This "raucous retelling of the life of a consummate gambler, grifter and quintessential American character" (Kirkus Reviews) introduces Alvin "Titanic" Thompson (1892-1974), who traveled with golf clubs, a .45 revolver, and a suitcase full of cash. A terrific read for anyone who has ever laid a bet, Titanic Thompson recaptures the colorful times of a singular figure.

A history and analysis of gambling in the United States from bingo to state lotteries to Indian gaming and the rise of Las Vegas, this book reveals how we have become a nation of gamblers and what the future holds for the gambling industry. From the colonial era to the present, Americans have enjoyed a love-hate relationship with gambling. It is a pastime that has gone from sin to recreational activity, and an industry that has moved from control by organized crime to management by executives with MBAs. While gaming is one of the nation's fastest-growing industries, Barker and Britz predict that this process will slow or stop in the next century as the result of market saturation and unknown social and economic effects which loom over the glitz, glamour, and action.

Providing the latest information on the nature and extent of legalized gambling in the United States, this study examines why we gamble and how the relative impact of the activity differs in certain segments of the population. Legalized gambling is, at best, problematic behavior with both good and bad consequences. State-sponsored gambling, both in the form of monopolistic lotteries and in tribal casinos, does to some extent call into question the proper role of the state or tribal nation in promoting a potentially harmful activity among its citizens. States that have looked to legalized gambling as a source of economic salvation may soon experience difficulties as gambling venues multiply and unregulated Internet gambling becomes more widespread.

The Eastern approach to Feng Shui practice is timeless while from the Western perspective it is timely. Feng Shui is Chinese in origin while the casino game of craps is American in design. For the first time in print, the author advocates the use of this Eastern approach to enhance the player's chances of winning at casino craps. No book to date has addressed the influence and role of Feng Shui in craps or the subject of craps and Feng Shui together.

The book has an affluence of new material heretofore not published, such as the concept of the Circle of Chi, the flow chart of Feng Shui concepts, which eventually leads to a craps table, the statistical validation of the number 7 coming out more often, after a die accidentally falls off the table, dice presetups, medical tenets germane to the Yin and Yang concept, Feng Shui of selected casinos, and much more.

The superstitions that thrive at a craps table are presented with humor and insight. Learn about Chi management that is as pivotal as money management in augmenting one's chances of winning at craps.

Why is there a twelve on the cover of this blackjack book instead of the usual twenty-one? No blackjack author in their right mind would put a hand of twelve on the cover. Glen Wiggy did--he is full of surprises like that. Part how-to manual, part memoir, 1536 Free Waters and Other Blackjack Endeavors--Finding Profit and Humor in Card-Counting chronicles Wiggy's amusing experiences while playing blackjack during more than eight hundred casino visits from January 2001 until June 2008. It also introduces blackjack card-counting in a fun and easy-to-learn format.

In addition to the everyday casino patrons, starving puppies, angry pit bosses, French doughnuts, talking sea gulls, and 1536 bottled waters make unforgettable appearances in these entertaining stories tailored for casual blackjack gamblers. For players pursuing the game for serious profit, Wiggy also presents practical tips on

- Aspects of blackjack basic strategy- Fundamentals of card-counting- Techniques for managing money- Dangers of greedy gambling behavior

Unlike most blackjack strategy guides, 1536 Free Waters and Other Blackjack Endeavors won't teach you how to "kill" the dealer or make a living playing the game. Instead, you'll learn basic strategy and introductory card-counting skills that give you enough confidence to approach the table with a positive attitude and reasonable expectation of winning. Plus, you'll learn what to expect from the cards and the wonderfully strange people and places you may encounter. Enjoy the ride.

"Undoubtedly, the most enjoyable blackjack book I've read in my twenty years as the editor of a gambling publishing company. It had me laughing out loud."--Deke Castleman, editor for Huntington Press

Read more at www.blackjackstories.com.

He played in casinos around the world with a plan to make himself richer than anyone could possibly imagine -- but it would nearly cost him his life.

Semyon Dukach was known as the Darling of Las Vegas. A legend at age twenty-one, this cocky hotshot was the biggest high roller to appear in Sin City in decades, a mathematical genius with a system the casinos had never seen before and couldn't stop -- a system that has never been revealed until now; that has nothing to do with card counting, wasn't illegal, and was more powerful than anything that had been tried before.

Las Vegas. Atlantic City. Aruba. Barcelona. London. And the jewel of the gambling crown -- Monte Carlo.

Dukach and his fellow MIT students hit them all and made millions. They came in hard, with stacks of cash; big, seemingly insane bets; women hanging on their arms; and fake identities. Although they were taking classes and studying for exams during the week, over the weekends they stormed the blackjack tables only to be harassed, banned from casinos, threatened at gunpoint, and beaten in Vegas's notorious back rooms.

The stakes were high, the dangers very real, but the players were up to the challenges, consequences be damned. There was Semyon Dukach himself, bored with school and broke; Victor Cassius, the slick, brilliant MIT grad student who galvanized the team; Owen Keller, with stunning ability but a dark past that would catch up to him; and Allie Simpson, bright, clever, and a feast for the eyes.

In the classroom, they were geeks. On the casino floor, they were unstoppable.

Busting Vega$ is Dukach's unbelievably true story; a riveting account of monumental greed, excess, hubris, sex, love, violence, fear, and statistics that is high-stakes entertainment at its best.

No longer confined to Nevada and Atlantic City, gambling is cropping up everywhere with astonishing pervasiveness, from the new Native American casinos to state-run lotteries to the Internet. Arguing against the idea that a moral case can be made for banning gambling in a society committed to liberal democratic values, Collins nonetheless sees a role for furthering public policy goals and mitigating the ill effects of gambling on communities as well as on gamblers themselves. Recognizing that governments and suppliers of gambling services have a common interest in ensuring that gambling is both profitable and well thought of by the general population, he argues for tax policies that direct investment toward communities in special need and for honest and realistic treatment and prevention programs for compulsive gamblers. Politicians, civil servants, and regulators concerned with gambling matters; those in and outside of the gambling industry who seek to influence it; and students of the gambling industry at all levels will find this a fascinating look at a growing and controversial industry.

Unlike all other lottery books, WINNING LOTTERY LINES does not claim to predict, but rather guides you into making sensible, rational choices that will help you select winning lottery lines. Complete with a thorough examination of all classes and types of numbers, such as odds and evens, divisions by 3 and above, Fibonacci Sequences, Standard Deviation and Lucas series, etc., you will achieve better lottery number selection using the priceless lessons learned and the invaluable guidance obtained from this book. There's no time like the present, so get ready for your winning lines today! Harry Schneider uses the same statistical principles of mathematics he applied to research projects whilst working in England, Scotland and Zambia. He currently lives with his wife in Scotland.

A step by step procedure to guide you through the process as how to play the craps game without any fear. Learn the proven methods well and win most of the time. I have not seen any book in the market place which can describe in precise terms by using various methods to play this craps game with the field tested data to back them up. Also my book will teach the reader that there are two ways to play this game--normal pass or don't pass methods--and you can select which method is appropriate to you.

This book critically examines the psychology of gambling in Hong Kong and Macao. Covering the history of gambling and its development in the two jurisdictions, it highlights the prevalence and status quo of problem gambling, the theoretical perspectives on the etiology of gambling disorder, and the treatment of problem gambling. The book also introduces a personality and pathways development model of Chinese problem gamblers and concludes with outlooks on the future of gambling in Hong Kong and Macao.