Bringing Down the House Review

Unlike most novels that work their way up to the climax of the story, this novel throws us right into the middle of it. We are introduced to Kevin Lewis from Boston Massachusetts who is in his senior year at M.I.T.

That night he’s up $30,000, and it’s not just because he’s having a lucky streak. In fact, we find out that he has even more money hidden in his duffle bag.

Things seem to be going great for Kevin until he receives a signal from his spotter, telling him to get out of there immediately. They nervously scramble outside of Las Vegas, luckily escaping the three big men in suits coming their way just in time. This event foreshadows the events to come, as they may not always be so lucky.

In this novel, we are constantly thrown between learning about events of the past to witnessing the present day experiences of the author.

Ben Mezrich gets a chance to experience life as a high roller when he walks into the Logan Airport with money stuffed in every crevice of his body, over $250,000 in total. He’s there to meet Kevin for the first time, eager to learn his story so that he can share it with us.

Chapter 3 takes us by surprise as we are suddenly taken back to June 1994, learning about Kevin before he knew about card counting and blackjack.

We learn that he was a very dedicated student, spending most of his weekends at one of Boston’s top hospitals and all of his spare time swimming for the M.I.T. team.

Although he excelled in all of his classes, he was certainly not passionate about medicine anymore, hoping to change majors but not willing to upset his father.

We also get introduced to his two roommates: Martinez and Fisher. They were both M.I.T. dropouts who spent most of their weeks sleeping, travelling to Las Vegas almost every weekend. He wondered how their money never ran out, suspecting they may be involved with something illegal.

They wave $10,000 in his face and invite him to join them in Atlantic City next weekend for the Holyfield fight. Although Kevin has his doubts about these two, he agrees to go with them.

We flash forward to next weekend where Kevin and Martinez are being picked up from the airport in a Mercedes Limousine. Kevin quickly finds out that Martinez will be taking the role of Robert Kim this weekend, and he’s a little uneasy about the false identity.

Slowly but surely, Kevin starts to understand that Martinez is a high roller, gambling up to $25,000 a hand in blackjack. This is why they have access to the most luxurious suites in the hotel and get free perks likes tickets to the Holyfield fight.

Kevin curiously asks Martinez to tell him more about what they do, starting a thoughtful discussion about basic strategy, shuffle tracking, and card counting.

Under Martinez’ watchful eye, Kevin applied some of the tips Martinez explained to him, and he was able to make a couple hundred dollars.

Fisher enters the casino later, acting to be a loose player to avoid getting caught as a card counter; they have to pretend not to know him. By the end of this chapter, Kevin learns that there’s a lot more to their weekend excursions than he could have ever imagined.

Reality hits in Chapter 5, as Kevin’s classes are back in session, he’s interning at the lab again, and it’s time to get in shape for swimming season. He soon starts dating a beautiful girl named Felicia, but despite the business he still can’t shake his summer weekend experience with Martinez and Fisher.

In the little free time he has, Kevin researches blackjack theory, discovering two major problems with card counting. The first being that the percentage over the house was still quite low, and the second being that it was too easy to get caught.

When Kevin least expects it, Martinez and Fisher show up at the swimming pool, telling him that there’s someone he would like them to meet.

They then escort him to a room at M.I.T., where he sees seven people sitting in a semi-circle, facing a man we’ll come to know as Mickey Rosa. They explain that this is the current M.I.T. blackjack team, and they want to recruit him.

They have developed a fool proof system that overcomes the two problems Kevin thought existed. Kevin agrees to join their team, but is then informed that he still has to pass their tests.

In Chapter 6, we really get insight into how the team works and get introduced to the three main parts of the team: Spotters, Gorillas, and Big Players.

We also follow Kevin on his three part test journey which consists of mastering basic strategy, knowing how to use card indexes to vary his play, and a full scale test in a casino environment.

He finished the first couple of tests in a matter of weeks, and after a formal practice session, Kevin is ready for his final test.

In Chapter 7, we find ourselves in the sketchy part of Chinatown; Kevin walks into a backroom of a grocery store where he’s surprised to find a room filled with regulation blackjack and poker tables.

Despite all of the distractions, Kevin is able to keep his count. Then all of a sudden, someone whipped a paper bag over Kevin’s head and threw him into a closet. Not even a minute went by until he heard the laughter of his friends and a congratulations saying he made the team.

Just as the story becomes interesting, we are sent back to present time where the author is interviewing a man by the name Damon Zimonowski.

