Lay the Favorite

May 06, 2010 Karina rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, biography

I won this book in Goodreads First Reads. The odds: 40 copies available, 726 people requesting. That's approximately 5.5%. Assuming random selection, but I'm starting to doubt it's entirely random.

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I just got this book, and this is neat. The cover is sort of plain with publisher's logo in the background. It says at the top "Advanced Uncorrected Proofs" and that I shouldn't quote without checking against the finished book. Well, I find it neat, because I get to see the book before it's publish...more I won this book in Goodreads First Reads. The odds: 40 copies available, 726 people requesting. That's approximately 5.5%. Assuming random selection, but I'm starting to doubt it's entirely random.

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I just got this book, and this is neat. The cover is sort of plain with publisher's logo in the background. It says at the top "Advanced Uncorrected Proofs" and that I shouldn't quote without checking against the finished book. Well, I find it neat, because I get to see the book before it's published, something I haven't seen before!

I started the first couple of pages, and the first impression is favorable. I like the way it jumps straight into action, but then pauses for some background. I'm looking forward to reading this, after I have my final exams next week. Shouldn't take me long if it's a good story; there are only 231 pages, a very slim book by my standards.

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When the 'point of view' changed for the first time, and Beth started telling the story of her boss, I didn't expect that and was wondering whether it was her biography or Dink's (boss')? But it's all right. I just had to adjust my expectations.

Beth's first boss in the gambling industry was more interesting than her second one. So while I enjoyed the first part, the second one seems to lack action.

I was a bit concerned that it seems that she's using the real names of all these people, and they are sometimes engaging in illegal stuff; aren't they worried they'll get busted?

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It's an entertaining little book. Not something that I'd normally read, but it was neat to learn a bit about gambling terminology... The title "Lay the favorite" is one example. When you bet on something that's expected to win, that's the phrase you use; but if you bet for an unexpected win by newcomer or something along those lines, the phrase is "take the dog" (i.e. underdog).

I only really gambled once in my life, at Kentucky Derby; so the only gambling term I actually recognized was "to show" (means the horse will come in either 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place). There was a horse that I bet on "to show" which had a name similar to mine, and the jockey wearing my favorite color. It actually came 1st! Overall, that day was a net loss for me, but I'm glad I won at least one race.(less)

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Dec 21, 2012 Kara Jorges rated it 3 of 5 stars

Beth Raymer developed her love of gamblers at her father’s knee, and was perfectly suited for the lifestyle by the time she grew up. She made a couple of attempts at “straight” jobs, but somehow, though not a gambler herself, the gambling life always drew her in. After a short stint as an in-home stripper, she followed a boyfriend to Las Vegas, and found herself in just the right city for the life she grew to love. On a tip from a friend, she went to work for Dink, Inc., a professional gambling...more

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Dec 11, 2012 Everyday eBook rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Everyday by: Kristin Fritz

Beth Raymer doesn't have a plan. And she's not entirely and consciously sure about what she's searching for. After her job as a youth counselor goes awry, she moves from one sanity-testing gig to another, following the nearest path to quick cash. After answering a Help Wanted ad that makes no apologies for its offer of work, Beth's life post-counseling finds her posing as a nude dancer who makes housecalls. Though the work's moral foundation is questionable at best, the money is good, and so Bet...more Beth Raymer doesn't have a plan. And she's not entirely and consciously sure about what she's searching for. After her job as a youth counselor goes awry, she moves from one sanity-testing gig to another, following the nearest path to quick cash. After answering a Help Wanted ad that makes no apologies for its offer of work, Beth's life post-counseling finds her posing as a nude dancer who makes housecalls. Though the work's moral foundation is questionable at best, the money is good, and so Beth stays on -- that is, until a delusional man with a rifle threatens her life. Beth Raymer's memoir, Lay the Favorite, picks up shortly after, as she's waiting tables at a Las Vegas hole in the wall. And it's here that she first hears the name "Dink."

