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Vegas Fever
Coming-of-Age Love Story/Las Vegas Gambling Vacation Adventure
Ray Hitchcock and his older brother Joe couldn't be more different. Joe wants to take over and run the family farm some day. Ray refuses to let his life be ruled by anything so arbitrary and fickle as "destiny" or "luck". He hopes he can create his own magic.
To try to control his own future, Ray builds a craps table in his father's barn and works to master the art of making the dice fall as he chooses. If something as random as a roll of the dice can be controlled or influenced, what else is possible?
On Ray's twenty-first birthday, he rushes off to off Las Vegas with Joe in tow for a craps shooting adventure that Ray hopes will allow him to realize his dreams and keep the bank from repossessing their family's farm.
But in Vegas, the house always wants to win. Can Ray realize his dreams or are the dice loaded against this dreamer?
Also, does love await our duo in Vegas?
Ray Hitchcock and his older brother Joe couldn't be more different. Joe wants to take over and run the family farm some day. Ray refuses to let his life be ruled by anything so arbitrary and fickle as "destiny" or "luck". He hopes he can create his own magic.
To try to control his own future, Ray builds a craps table in his father's barn and works to master the art of making the dice fall as he chooses. If something as random as a roll of the dice can be controlled or influenced, what else is possible?
On Ray's twenty-first birthday, he rushes off to off Las Vegas with Joe in tow for a craps shooting adventure that Ray hopes will allow him to realize his dreams and keep the bank from repossessing their family's farm.
But in Vegas, the house always wants to win. Can Ray realize his dreams or are the dice loaded against this dreamer?
Also, does love await our duo in Vegas?
214 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 1, 2016
2 people are currently reading
143 people want to read
About the author
Bill Collins
7 books16 followersBill Collins is a retired wedding photographer, who served the Indianapolis-Cincinnati-Dayton, Ohio regional wedding markets, with 45-years experience as a wedding photographer.
Bill was born in Connersville, Indiana, where he graduated from CHS in 1963, with almost double the number of credits required to graduate, while managing to skip his Junior year.
He was a top wedding photographer in Connersville for over twenty years. In the 1980s, he moved to Richmond, Indiana, where he owned and operated Bill Collins Photography, at 315 NW L Street, for more than a quarter of a century. During the final fifteen years of his career, he only photographed weddings, averaging a wedding a week year around, by serving mostly big city brides throughout Indiana, Western Ohio and Northern Kentucky.
Bill was formerly a Professional Photographers of America member for many years, who studied at Winona International School of Professional Photography, which is owned by the PPA. He received training by several of the top Master Photographers in the United States throughout his career, in order to make sure his style and abilities were always up to date.
Bill is currently living in Greens Fork, Indiana, with Sue, his wife of many years, and their two pet cats.
Books by Bill Collins:
http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Super-Her...
http://www.amazon.com/Wedding-Photogr...
Facebook Pages for Bill Collins:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Weddin...
https://www.facebook.com/bill.collins...
Goodreads.com profile for Bill Collins:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Bill was born in Connersville, Indiana, where he graduated from CHS in 1963, with almost double the number of credits required to graduate, while managing to skip his Junior year.
He was a top wedding photographer in Connersville for over twenty years. In the 1980s, he moved to Richmond, Indiana, where he owned and operated Bill Collins Photography, at 315 NW L Street, for more than a quarter of a century. During the final fifteen years of his career, he only photographed weddings, averaging a wedding a week year around, by serving mostly big city brides throughout Indiana, Western Ohio and Northern Kentucky.
Bill was formerly a Professional Photographers of America member for many years, who studied at Winona International School of Professional Photography, which is owned by the PPA. He received training by several of the top Master Photographers in the United States throughout his career, in order to make sure his style and abilities were always up to date.
Bill is currently living in Greens Fork, Indiana, with Sue, his wife of many years, and their two pet cats.
Books by Bill Collins:
http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Super-Her...
http://www.amazon.com/Wedding-Photogr...
Facebook Pages for Bill Collins:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Weddin...
https://www.facebook.com/bill.collins...
Goodreads.com profile for Bill Collins:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 22, 2016
Today Gentle Readers I have the pleasure of reviewing the debut fiction novel of Bill Collins, already the author of three non fiction works about his career as a wedding photographer.
Vegas Fever is the tale of small town Iowa farm boy Ray Hitchcock and his latest obsession. When Ray latches onto an idea, he is a bear trap that is for sure. His latest quest is to master the art of "dice setting" on a craps table. To accomplish his goal he creates a replica in a stall of his family's old barn and goes to work mastering his toss. He has plenty of time to get better as he cannot set foot in a casino for about 18 months.
Quickly on the heels of his 21st birthday, Ray and his older brother Joe set out for Las Vegas to try out his hard won skills. The results are a week of excitement and adventure in the City of Lights. But not all is money and glamour in Sin City.
Bill does a good job making this book conversational, like Ray is telling his tale over a couple of beers. There are parts where I felt like I had just witnessed one of Ray's progression bets and maybe should have thrown some place bets of my own. Bill does well with integrating the basic rules of craps into the book without bogging the reader down. He leaves the lengthy explanations for the handy guides in the back of the book.
