Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)... to the "college lit" crowd: the internet, gambling, and reality TV.
Tom Breitling and Tim Poster first pioneered a visionary approach to online hotel room sales, and then sunk their profits into the same resort that launched Steve Wynn's career: the venerable Golden Nugget. The latter adventure was recorded by the producers of *Survivor* -- and this is where the story takes a particularly human, uniquely 21st century turn. Breitling laments a professional and personal life lost to the condensed and overly dramatic needs of reality television, and his genuine disappointment upon seeing the finished (and nationally televised) product gives this book an honest and thoughtful tone.
Another element I enjoyed: this is an author who clearly gets Las Vegas, and who obviously has deep admiration and affection for the place. The book is filled with behind-the-cultural-scenes glimpses of the Las Vegas community (and no, that sentence contains no typos: Las Vegas indeed has both a culture and a community).
Contrast this with the recently released *Winner Takes All,* which belongs firmly in the "loathing Las Vegas" literary tradition. An uncritical read of *Winner* leaves you with the impression that all of the city's key players are actually losers -- or at the very least, they all engage in self- (which is to say Las Vegas-) loathing introspections. Breitling's tale, on the other hand, reveals a very human, very decent, and very proudly Las Vegas story -- albeit one that exists beyond the reach of the typical narrative woven by the city's critics.
This book deserves a place atop the college lit bestseller list, in the tradition of *Bringing Down the House* and *Moneyball.* It shares the a "generation next" Las Vegas theme with the former book, and it shares with the latter one a different analytical lens to appreciate the complex intersections of the internet and 21st century tourism.
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