All or Nothing

by Preston L. Allen

Preston L. Allen's witty, charming, and very likable school bus driver--named P--is a desperate gambler. He has blown the hundred thousand dollars he won at the casino six months ago, but his wife and family still think he's loaded. P spins out of control on the addict's downward spiral of dependency, paranoia, and depression, as he must find ways to keep coming up with the money to fool his family and fund his growing addiction. The bets get bigger and bigger, until finally, faced with the ultimate financial crisis, he hits it really big. Yet winning, he soon learns, is just the beginning of a deeper problem.
The one constant for P--who rises from wage-earner to millionaire and back again in his roller-coaster-ride of a life--is that he must gamble. That his son has died, that his wife is leaving him, that his girlfriend has been arrested, that he has no money, that he has more money than he could ever have dreamed--are all lesser concerns for P as he constantly seeks out new gambling opportunities.
While other books on gambling seek either to sermonize on the addiction or to glorify it by highlighting its few prosperous celebrities, "All or Nothing" is an honest, straightforward account of what it is like to live as a gambler--whether a high-rolling millionaire playing $1,000-ante poker in Las Vegas or a regular guy at the local Indian casino praying for a miracle as he feeds his meager life savings into the unforgiving slot machine. "All or Nothing" is the first novel to dig beneath the veneer to explore the gambler's unique and complex relationship with money. If you've ever wanted to get into the heart and psyche of a compulsive gambler, here is your chance.
Preston L. Allen is a recipient of a State of Florida Individual Artist Fellowship and author of the thriller "Hoochie Mama, " as well as the collection "Churchboys and Other Sinners." His stories have appeared in numerous magazines and journals and have been anthologized in "Brown Sugar" (Penguin) and "Miami Noir" (Akashic). He lives in South Florida.

"New York Times Book Review, " Sun., June 15, 2008

"As a cartographer of autodegradation, Allen takes his place on a continuum that begins, perhaps, with Dostoyevsky's "Gambler, " courses through Malcolm Lowry's "Under the Volcano, " William S. Burroughs's "Junky, " [and] the collected works of Charles Bukowski and Hubert Selby Jr...Like Dostoyevsky, Allen colorfully evokes the gambling milieu...Like Burroughs, he is a dispassionate chronicler of the addict's daily ritual, neither glorifying nor vilifying the matter at hand. Yet he never wallows like Lowry nor amuses like Bukowski. His spare, efficient prose could be called medium-boiled."

"Library Journal, " Nov. 15, 2007

"Allen's new novel poignantly depicts the life of P . . . Told without preaching or moralizing, the facts of P's life express volumes on the destructive power of gambling. This is strongly recommended and deserves a wide audience; an excellent choice for book discussion groups."

"Kirkus Reviews, " Sept., 15, 2007

"A gambler's hands and heart perpetually tremble in this raw story of addiction . . . Allen's brilliant at conveying the hothouse atmosphere of hell-bent gaming."

"ForeWord, "Jan/Feb. 2008

""All or Nothing "is funny, relentless, haunting, and highly readable."

Genres: Fiction

280 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2007

About the author

Preston L. Allen is the author of the new novel, I DISAPPEARED THEM (Akashic 2024)

Preston L. Allen, a graduate of the University of Florida (BA '87) and Florida International University (MFA '94), is a recipient of a State of Florida Individual Artist Fellowship and a recipient of the Sonja H. Stone Prize in Fiction. His work has been published in the Seattle Review and the Crab Orchard Review and has been anthologized in Las Vegas Noir, Miami Noir, Brown Sugar, Making the Hook-Up, and Here We Are: a Collection of South Florida Writers. His short story collection CHURCHBOYS AND OTHER SINNERS (Carolina Wren Press 2003) is the winner of the Sonja H. Stone Prize in Fiction, and his novels ALL OR NOTHING, JESUS BOY, and EVERY BOY SHOULD HAVE A MAN have received rave reviews from the New York Times Book Review, Publisher's Weekly, Library Journal, The Kirkus Review, Florida Book Review, The Feminist Review, and Foreword Magazine.

His latest novel is I DISAPPEARED THEM (Akashic, 2024).

https://www.akashicbooks.com/catalog/....