Dink makes his living in the high-stakes, fast-paced, often dangerous, man's world of professional sports gambling. On the day Beth walks into his office after getting a tip that he's hiring, she's prepared to stretch the truth to whatever length necessary to find her way into the world -- and Dink eats it up. After all, all he's looking for is someone who shows up with an honest work ethic. So begins one of Beth's most exciting unplanned journeys of all.

From the betting office to the Caribbean and back again, Beth accompanies Dink, his omnipresent wife Tulip, and his ragtag group of employees on the roller coaster ride through their world, earning their respect and Dink's confidence. Beth proves her mettle even further during a run through the amateur female boxing circuit. Through it all, Beth and Dink form a unique bond. There is something almost paternal in Dink's treatment of Beth, but yet they still give Tulip cause for pause and mistrust. Drama ensues. Beth's non-planned life proves anything but idle.

In spite of the excitement, the drama, the dirt, and the romance, Lay the Favorite is, at its heart, a story about the search for personal freedom -- and the myriad ways we can mess up along the way. Raymer struggles, makes questionable choices, lies sometimes, connives at others, uses her looks to her advantage -- and the reader roots for her through it all. Because personal freedom is a beautiful thing, even when it's found in the gross underbelly of Vegas sports betting.

Beth Raymer's Lay the Favorite was adapted for the big screen earlier this year, directed by Stephen Frears, screenplay by D.V. DeVincentis, and starring Rebecca Hall, Bruce Willis, Vince Vaughn, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. I, of course, recommend you read the book first.

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May 14, 2010 Samantha rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir, non-fiction, first-reads

I won this book from Goodreads. I was definitely looking forward to reading it since I generally enjoy memoirs and this isn't one I would likely have picked up on my own. The first sentence tossed me right into the action of the story. However, after only a few pages, I began to wonder if this isn't more of a biography about Dink. I enjoyed Dink's backstory, but as far as the structure of the book goes, it confused me that so much time was spent focusing on Dink so close to the beginning of the...more I won this book from Goodreads. I was definitely looking forward to reading it since I generally enjoy memoirs and this isn't one I would likely have picked up on my own. The first sentence tossed me right into the action of the story. However, after only a few pages, I began to wonder if this isn't more of a biography about Dink. I enjoyed Dink's backstory, but as far as the structure of the book goes, it confused me that so much time was spent focusing on Dink so close to the beginning of the book.

As soon as Raymer began taking an account of her own past as a private, in-home stripper and internet-porn entrepreneur, I began to wonder if this is a factual account of her life or if she isn't living out some fictional fantasy in the form of "memoir" a la James Frey. I'm not calling Raymer a phony. I'm explaining that this book simply does not feel genuine or sincere to me. It feels to me as if she extrapolated upon and sensationalized what were probably much more mundane life experiences. Every time she began to tell the tale of yet another new adventure, I thought, "Well, here we go again," and I read on with building skepticism.

By the time I finished the book, I was not only relieved to be able to move on to something different, but I realized the reason the book didn't ring true to me is that there is really no depth to it. It's just a series of stories about the surface activities of a person's life -- little more than a diary of events. There was very little about the presentation of the story that makes the author -- or any of the other characters -- interesting people outside of their professions and/or obsessions. The author seems to have few tendencies toward introspection, finding meaning, or exploring the motivations and desires of herself or those around her.

In addition to the poor character development, the odd structure of the book, and the simple, surfacey storytelling, I found the writing unimpressive. It was choppy, stilted, and sophomoric. I also wondered if the editor bothered reading the book because of the strange way the writing pulled the reader one way and then plunked the reader down in the middle of something entirely different. The writing felt very loose and thrown together. It didn't remotely feel like a high-quality, painstakingly crafted work of literature. It comes across as schlocky, to put it bluntly.

To summarize, two starts for the entertainment factor and for introducing me in a fun way to the world of high-stakes sports betting, but beyond that, while it had significant potential, in the end it has little merit. (less)

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Aug 17, 2010 Alex rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010

Ugh. I thought this'd make a nice vacation from the tougher Shakespeare crap, but it didn't do much for me. It's a memoir of...what, a hanger-on? This chick who spent a little time on the outskirts of a not-very-seamy-or-dangerous gambling culture. That's not very interesting! It's competently written, but so are a lot of things sold in bookstores.

