Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions
Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions is the story of the MIT Blackjack team that details how they may or may not have won millions through blackjack card counting schemes throughout the 1990’s. The book was written by Ben Mezrich and focuses on Kevin Lewis, who was a member of the MIT Blackjack team in 1993.
Though the book claims to be factual in nature, there are several disputes on whether Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions was based on actual events that occurred, facts that were slightly exaggerated or straight up fallacy. For starters, Kevin Lewis (the main character in Bringing Down the House), was based on Jeff Ma, who was an actual member of the MIT Team. Ma claims that some of the events in the book never took place. Additionally, another character in the book is a combination of several team members.
In addition to the names being changed and characters being combined with one another, Bringing Down the House is said to have detailed events that never really occurred. For example, the book spoke of an underground casino in Chinatown that did not exist. Additionally, though there was a fight scene detailed in the book, none of the MIT Blackjack team members were physically shaken down for money.
Whether Bringing Down the House was fact or fiction, it proves for an interesting read for the blackjack player. In 2008, the film 21 was released by Columbia Pictures and directed by Robert Luketic as a comedy. This film was based on the Bringing Down the House book.
At 273 pages in length, Bringing Down the House provides insight to the profitable, yet somewhat shady side of gambling. The MIT Team collectively made millions through card counting and team play and Bringing Down the House comes close to the stories behind the legendary team. Whether fact or fiction, in whole or in part, Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions is a compelling and exciting read and comes highly recommended for anyone who is a fan of blackjack, card counting, and tactics designed for beating the house in casino games.
