| The Smart Money: How the World's Best Sports Bettors Beat the Bookies Out of Millions |  | Author: Michael Konik
Publisher: audible.com
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  56 reviews
Media: Audio Download
ASIN: B000KWZ6RA
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| Customer Reviews: Read 51 more reviews...
 Beyond funny and also well-detailed and told. July 27, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
As a former blackjack dealer and occasional sports bettor, I found this book unbelievably well-researched and the story told with a detailed flair. Looking back over the three years in which the author played the "front" in a major sports gambling operation, I found myself remembering many of those same weekends and wondering how he was sweating out having $500,000 in play over football games I remember watching.
What TSM brings is the story of a man who wanted to get himself on the inside -- after years of being on the edges of gambling as a reporter, the author takes his late 20's/early 30's hedonistic self on a wild journey for years. The money was great, the weekly thrills were probably intoxicating but, in the end, what did Michael really have left to show for it all?
Well, IMHO, I think he may have one hell of a story to tell.
My favorite aspects were the author's interaction with the various sports book bosses from Bally's, Caesars and the off-shore outfits. Each of them is the stereotype of what you would imagine but the author brings them to life and takes them out of a "two-dimension" cardboard character cut-out, which could have been so easy.
I'm a fairly hard grader when it comes to books, especially non-fiction works on sports, but I proudly give this 5 stars. Most exciting book I have read so far in 2008 -- and that's out of about 60 books thus far.
This is a tale about the thrills amid a real loss of perspective, especially regarding money. It may be the fantasy all 30-year-old men want to lead. He actually did it and we get the rewards of reading about it!
Bravo, Michael, bravo!
 Is there an echo? July 25, 2008
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
Very very very repetitive, probably could have cut the book in half if not more. If you like to read over nearly every bet this guy made they go ahead and buy this book, otherwise save your money.
 Surprisingly good July 12, 2008
The Smart Money was an exciting page turner; I found it similar to Bringing Down the House, except it explores the world of high stakes sports gambling instead of blackjack. It depicts Vegas and the action in a way amateur bettors only dream about. I do think the author was excessive with his thesaurus though. Also, the title is a little misleading, in that you never learn how the picks are made. Still, it's well worth the money and the time. You'll want to check out the current lines before you're finished.
The Smart Money June 25, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The Smart Money: How the World's Best Sports Bettors Beat the Bookies Out of Millions
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I don't get much time to read for pleasure and haven't read an entire book in 4 years. This book was suggested to me by a colleague as an entertainment read and entertaining it was. When he gave me the copy, I figured that I would read the cover (maybe the first and last chapter). Well, one page led to the next chapter and I eventually finished the entire book in 4 days. I have some prior knowledge of this business, yet I can honestly say that I learned a few things about the intricasies of the sports betting markets.
Great story and an easy read. You would be hard pressed to find a better storyteller and story in this genre.
Enjoyable read for sports bettors June 4, 2008
This was an incredibly entertaining read. If you're not interested in Las Vegas, you probably won't enjoy this. If you're into sports but not sports betting, this might bring you around. If you're a sports bettor I think you'll enjoy this read.
The one thing I was missing was any specific example of how the picks were made. It's clear why Konik wasn't given access to the formulas and calculations. [...]. My respect and appreciation for what Google has accomplished is because they gave me a taste of how complex it is with PageRank. I wish this book had done the same with a single formula that would have illuminated while also not giving away the store.
Overall, the book is a good time. Check it out.
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