Lucky Devils: The True Story of Three Rebel Gamblers Who Beat the Odds and Changed the Game

by Kit Chellel

The rollicking true story of a trio of gamblers hell-bent on beating the house, who used their ingenuity to rake in hundreds of millions of dollars, transforming the way betting games are played. In the late 1970s, three men declared war on the casino. They were card counters and misfits who arrived in Las Vegas determined to make their fortune. When blackjack got too easy—and they got kicked out of too many casinos—they aimed for bigger prey. Could they predict a roulette wheel’s outcome by sight alone? Use computers to “solve” poker? Anticipate game-day outcomes better than veteran bookies? Crunch enough numbers to predict which horse would come in first? Using innovative strategies and technology that was decades ahead of its time, they did all that and more. They became pioneers of “advantage play.” Their pursuit of an edge would take them from the Las Vegas Strip to the grand casinos of Northern Europe to the sprawling, 85,000-capacity racetracks of Hong Kong. For more than thirty years they faced down angry pit bosses, violent mafiosos, bankruptcies, nights in foreign jails, lawsuits, and personal betrayals. They learned that the only thing harder than reaching the pinnacle of gambling is staying there. Drawing from exclusive interviews with the three players and their associates, award-winning Bloomberg journalist Kit Chellel delivers a cinematic and often uproarious account of fortunes gained, lost, and gained again. Scrupulously reported and irresistibly told, Lucky Devils reveals how these players did more than simply amass wealth; they revolutionized the game itself. Along the way, they defied gambling’s oldest rule. The house doesn’t always win.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

Kindle Edition

Expected publication April 14, 2026

Reviews

[Bernie Gourley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides a fascinating look at the field of "advantage gambling" from the 1970's through the 1990's / early 2000's. Advantage gambling is the use of applied mathematics and computing to snatch up part of the advantage in odds that normally accrues to "the house" (i.e. the casino / gambling establishment) to make gambling not so much a sucker's game. Card counting is a specific variety of this undertaking. This story is largely told through the life stories of three prominent advantage gamblers, Bill Benter, Bill Nelson, and Rob Reitzen. While the book starts with card counting in blackjack, it broadens beyond that -- and even beyond the casino -- into horse races and online poker.

As one reads about the activities of these gamblers, one also learns about intriguing, related subjects such as the mafia's hand in Vegas, the development of computing technology (as it applied to gaining advantage,) and even how a younger Trump managed the challenging task of losing money through casino ownership.

If you're interested in how smart people have tried to beat the house, and the risks that that entails, I'd highly recommend this book. I found the book compelling from start to finish.

[M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ir was a good read.