were to not know the genre of this book, I would think that this was a realistic fiction book, not a non-fiction book! I would have never thought to even look at the gambling section of the books in Borders! The only reason I did was because my teacher recommended it to me. So there I was in Borders, not expecting much when I bought the book. When I got home and read the book, I was so amazed at the style of the writing. To be honest, it was the opposite of what I expected.

Kevin is the main character of this book and learns extremely fast. He's probably one of the best card counters on his team and earns big money. He's got the looks, and the smarts. At casinos, Kevin is doing well until one thing goes wrong. Then it's like a pile of dominos waiting to be pushed at any second. Everything goes downhill and everyone seems to know who Kevin is and what he does for most of his living. After being kicked off his own team, Kevin decides to make his own new team recruiting three people. They might not earn as much money as Fisher's new team, but they have much more fun.

All in all, Bringing Down the House was one of the best books I've ever laid my eyes on. Ben Mezrich is really an under-rated author. In my opinion, he should definitely win a Newbury Award Honor or something similar. Ben Mezrich's writing blew my mind away and I found out he has numerous books. I hope he comes out with a sequel to this book. I'll be the first to read it, no doubt!

Thoughts & Predictions

Thoughts: This was a riveting book! I loved it. It really was extraordinary. I didn't even know there was an author named Ben Mezrich until Mr. D from our school told us. When, I found this book at the gambling section in Borders, I wasn't expecting much. When I read the book, I was completely blown away. I just couldn't stop reading. This book was amazing and I hope that Ben will write more books like this!

Predictions: If Ben were to write a sequel to this book, I would predict that Kianna and Micky would be holding tryouts for the MIT Blackjack team. I predict each year, more and more people will join. The team will be huge and Kianna and Micky will become millionares and maybe even billionares. I think Kevin will also keep doing it with his new team, but they'll take it much slower but have way more fun. I think that Kevin, Andrew, Jill, and Dylan will be friends forever!

MIT Main Building

This was an important picture because Kevin was part of the MIT Blackjack team. This is a picture of MIT's main building.

The MGM Grand

These pictures are important because the MGM Grand was Kevin Lewis's home turf. He loved this casino and he was always welcome here.

Blackjack!

This is an important Picture because this person got a Blackjack. An ace can be counted as a "one" or an "eleven." In this case, the player would use it as an "eleven" and therefore gets a blackjack - 21.

Chapters 31 & 32

Chapters 31 & 32: Kevin and Dylan were celebrating because their new team broke the $50,000 mark! It proved that the more casually run foursome was more viable, profitable, and effective. When Kevin and Dylan drove to Dylan's apartment, they saw that Dylan's room was trashed! Even the hole in the wall where the new team kept their blackjack money was stolen! $75,000 were taken from the new team. When Kevin arrived back at his apartment, he saw a single purple casino chip sitting on his kitchen table. Kevin looked out the window and saw a lone figure standing in the shadows talking on a cell phone. Later Kevin took Ben Mezrich to play some blackjack and show him how to count cards. Kevin heard that the original members of the MIT blackjack team had long become dinosaurs. Rumors were that Micky and Kianna were living in an apartment together recruiting more people to count cards.

$$Connections$$

• My friends and I have played blackjack before. They've taken me to their house to play some blackjack just like how Kevin took Ben to play some blackjack in Las Vegas.
  

Chapters 25-30

Chapters 25-27: Kevin's team played at Jack Binion's Horseshoe and the team was up $50,000. Kevin noticed something bizarre. Four pit bosses were gathered around the center of a blackjack area. Usually pit bosses did not group together unless there was some kind of a security concern. Kevin's stomach dropped when he saw a fax spewing out four faces that were on his team! Kevin gathered up his team and got the heck out of there! Back at home, Kevin received some papers from the IRS. It was the notice of an audit. Kevin was supposed to schedule an appointment with an IRS investigator. Fisher called Kevin to meet Fisher and Martinez at Micky Rosa's place. When he got there he found out that someone from MIT sold a list of both MIT teams to the Plymouth agency. "Names, yearbook photos, Vegas gambling schedules, estimated profits--everything," Micky muttered. The person who turned them in received $25,000.