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May 03, 2010 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

Lay the Favorite. Beth Raymer. 2010. Random House. 230 pages. ISBN 9780385526456.

This very entertaining gambling memoir is the story of Beth Raymer, a young woman who relocated to Las Vegas with hopes of becoming a scriptwriter but then stumbled upon a bookie job in all its high-risk and dangerous glory.

Lay the Favorite opens right away in Las Vegas and we are instantly introduced to Raymer, a Thai restaurant waitress. One of her customers refers her for a job at Dink Inc., where Raymer meets th...more

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Aug 09, 2011 Zach rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-books, audio-books, audio-books-2011, biographies, las-vegas, gambling-casinos, memoir

Okay memoir, would have been better as humorous mystery series ala Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum.

If you have an interest in gambling and/or Vegas you might find it interesting.

Possibly interesting characters, but not much really happens.

Former stripper, amateur boxer, investigative reporter boyfriend, crazy family, and her employer and most of her friends are gamblers or bookies. Locals include Vegas, Costa Rica and Curaco.

Sounds like promising character for a chick lit mystery, right? Ins...more

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Apr 17, 2013 Stephen rated it 4 of 5 stars

It was a slow Saturday evening so we rented a movie from Redbox. It looked cute but didn't get a good review from RottenTomatoes but it caught our eye. The movie was a 'hoot' if you love sports and Las Vegas and a little bit of gambling. As the credits rolled by, I noticed that the story was true and the source was a book by the heroine of the book, Beth Raymer... and that intrigued me a little more. Could WCPL own the book? Well , yes we do and I knew I had to read it to find out other things t...more

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May 04, 2010 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I expected a story of a woman who would become an obsessive gambler, would hit bottom, see the light, and share with the reader the tale of how she pulled herself out of a really bad place. This is not that story. Instead we have a woman who makes a series of choices, some not exactly good, but always understandable and even interesting. Beth Raymer is not me. She is not everywoman. Instead she is herself, very intelligent, but unable to find satisfaction in ordinary events. Hence, she lives a f...more

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Jan 08, 2011 Danna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: recommended

Beth Raymer's memoir about her life working odd-jobs for professional gamblers was entertaining, funny, and a page-turner. Following the whims of her heart, Beth moves to Las Vegas to move in with a boyfriend and begins working at a Thai restaurant owned by his parents. Soon after, they break up and she finds herself miserably working for his family making little money. A regular customer connects Beth with a professional gambler, Dinky, and she begins working for him. Beth regales us with stori...more

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Oct 03, 2011 Dale rated it 3 of 5 stars

I think that technically the subtitle of this book should have been "A Memoir of Being In The Vicinity of Gambling" because there is very little actual gambling in the life of the author and in the pages of the memoir itself. Which is not to say that the author hasn't lived (or at least, as I have to admit is possible in this crazy post-A-Million-Little-Pieces world we live in, invented) a fascinating life which includes everything from working as an in-home stripper to pursuing an amateur boxin...more

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May 03, 2010 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars

Beth Raymer tells a one of a kind story that one would only expect to find on the silver screen. Sprinkled with humor and heartfelt sentiments throughout, Lay the Favorite is a book for people who wish they could follow their own impulses in the manner of an affluent European playboy. Beth is no European playboy but she certainly is impulsive. From start to finish an almost too unbelievable/humorous story unfolds page after page. The situations the author put herself into made me ask myself why...more

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Jan 18, 2011 Peter Knox rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

Read the whole book over two sessions in the same day; more a testament to its readability and story than anything else. I am interested in sports & betting & gambling law, but this never got too heavy into either, focusing mostly on the personal journey of its author through her professional life aiding and abetting bookmakers in New York, Las Vegas, and Costa Rica / San Juan.
She's interesting, a fine enough writer, and has lived a unique life, coloring in her experiences with the insid...more