He teaches creative writing in Miami, Florida. You can find him on Facebook or on his blog, PrestonLaLLen.blogspot.com. email: pallenagogy@aol.com

Reviews

[Celia Lisset Alvarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have been meaning to add my review of my pal Preston's book, but I've talked so much about it recently that I've not much new left to say. Suffice it that I can't seem to get it back; I have lent it out and can't for the life of me get it returned.
The novel chronicles the sad, twisted, yet ever-interesting life of "P," who starts out as a schoolbus driver battling gambling addiction and winds up living the highroller dream and everything in between before the novel's surprising end. What I like about this novel, most of all, is the narrative style, the mixture of first-person narrative with other accounts of P's ups and downs that allow us not only to get to know the mysterious man in the black cowboy hat, but also the people who surround him, other desperate gamblers who hide and ride their addiction with different degrees of success. The novel is loaded with interesting characters that reflect the truth of the gambling world. In other words, this is not the usual glamorized representation of Vegas-style glitz one gets from Hollywood and other treatments of the theme. What you get is real and raw, mothers, grandmothers, blacks, whites, winners, losers, that sad assortment of victims who spend countless hours with one hand holding up their heads and the other pushing the play button on a video poker machine as if they were rats hoping for a pellet.
Surprisingly, however, the book is not a bummer. It's funny, witty, sarcastic, caustic, everything but predictable. In the end, it's not really about gambling. The casino becomes a metaphor, a microcosm in which to test ideas on fate and human worth. Good job, Preston!

[Eternity Philops · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book while perusing the shelves at my local library. Though I'd never heard of the author, the content sounded interesting so I figured I'd check it out.

And I'm glad I did!

This book is about gambling addiction, but not in a bland "this is how gambling ruined my life" kind of way. No, it's a more spirited, intriguing, real-world look into the mind of a gambler and how the addiction feels, highs and lows. The author takes the reader on a tour of the soul, making real what for some of us is only a distant and abstract notion.

Likewise, Allen's writing style is unique and captivating. This alone grabbed me, and makes me curious to read more of his work.

Before reading this my view on gambling was simply just don't do it. Now I have a better understanding of why gamblers get sucked in, and how it really can happen to just about anyone.

An awesome read.

[Craven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fast-paced story of a compulsive gambler. It reads as quickly as a Palahniuk except the author is able to create a really solid fleshed-out character and doesn't have to rely on fun facts to distract you from that. I must note that the pacing is also the only real comparison that can make between the two authors. I couldn't get over the way that the main character, P., was presented, he does a lot of really repulsive things and risks the welfare of his family (eventually losing them) to feed his habit. But still, the reader is unable to condemn, glorify or pity P.. Allen takes you so deep into the character's head and compulsions that it makes you realize that he is neither a monster, nor a folk hero and you find yourself rooting for him on a basic human level.

[Chief · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Casino Manual

Great book, being someone who has seen dark days a dark nights from my casino defeats, this book is spot on and bring backs good memories and tragic memories. If you are a gambler you will connect with the main character P. I can't believe I read this book in two days, a page turner I could not put it down.

[Emlgy · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

[Heather Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

P is a bus driver in Miami. He’s got a wife, and two kids, and two big-screen TVs, and two cars, and an addiction. Smoke cigarettes, and you might get cancer. Shoot heroin, and you might O.D. Drink, don’t drive.

But what’s the consequence of gambling? You might get broke. Or you might not. “There are only two kinds of gamblers,” protagonist P says, “the lucky and the broke.”

While P still lives with his family, he is shameless. He calls in sick and sneaks out to the casino. His kid has an asthma attack and he leaves his cell number with the nurse at the emergency room desk. “The kid is safe. The kid is at a hospital, right?” There’s a hurricane, and although the dealers have the sense to stay home, the players show up. Dealers aren’t addicts.

When P leaves his family and moves to Las Vegas, the shame of hiding losses and making up stories—two stories, one for winning and one for losing—also disappears over the horizon. No one cares about your shame in Las Vegas. No one wants to hear your story. They just want you to get out there and win. P starts out on a new foot, leaving the slots for the poker table. The first night, he wins nearly $300,000. The next day, he wins again. He buys a black cowboy hat.

A casino can fix all the problems, it can smooth over all the ugly parts of one’s past. P sends money home to his wife and sons. Getting lucky has changed to being lucky. He knows how to wait. He knows when to fold. He lives in the Presidential Suite. He’s lost everything five times over and he’s still a whale. He could put a dollar on every drop of rain that falls for fifteen seconds, thirty seconds. Even though money doesn’t have value in a casino like it does at a Wal-Mart. “Money is a toy.” P quits gambling. He plays solitaire in his room.

