Lucky Devils: The True Story of Three Rebel Gamblers Who Beat the Odds and Changed the Game

Bloomberg journalist Chellel (Dead in the Water) sheds light on advantage gambling, or using math and technology to beat the house, through the stories of three of its pioneers in this fascinating history. In the 1970s, gamblers Bill Nelson, Rob Reitzen, and Bill Benter arrived in Las Vegas obsessed with beating the house, and went on to redefine what that meant. Nelson’s success with a computer-driven sports betting syndicate drew FBI scrutiny before he resurfaced with a lucrative roulette operation. Reitzen went from playing poker in casinos to founding online poker sites where human players competed against algorithmic bots, with fortunes won and lost at dizzying speed. The most spectacular arc belongs to Benter, who became a legend in Hong Kong and U.S. horse racing by combining massive betting syndicates with sophisticated statistical modeling, and later parlayed his winnings into the Benter Foundation, which supports causes including the arts, Alzheimer’s research, and financial education. Chellel balances technical explanations with vivid character portraits, making complicated systems accessible to the layperson. With its colorful cast and levelheaded look at the arms race between gamblers and casinos, this is an addictive profile of the rule breakers who anticipated gambling’s data-driven future. Readers will be thrilled. Agent: Ethan Bassoff, WME. (Apr.)