Chapters 28-30: At the Bahamas, Fisher told Martinez that he'd be in the bathroom. Martinez had been playing blackjack for over 20 minutes and there was still no sign of Fisher. Martinez suspected that something was wrong. Martinez went to the bathroom and saw three men with Fisher. One man had Fisher by the throat and one was holding Fisher from behind. The third man was the tall man with silver hair and narrow blue eyes! Fisher was a mess with blood everywhere. The three men were questioning him. Martinez took the broomstick in the bathroom and whacked the mirror with it. Martinez said, "I called the police. And I called our lawyers. We're going to sue you and the casino for everything you've got." Kevin was at home and Dylan called Kevin asking him why Kianna e-mailed Dylan for the playing records from the past year. Kevin found out later that Fisher and Martinez were starting a new team--and Kevin was not allowed to be a part of it! Kevin was kicked off his own team! Bubbling with anger, Kevin decided to also make a new team. Andrew Tay, Jill, and Dylan were recruited to Kevin's new team. The team would take it slower, have more fun, but not earn as much money. Fisher and Kevin met at the MGM Grand. Kevin told Fisher that this was Kevin's home turf. Fisher wouldn't listen though, and wanted to not just kick Kevin out of the team, but also out of Vegas!

$$Connections$$

• Kevin and Fisher "broke up" and weren't friends anymore. It's just like how in 3rd grade, I was best friends with a girl (not mentioning name) and then we just never talked in 4th and 5th grade. Then in 6th grade, we were in the same class so we became best friends again and we still are.
• When Fisher kicked Kevin off his own team, it reminded me of a story. It was like backstabbing your friend. In the story, best friends became worst enemies and always talked behind each others backs. It was a good book though. Too bad I don't remember the title of the book.

Chapters 19-24

Chapters 19-21: Kevin sometimes talked to Teri Pollack on the phone, but the longer time Kevin didn't spend in Vegas, the more he realized that the only thing Teri and him had in common was Las Vegas! Kevin and his team went to a new resort/casino. The team situated themselves quickly. Jill called Kevin over to a table and after Kevin won seventeen thousand dollars, he saw Jill with her hands through her hair! A man in a suit approached him and had a word with Mr. Chow (a.k.a Kevin). Kevin was no longer permitted to play blackjack at their casino and was almost back-roomed. He ran out of the casino but caught a glimpse of a tall, man with weathered cheeks, narrow, ice-blue eyes, and silver hair. The team had two-way emergency beeper and Martinez was in his suite. He wasn't aware of what happened to Kevin and also of the loud beeping of his beeper! Three burly men busted into Martinez's suite and told him to report to the casino manager downstairs. Martinez knew the drill and what to say to the manager. Martinez was taught by Micky himself. Martinez was able to leave the casino but was never welcome there again. The team decided to try another casino. They didn't want to become dinosaurs. So, Kevin and Martinez checked into the Rio under assumed names. At midnight, Kevin was called to a hot table by Martinez. The pit boss looked up, saw Kevin, and immediately strode over to Kevin and told him that his money was no good here. The pit boss even called Kevin by the imposter name Kevin had used at the new resort/casino! The MIT blackjack team decided to go to their home turf-- a casino they'd been tearing up for more than a year. After Kevin was playing very well, a pit boss came and told Kevin that he wasn't welcome here anymore! The team played some more at the MGM Grand and Andrew Tay noticed something very weird going on. There was a cowboy with a plastic ear piece in his ear at Tay's table! Tay was chatting with a beautiful woman. Kevin found out that the woman seduced information out of Tay. When Kevin followed her, he saw her chatting with the guy with narrow blue eyes and silver hair. Kevin's heart missed a beat and he rapidly disappeared into the casino. This was not a coincidence. The MIT blackjack team had been made.

Chapters 22-24: The MIT blackjack team had a meeting and Fisher presented Martinez in a fat "suit." Martinez had transformed from a 150 pound man to a 300 pound gargantuan! Over the past few days, Fisher and Martinez had been meeting with Hollywood's top make-up artists. The team had purchased some of the highest quality disguises--prosthetics, wigs, hair coloring, skin dye--all for only a small fortune. The team played at the Pyramid's casino. Martinez entered his VIP suite upstairs and took out the hidden duffel bag filled with $400,000 in mostly cash. He took out chips from his pockets and added it to the stash. It was his job this time to keep the duffel bag. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door from the hotel security. Martinez took the duffel bag with him and hid in the bathtub of his suite. The door was kicked open and three guards yanked off the bath curtain. Martinez saw three angry faces staring down at him. "I guess this looks pretty strange," Martinez said nervously. The guards searched his duffel bag and didn't find any chips from this casino. The pit boss shouted, "You think you're fooling anyone with that idiotic mustache? You got five minutes to get out of our hotel, college boy. And tell your friends--if we ever catch any of you in here again, you're going to wish you never set foot out of Boston. We'll be back to make sure you're gone. If we find you in here, maybe we'll erase all the tape from our cameras. Maybe you weren't in the casino tonight, maybe you never came back to your room. Maybe you just f**king disappeared."

$$Connections/Thoughts$$

• I've seen a pyramid before but I never knew that pyramids could be casinos!
• Just like the MIT blackjack team, I've dressed up to try and look like a different person. Also, just like them, people could see through my disguise.
  