Overall I liked the story, being a craps player myself. I even enjoyed the explanations of the concepts for "dice setting" that Bill included at the end. I recommend you pick this one up if you are looking for a little romance and adventure cast against the backdrop of Las Vegas gambling. Available on Feb 1st, pre-orders are now available.
Vegas Fever is the tale of small town Iowa farm boy Ray Hitchcock and his latest obsession. When Ray latches onto an idea, he is a bear trap that is for sure. His latest quest is to master the art of "dice setting" on a craps table. To accomplish his goal he creates a replica in a stall of his family's old barn and goes to work mastering his toss. He has plenty of time to get better as he cannot set foot in a casino for about 18 months.
Quickly on the heels of his 21st birthday, Ray and his older brother Joe set out for Las Vegas to try out his hard won skills. The results are a week of excitement and adventure in the City of Lights. But not all is money and glamour in Sin City.
Bill does a good job making this book conversational, like Ray is telling his tale over a couple of beers. There are parts where I felt like I had just witnessed one of Ray's progression bets and maybe should have thrown some place bets of my own. Bill does well with integrating the basic rules of craps into the book without bogging the reader down. He leaves the lengthy explanations for the handy guides in the back of the book.
Overall I liked the story, being a craps player myself. I even enjoyed the explanations of the concepts for "dice setting" that Bill included at the end. I recommend you pick this one up if you are looking for a little romance and adventure cast against the backdrop of Las Vegas gambling. Available on Feb 1st, pre-orders are now available.
February 28, 2016
I received an autographed copy of this book from a Goodreads giveaway. Thanks to the author for sending this to me.
This was a fun story about a young mid-western kid and his brother who takes their first trip to Las Vegas. However, for a year and half before his 21st birthday, Ray has been perfecting the ideal throw and strategy to win at the craps table. And sure enough, the week long trip is one to be remembered.
This book was a quick, interesting read. A tale about casino hopping and pulling in the big winnings had me planning on when I can take my next trip to Sin City. Never really being a craps player myself, I found the description of dice setting and the betting strategies fascinating and interesting. Next time I find myself in a casino, I will spend some time watching the craps tables and maybe giving the dice a roll myself.
The book itself is written in a concise, first person style. Almost like I am reading through the diary of the protagonist. The book is a fairly short, exciting read - worth picking up for a few hours at the pool or for your next plane ride.
My biggest complaint about the novel is the super fast-paced love story between the main characters and the two girls they meet. Within a few hours of meeting each other, these characters basically are giving hugs and kisses on every other page. I understood the purpose as a plot driving device, but things seemed pretty unrealistic and too idealistic in my opinion.
Again, thanks to the author for sending the book.
This was a fun story about a young mid-western kid and his brother who takes their first trip to Las Vegas. However, for a year and half before his 21st birthday, Ray has been perfecting the ideal throw and strategy to win at the craps table. And sure enough, the week long trip is one to be remembered.
This book was a quick, interesting read. A tale about casino hopping and pulling in the big winnings had me planning on when I can take my next trip to Sin City. Never really being a craps player myself, I found the description of dice setting and the betting strategies fascinating and interesting. Next time I find myself in a casino, I will spend some time watching the craps tables and maybe giving the dice a roll myself.
The book itself is written in a concise, first person style. Almost like I am reading through the diary of the protagonist. The book is a fairly short, exciting read - worth picking up for a few hours at the pool or for your next plane ride.
My biggest complaint about the novel is the super fast-paced love story between the main characters and the two girls they meet. Within a few hours of meeting each other, these characters basically are giving hugs and kisses on every other page. I understood the purpose as a plot driving device, but things seemed pretty unrealistic and too idealistic in my opinion.
Again, thanks to the author for sending the book.
March 19, 2016
I was privileged to read this book while it was still in its draft stage, and feel that I need to share that it has grown into such a wonderful story.
Vegas Fever is a coming of age/travel adventure. Originally told from the point of view of the younger brother, the change of perspective adds an interesting insight to the main character. With hints of romance, a bit of danger, and a lot of adventures, this book is truly unique and should please most readers looking for some early twenties hi-jinx and fun.
The story follows two brothers from a little Podunk town, Joe and Ray. Ray decides to give the game of craps a go, and they eventually end up in Las Vegas. Meeting all kinds of interesting people, they get a real eye opener on how the world works outside of farm life.
I found this book to be a fun read, very informative on different aspects of gambling, and period casinos. (It's mostly based a decade or two ago.) I've read it several times now and find something interesting that I missed each new time.
Vegas Fever is a coming of age/travel adventure. Originally told from the point of view of the younger brother, the change of perspective adds an interesting insight to the main character. With hints of romance, a bit of danger, and a lot of adventures, this book is truly unique and should please most readers looking for some early twenties hi-jinx and fun.
The story follows two brothers from a little Podunk town, Joe and Ray. Ray decides to give the game of craps a go, and they eventually end up in Las Vegas. Meeting all kinds of interesting people, they get a real eye opener on how the world works outside of farm life.
I found this book to be a fun read, very informative on different aspects of gambling, and period casinos. (It's mostly based a decade or two ago.) I've read it several times now and find something interesting that I missed each new time.
January 26, 2016
Great book, Fun to read. Loved the detail.
July 23, 2016
I received a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
This was certainly a fun book to read and may have received four stars if I had known more about shooting crap tables.
This was certainly a fun book to read and may have received four stars if I had known more about shooting crap tables.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews