Greatest Gambling Stories Ever Told: Thirty One Tales of Risk and Reward

by Paul Blumenau Lyons (Introduction)

"This book is a good read, with a mix of stories ranging from
distressing to hilarious." -Casino Chronicle (newsletter)
Whether your vice be a tame game of bingo or a visit to the local horse track, a friendly game of poker with friends or a tense match of billiards in a smoky parlor, chances are that you, at one time or another, have gambled on something. And nowhere is man's fascination with gambling more clearly evident than in the massive profits amassed each year by illegal bookmakers and the lavish casinos in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and abroad.
In The Greatest Gambling Stories Ever Told, editor Paul Lyons has compiled thirty-one of the finest writings, both fact and realistic fiction, ever penned about our collective gambling vice, which has been a part of our history and culture since Biblical times.
With contributions from such renowned writers as Fyodor Dostoevsky, David Mamet, and Charles Bukowski, as well as some rare, lesser-known gems of the genre from Dan McGoorty, Michael Konik, and Jane Smiley, The Greatest Gambling Stories Ever Told is an entertaining and enlightening collection sure to appeal to anyone who has ever picked up a cue, cards, dice, or racing form, and to anyone out there looking to feel a little bit of "juice."

416 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2002

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with all collections, these 31 stories were hit or miss but it was well put together and captured some great writing. It did inspire me to look up and read more Walter Tevis.

[Eden · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure if this was just the wrong anthology for me or I have a different idea of what a gambling story is. Nearly all the stories that worked were excerpts or I had read before such as the famous Roald Dahl short story. The rest were much more akin to recollections and as such didn't have a narrative spine which is what I was looking for.