The Vig: Confessions of an Ivy League Bookie

by Peter Alson

Peter Alson is having an early mid-life crisis. He's a 33-year-old Harvard Grad who has suddenly run out of prospects. Unable to finish that novel, he's back in New York nursing a broken heart, flat broke and out of work. So when he meets Michael, another Ivy Leaguer, who's making a killing as a bookie, he does what any enterprising guy would he enters a life of crime. The bookmaking operation he lands in is run by characters with names like Monkey and Steak Knife, and it is there, under their tutelage, that Peter's real education begins. If you were to marry Basketball Diaries to A Fan's Notes and throw in a dash of Damon Runyon, the result would be something like this--a book deserving of a place among the classics of down-and-out literature.

Genres: Nonfiction

262 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 15, 2020

About the author

Peter Alson is a writer, editor and publisher. He has published 7 books, both with legacy publishers and under the banner of his indie imprint Arbitrary Press. In addition to his own titles, Arbitrary has published a wide array of authors in various genres, from memoir to YA to literary fiction.
Peter received his BA from Harvard, has written for Esquire, Playboy, Rolling Stone and many others, and has also written screenplays for Paramount Pictures and various independent producers. He's married to the screen and television writer Alice O'Neill, and they have a college-bound daughter, Eden, who has published two novels of her own.

Reviews

[James Porteous · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite boring. I wanted to know about being a bookie, not this guy's drama with his girlfriend.

[Kenneth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was well-written, but I didn't like it. I've heard the author speak on a podcast I like and thought I should read this one since it was his more famous work. I thought it'd be the first book I've abandoned in a while since I didn't like the characters or the story that much. But I kept thinking, eh, just another few pages and I'll give it up tomorrow... and then I was done. I did find the afterword (I have the newest edition) really interesting.

[Norini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but plodding. If you are interested in how bookies run business... this books provides insights

[Eddie Adelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable

[Shalyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It may help to have some knowledge of betting on sports to fully appreciate this book, and I think anyone who does bet on sports would find it very interesting to know what happens on the other end of that phone call. I had very little knowledge of this kind of gambling, so the first part of the book, where the author explains what bookies do, how they calculate "the line," and all of that, was confusing, and it took me a while to get it (and honestly, I'm still not entirely sure I understand it). The meat of the story is really more about the human experience -- about how it feels to be "smart" but unable to get a "real" job, about trying but not really being able to hold on to or let go of romance, about judging strangers based on first impressions and being open to have those opinions change for better and worse, about balancing on the tightrope between self-preservation and vulnerability, taking joy where you find it, and dealing with consequences. There's a pretty horrible description of what it's like to spend a night in a NYC jail, one that seems far more realistic than any seen on TV or in movies. It would be really easy to read this book and say, "I would never do anything like that" -- I'm sure the author said the same thing before he lived it.

[Sarah G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounded up for great inside baseball stuff on gambling.

[Kyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for more of a gamblers gambling book(story) but it’s still an easy story and fun .

If you aren’t into gambling stories then you might find this very interesting