24/7: Living It Up and Doubling Down

In the spring of 1998, mild-mannered, Ivy League-educated Andrés Martinez took $50,000--most of the advance his publisher was paying for this book--and headed to Las Vegas for thirty days, ten casinos, and a wild ride through the belly of a neon beast. The result: this brilliant, often hilarious ch [...]
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In the spring of 1998, mild-mannered, Ivy League-educated Andrés Martinez took $50,000--most of the advance his publisher was paying for this book--and headed to Las Vegas for thirty days, ten casinos, and a wild ride through the belly of a neon beast. The result: this brilliant, often hilarious chronicle of flesh, flash, and gambling in a city where everyone dreams of hitting the jackpot--and once in a while, someone actually does.

From seedy strip clubs to sprawling suburbs, from the sumptuous Bellagio to the Liberace Museum, Martinez meets a host of colorful characters...gathering tricks of the trade from blackjack dealers and fellow bleary-eyed gamblers, attending Easter Sunday mass on the Strip, befriending a family man who raised six kids while losing eight million dollars as a sports gambler. An exhilarating joyride of a read, 24/7 is a breathless tour of America's Sin City...as seen through the eyes of a man making $1.65 million in wagers in a single month. Guess how much he took home?



"A colorful glimpse of the sometimes sordid, sometimes spectacular capital of capital risk."
-- Forbes

"A whiz-bang book...call it pop sociology, gonzo journalism, or social criticism: It's all good fun...[Martinez] is a sharp and witty observer...he has a delicious sense of irony."
-- Kirkus Reviews

"A quality package tour through [the] new Las Vegas...Martinez is a thorough reporter and a wittily personable cicerone."
-- The Boston Globe

"Entertaining--A funny and perceptive account."
-- The New York Book Review