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May 07, 2010 Phyllis rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-read

I won Lay The Favorite by Beth Raymer recently in a First Reads giveaway and her entertaining fast-paced memoir took me into the quirky world of sports betting. I've never been much of a gambler and the only sports betting I've ever done is enter a football pool but I've had friends that love to bet on sports. After reading Beth's book, I know much more about their addiction to it.
Beth went to Las Vegas hoping to get a job as a cocktail waitress in one of the big casinos. While waiting tables at...more

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Aug 20, 2010 Declan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: success-stories-bio-autobio

Charming and troubling. Girlish woman narrator takes risks and makes choice that seem both naive, stupid, and self-deluding but survives and succeeds in every situation. Told in a different tone this could be a cautionary tale but it is not. Neither is it self destructive catharsis. The confident and assertively unreflective way the main character make choices that the white suburban male teacher that I am wants to warn her away from is truly subversive. I want to say "Don't you know that stripp...more

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Dec 27, 2012 Laura Zimmerman rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a book that I received from a Goodreads giveaway.

What to say about this book? It started off interestingly enough and moved along fairly well until I got about a third of the way through. I learned a bit about gambling (a world I knew nothing about prior to reading the book) but after 60+ pages I felt the book wasn't going anywhere. I may have missed the point but it seemed to me that the author was simply recounting her days at work. The characters in her book are colorful and fun to re...more

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Jan 10, 2012 Laurie rated it 5 of 5 stars

You do not have to like gambling or know anything about gambling (I don't) to totally delight in this young woman's raucous memoir of working for two different bookies, both mathematical geniuses who choose less conventional paths in life. Though the book is a work of nonfiction, the characters are larger than life, and there are so many laugh out loud moments ("he arrested you? does he know you went to Stuyvesant?!")that my husband wanted me to hurry up and finish so he could read it. I'm guess...more

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Jun 16, 2010 Mamiche rated it 2 of 5 stars

Well, I had trouble enjoying this book. It may have been the material which deals with gambling, not my favorite subject.

The young protagonist is in Las Vegas working for a man who places bets on horses and other sports.

This is a memoir and the narrator talks about how much fun she had with her father who took her to casinos when she was young.

Beth Raymer writes well, but this story did not resonate with me.I felt she jumped around within her storytelling, and it was hard for me be motivated to...more

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May 03, 2010 Christy Stewart rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own, books-i-won, contemporary, nonfiction, reviewed, memoir

Your life is crazy, right? You've gone through shit, man. Shit. Sex, drugs, rock and roll. Shit, man. Man.

Stop writing memoirs. All of you.

On to the book...

Raymer goes through some interesting stuff. Not so much so that she should have done something as horrible as write a memoir, but what's done is done.

The biggest problem is Raymer herself. She isn't relatable. She isn't likeable. She isn't even unlikable.

Indifference toward a peice of art is the worst reaction imaginable...and I feel it for t...more

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May 24, 2010 Kathleen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, read2010, nonfiction

Although I expected Lay the Favorite to be a mostly on-the-job autobiography of a cocktail waitress-cum-bookie in Vegas, it turned out to be more of an opportunity to follow Beth Raymer as she chronicles her past relationships with men, mostly gamblers, including her father, her neurotic former employers, some boyfriends/lovers, and co-workers. Most of the autobiographical portion of the book lies in Beth's obsession with boxing and brief stint as an in-home 'dancer'. Many of the rest of the sto...more

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May 26, 2010 Carla rated it 1 of 5 stars

Sadly, I found this memoir dull and un-engaging. I usually find something nice to say about memoirs but alas, nothing good will be here.

Luckily, I won a pre-release copy from Goodreads so I didn't actually pay for the book, but I'll never get the time back.