He has worked almost every position a casino has to offer from security guard, to dealer, to pit boss, eventually working his way up to shift manager. He provides the author with a different insight into the realities of Vegas, explaining the five distinct eras since gambling was first legalized in Nevada.

The author ends the chapter by explaining the difference between casino cheaters and card counters.

By this time, Kevin is practically a natural when it comes to card counting. He’s also starting to learn more about the team, seeing that the way the money is distributed will inevitably lead to controversies in the future.

Kevin is reminded that there are risks involved when it comes to this profession, as Martinez doesn’t spare the details of the horrific backroom stories he’s heard over the years.

This chapter focuses on some of Kevin’s early experiences in Las Vegas as a spotter and gorilla. Winning over $10,000 in one run of blackjack against famous players from the Knicks basketball team is just one of the highlights of Kevin’s weekend.

He’s also spoiled by the casino comps, being swept away by everything this lifestyle has to offer.

In chapter 11, we are escorted back to Kevin’s hometown where we get insight into his childhood. It becomes obvious that the lifestyle he’s now engaged in isn’t the lifestyle he grew up knowing.

His past is filled with white picket fences, perfectly mowed lawns, and pristine homes. Although he almost works up enough courage to tell his father about his card counting experiences, he quickly realizes that the timing isn’t right.

A lot of time lapses in this next chapter, as we see Kevin work his way to becoming a Big Player. We see him win and lose thousands of dollars over the course of the year, enjoying every single minute of his new double life.

Although he has a girlfriend, we are introduced to a new love interest of his: Teri Pollack. Everything seems to be going surprisingly well in Kevin’s life until he gets barred from a casino for the first time.

Kevin takes the initiative to break up with Felicia, who he had been dating for over a year now. He now spends most of his free moments in Las Vegas with Teri, using his comps to sweep her off her feet.

He finally graduated M.I.T. and is now applying to work at an investment banking firm. Fisher and Martinez wanted him to play blackjack full time, but Kevin was still afraid of what his parents would think if they found out.

The team is very interested in expanding, believing that adding more members to the team would be financially beneficial. They are looking for people they can trust and who meet their profile.

One person comes to Kevin’s mind, an old friend from the swimming team named Tay. We are introduced to Tay in this chapter, quickly discovering that he will make a nice asset to the team.

In this chapter, Ben is interviewing Jill Taylor. We learn that her and her husband, Dylan, joined the blackjack team around the same time that Tay had joined. She is open and honest with Ben, explaining that she doesn’t think this book is a good idea.

She also infers that their experiences on the blackjack team ultimately lead to their divorce.

Their expanded team was doing increasingly well, averaging $150,000 a night for their investors. Kevin decides to quit his banking job, but is still looking for a job to replace it.

It’s finally revealed in this chapter to Kevin that they aren’t the only team from M.I.T. that Mickey benefits from. It’s evident that this team isn’t going to be happy under Mickey’s control for much longer.

The team meets without Mickey to see if they are all on the same page about wanting to go on without his support. After several hours of discussion, Martinez, Fisher, and Kevin head over to Mickey’s to tell him their verdict.

Mickey takes it surprisingly well and although it’s obvious that he’s hurt from the situation, he gives the boys some quality advice.

Even though the team continues to bring in more and more money, Kevin chooses to go back to work to keep his parents from asking questions and to feel more productive. The team celebrates two years of success by watching the Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield at the MGM Grand. Kevin gets sick shortly before the fight is about to start, so he decides to get some rest instead.

When he awakes, he’s surprised to find the entire casino emptied out. Apparently he missed out on the infamous fight where Mike Tyson bit off Holyfield’s ear, causing riots among the fans.

Many chips were stolen in the debacle, so the casino will be very strict about their cash out policy. This makes Kevin and his team very nervous, as they have over $200,000 worth of coins they don’t want to lose out on. High-class strippers come to the rescue, cashing in these coins for them.

We flash forward to the present, where we find the author in Crazy House Too Strip Club. He’s interviewing a stripper named April, who was friends with Teri Pollack while she was dating Kevin. April explains how much money a good stripper can actually make, and makes an interesting comparison of strip clubs to casinos.

Kevin’s new job at the startup company in Boston has really started to take off, so he dedicates most of his time to that for a while. He makes an effort to talk to Teri on the phone, but he realizes quickly that there’s little more between them than Vegas.

Kevin reluctantly decides to go with the team to Vegas that Labor Day weekend, and it’s a decision he would soon come to regret.

