BIG SID FROM CHICAGO, TALKS ABOUT THE PONYS AND ARLINGTON RACE TRACK

As the year comes to a close, Howard talks about a half dozen of the most popular gaming books at Gambler’s Book Shop, including one title Mafia that reads like a thick rap sheet on top mobsters of the past. Also, he interviews a long-time Gambler’s Book Shop customer from Chicago, Big Sid, a horseplayer, who talks about what the tracks are doing right and wrong, the demographics of the wagering public, and about the writer who influenced him the most.

Bets, Drugs, and Rock and Roll" "The Rise and Fall of the World's First Online Sports Book"

The gambler’s high is like a rush; he feels invulnerable.  That high lasts, though, only until the next big loss. Such is the story of Steve Budin, who created the first online sports betting company. Under the tutelage of his father, a legendary, old-school Miami bookmaker, and with the help of a cocaine-addicted polygamist, Budin revolutionized the shadowy business of spreads by taking them global. But he also stuck to some tried and true methods, like plying clients with trips to Vegas, hookers, and hardcore drugs. In the end, Budin raked in hundreds of millions of dollars and stood on the verge of a deal worth billions more. He took bookmaking into an automated, virtual worldwide casino that anyone could access, anywhere and at any time.  For anyone fascinated by the "wild West" that is internet gambling, here is a rare peek into that exciting, dangerous world.

George Joseph is an authority on gaming protection and cheating. He has served as director of surveillance for Bally's, Paris, Aladdin and Dunes casinos in Las Vegas. He has served as an expert witness and consulting investigator on casino cheating prosecutions and he has appeared on TV shows such as : Dateline NBC, 48 Hours, America's Most Wanted, Cheating Las Vegas, Cheaters Beware, Prime time, History Of Las Vegas, Modern Marvels: Las Vegas and many others. He created the first video series exposing the secrets of card and dice cheats and is the president of Worldwide Casino Consulting, Inc. which provides training for casino and gambling security personnel around the world. His latest work is the book titled Poker Cheating

This week's broadcast includes TWO great guests.

DAVID G. SCHWARTZ, (no relation to your host, Howard Schwartz) is the head of the Gaming Studies Department at UNLV. He is the author of
"Suburban Xanadu: The Casino Resort on the Las Vegas Strip", a book-length, essay on the history and evolution of the Las Vegas experience from its earliest days to the the advent of the mega resort. His second book, "Cutting the Wire", examines the political, social, and cultural ideas that moved Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy to suggest the Wire Act (a law banning interstate transmission of gambling information), Congress to approve it, and President Kennedy to sign it into law, as well as the consequences of the law. He covers it all -- how this law first developed, how it helped fight a war against organized crime, and how it is being used today to restrict Americans from internet gambling. His latest work is titled "Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling ", which explains how the need to gamble shaped human history from the Ice Age to the Information Age when people spend nearly one trillion dollars worldwide on gambling a year.

BRAD LEWIS is the author of the Hollywood Celebrity Gangster: Mickey Cohen. All the whispered anecdotes, the news items and the underside of the crime rackets where Mickey operated are in his book, open to scrutiny. From Bugsy Siegel to Lucky Luciano and Albert Anastasia to Meyer Lansky and Carlos Marcello, Mickey knew them well and worked closely with them for many years.

Howard Schwartz & acclaimed writer Richard Eng discuss various aspects of horse racing in advance of this weekend's Breeder's Cup. Horses to follow, betting strategies, and factors that may affect the races are all covered. For the newest books on thoroughbreds, visit www.GamblersBook.com

In this pod cast, Howard will be talking about the new books that have arrived at The Gamblers Book Shopin the last week. or two. There will be information on books about to be released and Howard will discuss various books of fiction, about gambling and why the writing of this type of fiction is so hard to do well.Howard will have a short discussion on a new book or manual on baseball and sports betting that he feels may be the most important book of its type for the serious gambler who is into math and stats.Howard will also announce a visit to the store by a author and his new book on the Mafia, Hollywood and Las Vegas,

Today Howard will be talking to Lem Banker, author and sports betting expert. After the talk Howard will discuss some items that may be of intrest listeners.  LEM BANKER'S BOOK OF SPORTS BETTING
by Banker, Lem & Fred Klein
This book has been out of print for more than 15 years but it's so legendary that people have been willing to pay $50 or more for a copy of it . Now, it is available in reprint form. Banker, a veteran of more than 40 years in sports betting, was co-authored by Fred Klein. The broke the topic into eight major sections and focused on betting football, basketball, baseball and boxing. Banker discusses what it was like to be betting in the pre-computer days and how information was gathered, evaluated and bet on. He explains why a professional gambler cannot afford to be a fan. His insights on why it's important to know how to watch a game or event on television is crucial, as are his views on handicapping services, his reasoning for when to be early or late and his insight into fixed games. Certainly the art of handicapping and where to get a big bet down has changed in the past two decades, but reading Banker's book is both a how-to bet and a history lesson, a lot of it covering how to survive; how to manage your money and understanding how tough it is to sustain a winning percentage and make a living over the long run. A whole generation has missed this wonderful book. It's now available for the first time in years. You'll like it, because it imparts knowledge and it makes good sense, to learn from a very classy guy. 182 pages, plastic spiral bound, January 2004

On today’s Pod cast Howard will be talking about some new books that have just arrived at “The Gamblers Book Shop”. Howard will also be talking about other items that may be of interest. There are no guests for this show but there is a new trivia question for all.

Howard talks to Paul Magreil, author, world champion backgammon player, and world class poker player. Known as X-22 on the backgammon circuit, Magriel has arguably won more major backgammon tournaments than any other player in the world. He is widely considered the world's premier backgammon teacher, an original and clear-thinking theorist and one of its best players. The sobriquet X-22 originates from Magriel's simulation of a real backgammon tournament (compare simultaneous exhibition in chess) with many boards, designated X-1, X-2, X-3, etc. The player "X-22" won. Magriel first came into prominence on the backgammon circuit when he won the World Backgammon Championship in 1978. From 1977 to 1980, he wrote weekly backgammon columns for the The New York Times. Magriel had several notable finishes in poker tournaments from the mid-1990s in Europe, playing in London, Paris and Vienna in Omaha, hold'em and seven-card stud events. He won the €2,000 no limit hold'em event at the Aviation Club de France in September 2002, defeating a field including Pascal "Triple P" Perrault, Patrick Bruel and Simon "Aces" Trumper on the way to the €48,600 first prize. In March 2003 he made his first World Poker Tour (WPT) final table, finishing 4th in the $5,000 no limit hold'em World Poker Challenge event in Reno, Nevada. Magriel has since finished in the money three times at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), and has made the final table of events on the Professional Poker Tour and Ultimate Poker Challenge.

In this episode, Howard interviews first time author and 50 year veteran poker player, Sam O'Connor. Sam is known in poker circles as "Silver Dollar Sam". Sam will tell about his book, his life in poker and a recent Hollywood movie on gambling he appeared in. Howard will also talk about Sports Betting and give some information on 3 books that would be helpful to Sport Bettors.