Raymer profiles, in painful detail, some quirky characters in the gambling world. She also profiles some terribly dull characters in the gambling world. Her own voice is uninteresting and almost absent. Sometimes the narration was best chara...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Steve rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography-memoir, non-fiction, first-reads

I received a free copy of this book through the Goodreads First Reads giveaways. This book was inconsistent, I really enjoyed the parts about professional gambling and the two main professional gamblers in Raymer's life, but the parts about Raymer herself made me want to put this book down. Raymer, a stripper, pornographer, and waitress before she got hired on as a professional gambler's assistant, falls in love at the drop of a hat, takes up boxing, and makes a myriad of bad choices during the...more

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May 07, 2010 DH rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: gr-str, arc, 2010

Lay the Favorite was a fast, fun, and thrilling read. Raymer takes the readers behind the scenes of sports betting. She reveals all the dirty secrets and truth behind the money and glamour of the gambling world without holding anything back. The readers are in for a treat as she shares her adventure with them which begins with a waitressing job in Las Vegas to becoming a pro boxer in New York and everything in between.

It’s a good read for anyone that is looking to escape from their boring and or...more

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Jun 05, 2012 Heidi Britton rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: what-was-i-thinking

"An eye-popping and hilarious joyride through the underworld of sports betting" - not hardly. Eye-popping? Hilarious? Joyride? Was this blurb meant for a different book and somehow mistakenly end up on the dust jacket of Beth Raymer's memoir?

Don't believe the title or the blurb people. You won't get any inside look at the gambling world from this book. In fact, you'll learn more about gambling by sitting in a sports bar for a quarter of football than you will here. This book read like a kind of...more

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Jul 20, 2010 J rated it 3 of 5 stars

CONAINS SPOILERS

This is the kind of book that people call a "romp." I enjoyed it.

Beth Raymer, the author and main character, bounces from one job and adventure to the next. She starts out as a staffer at a group home for wayward girl teens, gets into at-your-door exotic dancing, then migrates into gambling.

After coming to Vegas with a boyfriend, with whom she rapidly breaks up, Raymer briefly waitresses at a Thai joint, then goes to work for Dink, a professional gambler in Vegas. Either he, or o...more

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Aug 09, 2010 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars

Beth Raymer is young woman who impulsively moved to Las Vegas with her boyfriend, the promptly broke up with him. Since she was working at his family's Thai restaurant at the time, she needed a new job. One of customers refers her to Dink, a professional gambler. This book is the story of her job with Dink and others in the world of gambling and bookmaking. There are also significant detours into her former career as an in-home stripper and internet porn model and her hobby of boxing.

I loved t...more

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Jan 11, 2011 Jim rated it 4 of 5 stars

One thing I've learned from working at an Indian casino is that appearances can be deceiving. If the stereotype is that gamblers are overweight, stogie-chewing men in sharkskin suits or young men in designer T-shirts and $500 sunglasses, such images are fallacious. Nine times out of 10, the so-called big spender who pulls up to the casino in a fancy car wearing flashy jewelry will gamble much less than the middle-aged Filipina in Old Navy sweatpants and knock-off Louis Vuitton fanny pack.

In her...more One thing I've learned from working at an Indian casino is that appearances can be deceiving. If the stereotype is that gamblers are overweight, stogie-chewing men in sharkskin suits or young men in designer T-shirts and $500 sunglasses, such images are fallacious. Nine times out of 10, the so-called big spender who pulls up to the casino in a fancy car wearing flashy jewelry will gamble much less than the middle-aged Filipina in Old Navy sweatpants and knock-off Louis Vuitton fanny pack.

In her memoir of sports betting, "Lay the Favorite," Beth Raymer gleefully shatters the myth of the modern gambler. Her story begins in Naked City, a seedy North Las Vegas neighborhood where she moves to be with a boyfriend. They break up almost immediately and Raymer soon finds herself living in a motel and working in a Thai restaurant. She has no contacts, no prospects — nothing but a determination not to return to Florida, where she worked at a halfway house and moonlighted as an in-home stripper. "It was 2001 and Vegas was the fastest growing metropolitan area in America," she writes. "Fifteen hundred people were moving into the city each week. Everyone I met was very much like me."