Chapters 13-18

Chapters 13-15: At the Delta Air Lines terminal at Logan Airport, Kevin broke up with Felicia. She was not pleased about it at all! Kevin then took off to the Grand Victoria Casino to meet Martinez, Fisher, and the rest of the team. Kevin started as a Big Player (BP) this time and was ecstatic! He pretended to be Barry Chow this week and racked up millions of dollars! He was so famous, that everyone in the hotel and casino knew him! People were all talking about him everywhere! Micky Rosa gathered the team for a team meeting. They needed more players...and fast, because they weren't taking full advantage of the system. With more people, they would be able to earn much more money! The team talked about stereotypes like: Black men aren't smart enough to count cards, and a pretty woman in a nice dress could never be a card counter. The MIT blackjack team needed to gather more people that fit into stereotypes of "not being a card counter". The casinos' own stereotypes would come back and bite them! Kevin recommended that Andrew Tay, a sophomore, join their team. He had the look and the math skills. Fisher said that he knew two other people who would be perfect for their team. One was Jill Taylor, a pretty woman. No one would ever think that she was actually a tough fledgling corporate consultant at one of the top firms in the country. She graduated from MIT undergraduate school with honors and from Harvard Business School. At 27, Jill lives by herself in a million dollar town-house and recently divorced with an advertising executive who didn't like her eagerness and unyielding "need for speed." Dylan Taylor used to be her husband, but they divorced, and neither has been in Vegas for five years.

Chapters 16-18: Dylan had a the highest profile advertising agencies in Boston. At Vegas, Dylan and Jill completely burned up the tables! On one Sunday Morning, the money earned was particularly high. With more players, the team was able to get much more money each. Kevin found himself lying by the Mirage pool waiting for Teri Pollack to come, his new "girlfriend" who probably only liked him for his money. At Kevin's apartment, he found so much money stashed everywhere. When he went to restaurants with his friends/colleagues, he always paid with 100 dollar bills. He did it not to show off, but to get rid of those darn things! Everything was going better than perfect. At Vegas and Chicago, the MIT team earned so much money, their pockets were bulging with chips. Then suddenly, Kevin saw that Indian kid again--Sanjay Das. Kevin was so confounded! Vegas might have been a coincidence, but this was a riverboat in what, Elgin, Illinois?! Then something even more perplexing happened--Kevin saw Sanjay Das's roommate, a Japanese kid. Fisher signaled to Kevin that they needed to talk. At the bathroom, Fisher told Kevin that he also noticed Sanjay and at least seven others with him! It was another team from MIT that Micky has money with. That team is called the Amphibians and Kevin's team is called the Reptiles because Kevin's team stemmed from the Amphibians. Fisher and Kevin talked and decided to fire Micky. Fisher and Kevin told Micky the news and suprisingly, Micky took it well, but had some advice. He told them, "Don't let yourselves get too comfortable. Remember everything I taught you. Every time you walk into a casino, they're watching. Every time you cash in a chip, they're taking notes. Sooner or later, they're going to start asking questions. And things will change. One last thing. The most important decision a card counter ever has to make is the decision to walk away. From a bad table, from a negative shoe, from an unfriendly casino. It was the one thing I was never very good at." Kevin and his team decided to go to the Mohegan Sun in southwestern Connecticut. That evening, the team left with a salary of $330,000. A pit boss came to Kevin and told him about the new comps program. Kevin had generated an amazing amount of comp points. Kevin was able to purchase everything from microwave ovens to a Harley-Davidson motorcycle with comp points. That day, he stocked up his apartment with many new things. A fight broke out during Fight Night and someone started shooting a gun. People stole chips from blackjack tables. Now, the MGM Grand could only take a few chips to trade in for cash. Fisher recruited some women to help them trade in the chips so it wouldn't look like the MIT team had so much in chips. It would be suspicious.

$$Connections$$

• I've heard a gunshot before just like during Fight Night, someone shot a gun. It was during a track meet and the signal to start was a gunshot.
• Just like in casinos when Kevin met some of people that he knew, I've met people that I know in various locations like the supermarket and such.