Finding a way to beat Catch-21

‘You’re not losing; we don’t care for that type of play here. Just cash in your chips and collect your check.’ Thus the Caesar’s Palace pit boss to your reviewer in the Sixties when in fact, contrary to what the author says, the casinos did already know about, and object to, players counting the cards at blackjack.

Even if bits in the blurb such as ‘utterly gripping’ (of the book), ‘utterly corrupt’ (of Las Vegas) and especially ‘rich, sharp’ (of the dialogue) are something of an exaggeration, the story of how a group of young, highly intelligent MIT boys and girls took on Las Vegas, and beat them for millions of dollars, is fun. You should also read it, by the way, or at any rate the relevant parts, if you want to know where in Vegas to find girls to entertain you in various ways.