The amazing inside story about a gambling ring of M.I.T.students who beat the system in Vegas--and lived to tell how. "A lively tale that could pass for thriller fiction...Mezrich's skilled yet easy writing draws sweat to the reader's brow."

ROBIN HOOD MEETS THE RAT PACK when the best and thebrightest of M.l.T."s math students and engineers take up blackjackunder the guidance of an eccentric mastermind.Their small blackjack     .club develops from an experiment in countingcardson M.l.T."s campusinto a ring of card savants with a system for playing large and winningbig, In less than two years they take some of the world"s most sophisticated casinos for more than three million dollars. But their success also brings with it the formidable ire of casino owners and launches them into the seedy underworld of corporate Vegas with its private investigators and other violent heavies.Filled with tense action high stakes and incredibly close calls,Bringing Down the House is a nail-biting read that chronicles a real-lifeOcean"s Eleven. It"s one story that Vegas does notwant you to read.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Boston, Present Day

Boston, June 1994

Atlantic City,June 1994

Boston, September 1994

Boston, October 1994

Boston, October 1994

Las Vegas, Present Day

Thirty Thousand Feet, November 1994

Las Vegas, November 1994

Weston, MA, Thanksgiving 1994

The Double Life, 1994-95

Chicago, May 1995

Boston, June 1995

Foxwoods Casino, Present Day

July 1995 to October 1995

Boston, Halloween 1995

Boston, November 1995

Las Vegas, Present Day

Las Vegas, Fall 1997

Boston, Fall 1997

I.as Vegas, Present Day

Boston, Valentine"s Day 1998

Las Vegas, President"s Day 1998

The Bayou: Shreveport, LA, 1998

Boston, Spring 1998

Boston, Spring 1998

Boston, Spring 1998

Boston, Spring 1998

Las Vegas, Memorial Day 1998

Boston, June 1998

Las Vegas, Hard Rock, Present Day

An Essay by Kevin Lewis