Customer Reviews
Bright lights, pots of cash, but where's the glamour? - By: Caterkiller, 27 Dec 2007 
One thing shines out through Mike's book: the sheer lack of glamour in the world of gambling. It may comprise the Sport of Kings plus the showgirl-stuffed paralllel universe of Las Vegas but there is no fun to be had for the diehard (i.e. successful) gambler. Success is driven by spreadsheets, risk models, probabilities & the type of research & supernumerate skills which the regular punter does not possess. After visiting the Cheltenham festival & Vegas & discussing every type of gambling (including stock-market derivatives) Mike focusses on those whose lives have been destroyed by their addiction & have lost houses & relationships as a result. The message of this terrific read is not "Do not Gamble" but the fact that every casino in Vegas can afford it's own fine art collection & award winning restaurant should be warning enough to the unwary punter.
A pleasent surprise - By: R. B. Shean, 25 Jan 2007 I bought this book on a whim. I had no prior knowledge on gambling & picked this up on the assumption that it would give an broad overview acting as an introduction to the gambling world. It goes beyond that covering historical events & lots of case studies. There is even an element of social commentary & critique.
It's insightful yet sympathetic to the novice. Once or twice I had to re read passages to fully grasp some of the finer points but overalll the explanations are clear & concise.
I reallly think Atherton excels in his commentary, he can be quite brutal in his observations but never patronising or aloof. I was also surprised by his wit, in written form he is not the dour introvert that the media portrayed.
The book is peppered with some fascinating characters & events which are bought to life without relying upon lazy descriptions or playing upon stereotypes. I would recommend this to anyone with a passing interest in the routes & current state of gambling. I look forward to Athertons next piece of work.
Not for the professional gambler - By: John C. Pollard, 19 Jan 2007 I enjoyed this book a lot, reading it in just a few days. However, if you want inspiration & insight into making money from gambling, this is probably not the book for you (or me!). Although Athers managed to talk to some interesting people in the world of gambling, that was no doubt achieved through his sporting celebrity rather than any weight he carries in the world of gambling, but then he never claimed anything else.
From the start I feared there would be too much history of gambling & sadly that was the case. Most of it felt like a student's essay regurgitated from other sources of gambling history. When we moved to today's world of gambling, the focus on internet gambling & changes brought about by the likes of Betfair was a fascinating read.
My particular interest is in spread betting & unfortunately Athers dropped a clanger, getting his "sells" & "buys" the wrong way round in an explanation of why spread markets tend to be artificiallly high. I could have given him so much juicy & interesting information for this chapter, including some stories of underhand tactics spread betting companies are prepared to stoop to & how winners are not welcome. Rock on Spreadfair & other betting exchanges.
The topic of addictive & problem gambling is well covered & this would be worth a read from those suffering such problems. So 4/5 & not quite as polished as the cricket (and cricket commentary).