This chapter is the first indication we get that the casinos are starting to pick up on the team’s false identities. Not only is Kevin barred from the casino, but the casino makes is blatantly obvious to him that they know another one of his aliases.

Meanwhile Martinez is escorted to a room downstairs where casino personnel threaten him to never return to this casino again. The team suspects there be may private investigators on their case.

Avoiding Vegas for a little while, the team returns to the Grand Victoria in Chicago where they are greeted with familiar faces. They quickly discover that this casino has been informed about their presence too, as a pit boss points both Fisher and Martinez out to Kevin, telling him they all needed to leave.

Tay also notices a suspicious man sitting next to him with an earpiece on, quietly reporting his actions.

In this chapter, we again flash forward to the author’s interview with a man named Eldridge, a casino surveillance expert who informs the author about the latest advancements the casino has made in their camera surveillance.

The newest models can zoom in so close that they can actually read the time off of someone’s watch. These cameras are easily able to follow a person from one room to the next and have advanced facial recognition build into them. By learning about these advancements, it’s easy to understand why Kevin’s team was starting to get caught.

We find out that the team took some time off in order to figure out how they should proceed on from here. Martinez and Fisher spent that time meeting up with some of the top Hollywood make-up artists.

They would overcome being recognized by the casinos by using unique disguises.

In this chapter, we meet with the team a couple weeks later when they are ready to use their disguises for the first time in action. Everything seemed to be going as planned until casinos security knocked down Martinez’s door, revealing that he knew their team was from Boston and that those disguises weren’t fooling anybody.

The team moves onto Louisiana where they enter Jack Binion’s Horseshoe casino for the first time. They were encouraged by the fact that they were able to make over $50,000 without being detected by security.

However when they switch to a nearby casino, it becomes obvious very quickly that they are not welcomed there. A car followed close behind Kevin that night, making sure he left the casino, and warning him to never return.

Towards the beginning of this chapter, we discover that the IRS is doing an audit investigation on Kevin. He desperately wants to come clean with his father concerning the whole situation, but again realizes that his father wouldn’t understand.

Martinez calls to warn Kevin that this entire situation is even worse than they thought.

Here the boys are meeting at Mickey Rosa’s house where it’s been revealed that both of M.I.T.’s blackjack teams’ identities have been compromised. A list of their names, pictures, addresses, and descriptions had been sold to the Plymouth industry for a mere $25,000.

Upon hearing this news, Kevin is eager to take a break while Fisher is still adamant about plowing ahead.

Fisher and Martinez head off to the Bahamas, leaving Kevin behind wondering if there is more to life than all of this. Despite being thousands of miles away from Las Vegas, they still weren’t able to have a pleasant experience at the casino.

Fisher had been beaten in the bathroom, warned to stay out of their casinos for good. The boys realize that if they are going to continue playing blackjack, they are going to have to make some drastic changes.

After a mysterious call from Dylan and after not hearing from either Fisher or Martinez in a couple of weeks, Kevin frantically calls them to see what’s going on.

To Kevin’s dismay, he finds out that they have started a new blackjack team behind Kevin’s back, as they don’t think he’s dedicated enough. Furious, Kevin picks up the phone to form his own team, which consists of Tay, Dylan, and Jill.

Kevin and his new team take things much slower than their original team. They actually spend time enjoying the city and playing other games besides blackjack.

Kevin’s team and Fisher’s team end up playing at the same casino, but both teams refuse to leave. Kevin’s encounter with Fisher made him realize that they would never be friends again.

Kevin and Dylan are out celebrating, as their team just reached the $50,000 and had not yet had a problem with getting barred. When Dylan makes it back to his apartment, he’s overwhelmed to discover that his house had been broken into and that the safe with all of his money was gone.

Kevin rushed home, relieved to find that his apartment didn’t seem to be touched. However, there was one $10,000 coin strategically placed on his dining room table and he caught someone out the window staring at him.

In the last chapter of this book, we discover that three years have passed and Kevin no longer plays blackjack. Instead he opened a bar downtown with his friends, having to go through a second tedious audit before it could be opened.

Kevin fills the author in with the details on where everyone else on the team ended up. Fisher and Martinez no longer can step foot in casinos, but they do run a team of highly skilled students from M.I.T. Kevin expresses that he misses the environment and often thinks about what it would be like to start over.

In this final portion of this book, Kevin reveals his team’s secret card counting techniques. He goes over favorable casino rules that they would look for, while also explaining what moves he would make in certain situations.

Ultimately he discloses everything readers need to know in order to make money through card counting at the casinos today without getting caught.