Of course, the story doesn’t end there: the lonesome cowboy looking into the mirror, cards spread out on a hotel room dresser. “Gambling is the most addictive addiction of them all because there is never a reason to stop,” Preston Allen writes. Not shame, not assault, not even murder is enough reason to stop. Allen’s second novel, All or Nothing, is funny, relentless, haunting, and highly readable. P’s inner dialogues illuminate the grubby tragedy of addiction, and his actions speak for the train wreck that is gambling. (ForeWord Magazine)

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book- I HATE the protagonist- I don't even want to use that word to describe the Bus Driver.

I have close friends and family who struggle with addiction, so I was prepared to relate and sympathize, but the main character is so morally bankrupt-without so much as a pennies worth- that I cant wait for a terrible end for him if there is Karma in the world instead of just dumb luck. Not because he gambles- His gambling addiction is more a symptom of his overall sociopothy than his disease. If they want to market the novel as one man's struggle against the disease and an insight into the underbelly of flashing lights and glittering fascade into a gamblers mind I think it was half-a-fail. Allen does a good job with the expose part, but looses me when he tries hard to dress "P" up as a sympathetic character. He's got the flaws, don't get me wrong, but gambling is the least of them. He's just disgusting on an ethical level, sub-human. The book looses me completely in P's (the main character, The Bus Driver") interaction with the "book publisher" who he abuses terribly but who then takes pains to make sure he is described in the book in loving terms as a mentor for "teaching her a lesson" - but its the kind of lesson an ignorant person would say about a rape victim who no longer wears suggestive clothing.

It might seem strange then that I give the book 3 stars- I did like it, and commend any author who can inspire so much emotion in me- in this case dislike, or more accurately disgust. I might have given All or Nothing four stars had the book jacket read something like "this guys is a total jerk on every level and his story is outrageous, come listen" I might have given it five stars had the author given P even one teeny tiny redeemable human quality.

[trickgnosis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a damn good read, the best I've sampled thus far from Akashic Books (the Brooklyn publisher). Allen is a talented writer. The first part of the book nails addiction so well that it was kind of tough to read despite the page-turning quality of the writing. The big turn the plot takes is a bit of a stretch, but not so much as to strain our suspension of disbelief, and it does lift the book beyond being simply a depressing account of a small-time addict. There's some fascinating stuff in here about the...epistemology of gambling I suppose you could say, that I might like to have seen more of as it really gets you inside the head of an addicted gambler. But this is a tight, fast novel that offers just enough introspection to give it depth, any more might have slowed the pace and made it a different sort of story. One less easily adapted to film, which I expect this will be before long. Allen is more than simply a genre writer and I look forward to his next book.

[Juanita Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an addict, I understand this craziness. Preston Allen does a good job taking you into the head of a compulsive gambler. The one in which he takes you from scene to scene allow you to go from disliking him to empathizing with all that he goes through. Most profound is the skill in which he portrays the desperate need to continuing acting out. While P, our hero, slowly sinks to find his bottom, at no time do we doubt that there is no other course. And when stops gambling, we all understand that little voice of temptation that never goes away. If you've ever wondered what its like to be an addict, read this book.

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about a gambler that is as exciting and suspenseful as gambling itself. I read it in 2 short sessions because i couldn't put it down. This is probably more interesting to those of us who enjoy gambling, but it should also be read by people who are trying to understand why other people love to gamble, especially if you are involved or related to someone who gambles. It's pure fiction, not a self-help book, but he really has extracted the essence of the fascination with gambling, whether it's slots or dice or card games.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant piece of work. This piece will capture you from the first chapter where the narrator takes his allergy burdened child to the hospital in order to sneak out and go gambling.

The novel is about the gambling addiction, and follows a man, P, who has it. It's avant-guard, powerful, and hilarious. I know the author personally. He was my professor. Brilliant man. I highly recommend this book and any other book he's written.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book while I was writing a good bit of personal narrative pieces on alcoholism. I was endlessly fascinated as to how addiction translates similarly, no matter what the substance is, and how the voice throughout the novel maintained a balance between all-knowing and self-deprecating.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a dark, depressing novel -- probably wouldn't have read it if I realized just how depressing it was -- but I also found it to be intriguing and enlightening. I appreciated the unique writing style as well as the honest portrayal of the life of a gambling addict.

[Desiree · Rating 2 out of 5]

Semi-interesting book about a degenerate gambler. Very depressing.....

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I much preferred Jesus Boy to this.

[Elly Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book! I knew nothing about being a gambler -- and now I'm sure glad.

[Yvonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow this is a eye opening look into a gamblers mind.

[Daver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good quick read, nice insight into the addiction of gambling with a twist.