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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 795
Format: Bargain Price
Label: Simon & Schuster
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 384
Printing Date: November 14, 2006
Publishing house: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: November 14, 2006
Sale Popularity Level: 9352
Studio: Simon & Schuster
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
A riveting inside look at the lucrative world of professional high-stakes sports betting by a journalist who lived a secret life as a key operative in the world's most successful sports gambling ring.
When journalist Michael Konik landed an interview with Rick 'Big Daddy' Matthews, the largest bet he'd placed on a sporting event was $200. Konik, an expert blackjack and poker player, was no stranger to Vegas. But Matthews was in a different league: the man was rumored to be the world's smartest sports bettor, the mastermind behind 'the Brain Trust,' a shadowy group of gamblers known for their expertise in beating the Vegas line. Konik had heard the word on the street -- that Matthews was a snake, a conniver who would do anything to gain an edge. But he was also brilliant, cunning, and charming. And when he asked Konik if he'd like to 'make a little money' during the football season, the writer found himself seduced . . .
So began Michael Konik's wild ride as an operative of the elite Brain Trust. In The Smart Money, Konik takes readers behind the veil of secrecy shrouding the most successful sports betting operation in America, bypassing the myths and the rumors, going all the way to its innermost sanctum. He reveals how they -- and he -- got rich by beating the Vegas lines and, ultimately, the multimillion-dollar offshore betting circuit. He details the excesses and the betrayals, the horse-trading and the paranoia, that are the perks and perils of a lifestyle in which staking inordinate sums of money on the outcome of a single event -- sometimes as much as $1 million on a football game -- is a normal part of doing business.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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Great book for the money. $5.99? How can you go wrong. I was recommended this book by a friend and it had some very helpful information. I own a lot of handicapping books and this one is one of my favorites.
Rated by buyers -
If you think you can beat the Sportsbooks, this is a must read! It does not even endeavor to tell you how to make money betting sports, so if that is what you are looking for... this book is not for you. If however you want to get a glimpse of what it is like to play cat and mouse with the bookmaker, I highly recommend this book... especially if you plan on betting over a Dime on your wagers!
This book is more or less a biography of one man's experience at betting big money in a Sportsbook; however it contains insights and behind-the-scenes perspectives that most of us will never see. You are able to get an understanding of how a Sportsbook really works, and the lengths they will take to keep anyone with an edge from winning their money.
I found the book to be a real page-turner. I have a great interest in sports betting, and this was my very first inside view of what it is like to be big/smart money. I would describe it as an eye-opener for anyone who thinks they can beat the Oddsmakers at their own game. It is a good read, and I for one highly recommend it to all sports bettors.
Bob
Rated by buyers 
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Probably the worst book I have ever read in my life. Boring, poorly written and repetetive. The good reviews here are complete frauds, from either friends, family of publishers. I read the very first 2/3 of this book, then came here to see if the book got any better. It clearly does not. What a piece of garbage.
Rated by buyers -
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!
Rated by buyers -
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.
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