Double down
February 6th, 2017 at 10:11:50 AM
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Double Down is a gambling memoir by Frederick and Steven Barthelme. It falls into the loss and addiction category of memoirs similar to my previous review of Born to Lose here https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/off-topic/general/24264-by-the-playbook-2/
After the loss of both their parents within a year and as a result of paternal abuse (physically only hinted at but most definitely psychological) the brothers fall into a gambling addiction spiral. Their fathers inheritance of a quarter million dollars fuels this and they wind up losing it all.
If this is where their story ended it would simply be one of thousands of similar addiction tales but an interesting twist occurs--after losing hundreds of thousands including over ten thousand dollars the night of their arrest the pair was accused of cheating!!!
The Mississippi casino in question claimed they colluded with the dealer such that whenever surrender was offered at blackjack she signalled them whether to accept prior to correctly flipping over her card
The two brothers names were dragged through the mud. As both were college professors their jobs were put in jeopardy. The DA tried to convince them to take a plea deal for just a few years but the brothers refused to accept guilt where none was had.
The book was written during the court proceedings and published in 1999 shortly before all charges were dropped. Hence the 1st printing does not have the final conclusión. Current printings have a foreword where they give a somewhat unsatisfactory explanation of how things turned out.
Best thing to do is read the book then follow up with some research on the internet to get a satisfying explanation of how the situation was resolved
The brothers spend an inordinate amount of time on their family issues and psychology so much so I almost put the book down in the first chapter--but it does improve particularly when they get to the gambling binge stories and the eventual cheating charges.
Im certain if this had occurred today it would have resulted in a defamation and false arrest lawsuit
Enjoy!
After the loss of both their parents within a year and as a result of paternal abuse (physically only hinted at but most definitely psychological) the brothers fall into a gambling addiction spiral. Their fathers inheritance of a quarter million dollars fuels this and they wind up losing it all.
If this is where their story ended it would simply be one of thousands of similar addiction tales but an interesting twist occurs--after losing hundreds of thousands including over ten thousand dollars the night of their arrest the pair was accused of cheating!!!
The Mississippi casino in question claimed they colluded with the dealer such that whenever surrender was offered at blackjack she signalled them whether to accept prior to correctly flipping over her card
The two brothers names were dragged through the mud. As both were college professors their jobs were put in jeopardy. The DA tried to convince them to take a plea deal for just a few years but the brothers refused to accept guilt where none was had.
The book was written during the court proceedings and published in 1999 shortly before all charges were dropped. Hence the 1st printing does not have the final conclusión. Current printings have a foreword where they give a somewhat unsatisfactory explanation of how things turned out.
Best thing to do is read the book then follow up with some research on the internet to get a satisfying explanation of how the situation was resolved
The brothers spend an inordinate amount of time on their family issues and psychology so much so I almost put the book down in the first chapter--but it does improve particularly when they get to the gambling binge stories and the eventual cheating charges.
Im certain if this had occurred today it would have resulted in a defamation and false arrest lawsuit
Enjoy!
For Whom the bus tolls; The bus tolls for thee