Then along comes Douglas "Dink" Heimowitz, a middle-aged man from Queens who loves baseball too much. Convicted of running an illegal bookmaking operation, he moves to Las Vegas to start over as a professional gambler. Dink may stand 6-foot-4 and weigh 280 pounds, yet he is anything but imposing. "He dressed like the mentally retarded adults I had met while volunteering at a group home," Raymer tells us. "His Chicago Cubs T-shirt was two sizes too small for his expansive frame. Royal blue elasticized cotton shorts were pulled too high above his belly button."

Dink offers Raymer a job at Dink, Inc. as an apprentice handicapper, teaching her how to read betting lines and place wagers. He indoctrinates her in the art of getting "the best of it," which refers to the never-ending quest for point spreads that offer the greatest value. To Raymer, this doesn't seem like real gambling. As she puts it, "It seemed like we were bargain hunting for luck."

Raymer's adventures take her from Las Vegas to New York to Costa Rica. As the Internet changes the way people gamble and the off-shore sports betting operations begin to rake in millions, she is faced with one elemental question: Is it legal? Her instincts tell her no. But the allure of easy money proves too strong, so she heads to Curacao to work for Bernard Rose at ASAP — All Serious Action Players.

Raymer is adept at bringing to life the rogue's gallery of people she once called colleagues. In Curacao, we meet Wladimir, a murderous clerk/drug dealer with a strong distaste for white people. Then there's Raymer's boss, Bernard, a "harmless maniac" with a genius for numbers and a weakness for chocolate éclairs. Wherever Bernard goes, he is followed by an entourage of Genos, Jimmys and Vinnies, drawn to a life of "inexpensive, high-quality cocaine and hookers."

Attracted to their unconventional lifestyle yet repulsed by their flaws, Raymer vacillates between admiration and disgust for these men. Although they see themselves as mavericks and talk like gangsters, they are thoroughly neurotic. They trust the wrong people, misplace enormous sums of money and cave in to their basest instincts. Whether vanity, paranoia or greed, their compulsions ultimately get the best of them.

Throughout "Lay the Favorite," Raymer means to give up the high-risk/high-reward life of professional gambling. Yet every time she tries to get out, she gets pulled back in. She's good at what she does and willing to put in long hours, but what she loves most is the lifestyle: white sand beaches, beachfront villas, wads of cash in her purse.

If she were a close friend or family member, we'd urge her to take the next flight home. But seduced by her stories, we long for this strange, sleazy and alluring landscape, even as the stakes get higher and Raymer's search for "the best of it" turns into a worst-case scenario.

With a film adaptation in the works, it's a safe bet that Raymer's memoir will find a wide audience. In fact, her engaging voice makes her a shoe-in for a sequel. I'm setting the odds at 3 to 1.

[Please note: This review originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.](less)

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Jun 07, 2010 Patrick rated it 4 of 5 stars

This novel is interesting. As a sports fan that doesn't know much about gambling on sports, I found this novel full of all sorts of interesting information on the different aspects of professional gambling. The novel paints an thorough portrait of the life gamblers live, the elation and despair of their profession and the gray area of the law they often operate under or around. Following the life of Dink through his journey to becoming a professional gambler in Vegas is very interesting. His pat...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Paul rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: i-got-a-firstreads-copy

Full disclosure: I received a FirstReads copy through Goodreads.com.

I am not a gambler (I do play the nickel slots in Vegas when I pass through, but that doesn't count), and I don't fully understand betting lines, but I understand that this was an excellent memoir! It's actually a true account of the author's experiences in Las Vegas, New York City, the Caribbean, and Costa Rica.

She works in a couple of different situations where everyone swims in cash (and someone else's embezzlement hurts the...more

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Jul 26, 2010 Anne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I won this book from Goodreads as a first read. This book tells the reader about Raymer's life in the gambling world, the stories of the odd people she meets in the gambling world and the path that led her there. She does a great job of describing the scenes so that you feel as though you're watching events unfold.

The stories that she tells could be incredibly intriguing, except that it's lacking any sort of emotional depth. It seems as though Raymer has chosen to maintain an emotional distance...more

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