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Lay the Favorite: A Memoir of Gambling
An eye-popping and hilarious joyride through the underworld of sports betting
Beth Raymer arrived in Las Vegas in 2001, hoping to land a job as a cocktail waitress at one of the big casinos. In the meantime, she lived in a $17-a-night motel with her dog, Otis, and waited tables at a low-rent Thai restaurant. One day, one of her regular customers told her about a job she thought Beth would be perfect for and sent her to see Dink, of Dink Inc. Dink was a professional sports gambler—one of the biggest in Vegas. He was looking for a right-hand man—someone who would show up on time, who had a head for numbers, and who didn’t steal. She got the job.
Lay the Favorite is the story of Beth Raymer’s years in the high-stakes, high-anxiety world of sports betting—a period that saw the fall of the local bookie and the rise of the freewheeling, unregulated offshore sports book, and with it the elevation of sports betting in popular culture. As the business explodes, Beth rises—from assistant to expert, trusted and seasoned enough to open an offshore booking office in the Caribbean with a few associates, men who leave their families up north to make a quick killing, while donning new tropical personas fueled by abundant drugs and local girlfriends, and who one by one succumb to their vices. They lie, cheat, steal, and run, until Beth is the last man standing.
Beth Raymer is a natural funny, charming, and fully awake to the ironies around her. But she is also a keen and compassionate observer of the adrenaline-addicted, rougish types who become her mentors, her enemies, her family. Raymer brings to life a world that teems with pathos and ecstasy in this wild picaresque that also tells the story of a young woman’s crazy, sexy, most unlikely coming-of-age.
Beth Raymer arrived in Las Vegas in 2001, hoping to land a job as a cocktail waitress at one of the big casinos. In the meantime, she lived in a $17-a-night motel with her dog, Otis, and waited tables at a low-rent Thai restaurant. One day, one of her regular customers told her about a job she thought Beth would be perfect for and sent her to see Dink, of Dink Inc. Dink was a professional sports gambler—one of the biggest in Vegas. He was looking for a right-hand man—someone who would show up on time, who had a head for numbers, and who didn’t steal. She got the job.
Lay the Favorite is the story of Beth Raymer’s years in the high-stakes, high-anxiety world of sports betting—a period that saw the fall of the local bookie and the rise of the freewheeling, unregulated offshore sports book, and with it the elevation of sports betting in popular culture. As the business explodes, Beth rises—from assistant to expert, trusted and seasoned enough to open an offshore booking office in the Caribbean with a few associates, men who leave their families up north to make a quick killing, while donning new tropical personas fueled by abundant drugs and local girlfriends, and who one by one succumb to their vices. They lie, cheat, steal, and run, until Beth is the last man standing.
Beth Raymer is a natural funny, charming, and fully awake to the ironies around her. But she is also a keen and compassionate observer of the adrenaline-addicted, rougish types who become her mentors, her enemies, her family. Raymer brings to life a world that teems with pathos and ecstasy in this wild picaresque that also tells the story of a young woman’s crazy, sexy, most unlikely coming-of-age.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 128 reviews
January 12, 2011
One thing I've learned from working at an Indian casino is that appearances can be deceiving. If the stereotype is that gamblers are overweight, stogie-chewing men in sharkskin suits or young men in designer T-shirts and $500 sunglasses, such images are fallacious. Nine times out of 10, the so-called big spender who pulls up to the casino in a fancy car wearing flashy jewelry will gamble much less than the middle-aged Filipina in Old Navy sweatpants and knock-off Louis Vuitton fanny pack.
In her memoir of sports betting, "Lay the Favorite," Beth Raymer gleefully shatters the myth of the modern gambler. Her story begins in Naked City, a seedy North Las Vegas neighborhood where she moves to be with a boyfriend. They break up almost immediately and Raymer soon finds herself living in a motel and working in a Thai restaurant. She has no contacts, no prospects — nothing but a determination not to return to Florida, where she worked at a halfway house and moonlighted as an in-home stripper. "It was 2001 and Vegas was the fastest growing metropolitan area in America," she writes. "Fifteen hundred people were moving into the city each week. Everyone I met was very much like me."
Then along comes Douglas "Dink" Heimowitz, a middle-aged man from Queens who loves baseball too much. Convicted of running an illegal bookmaking operation, he moves to Las Vegas to start over as a professional gambler. Dink may stand 6-foot-4 and weigh 280 pounds, yet he is anything but imposing. "He dressed like the mentally retarded adults I had met while volunteering at a group home," Raymer tells us. "His Chicago Cubs T-shirt was two sizes too small for his expansive frame. Royal blue elasticized cotton shorts were pulled too high above his belly button."
Dink offers Raymer a job at Dink, Inc. as an apprentice handicapper, teaching her how to read betting lines and place wagers. He indoctrinates her in the art of getting "the best of it," which refers to the never-ending quest for point spreads that offer the greatest value. To Raymer, this doesn't seem like real gambling. As she puts it, "It seemed like we were bargain hunting for luck."
Raymer's adventures take her from Las Vegas to New York to Costa Rica. As the Internet changes the way people gamble and the off-shore sports betting operations begin to rake in millions, she is faced with one elemental question: Is it legal? Her instincts tell her no. But the allure of easy money proves too strong, so she heads to Curacao to work for Bernard Rose at ASAP — All Serious Action Players.
Raymer is adept at bringing to life the rogue's gallery of people she once called colleagues. In Curacao, we meet Wladimir, a murderous clerk/drug dealer with a strong distaste for white people. Then there's Raymer's boss, Bernard, a "harmless maniac" with a genius for numbers and a weakness for chocolate éclairs. Wherever Bernard goes, he is followed by an entourage of Genos, Jimmys and Vinnies, drawn to a life of "inexpensive, high-quality cocaine and hookers."
Attracted to their unconventional lifestyle yet repulsed by their flaws, Raymer vacillates between admiration and disgust for these men. Although they see themselves as mavericks and talk like gangsters, they are thoroughly neurotic. They trust the wrong people, misplace enormous sums of money and cave in to their basest instincts. Whether vanity, paranoia or greed, their compulsions ultimately get the best of them.
Throughout "Lay the Favorite," Raymer means to give up the high-risk/high-reward life of professional gambling. Yet every time she tries to get out, she gets pulled back in. She's good at what she does and willing to put in long hours, but what she loves most is the lifestyle: white sand beaches, beachfront villas, wads of cash in her purse.
If she were a close friend or family member, we'd urge her to take the next flight home. But seduced by her stories, we long for this strange, sleazy and alluring landscape, even as the stakes get higher and Raymer's search for "the best of it" turns into a worst-case scenario.
With a film adaptation in the works, it's a safe bet that Raymer's memoir will find a wide audience. In fact, her engaging voice makes her a shoe-in for a sequel. I'm setting the odds at 3 to 1.
[Please note: This review originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.]
In her memoir of sports betting, "Lay the Favorite," Beth Raymer gleefully shatters the myth of the modern gambler. Her story begins in Naked City, a seedy North Las Vegas neighborhood where she moves to be with a boyfriend. They break up almost immediately and Raymer soon finds herself living in a motel and working in a Thai restaurant. She has no contacts, no prospects — nothing but a determination not to return to Florida, where she worked at a halfway house and moonlighted as an in-home stripper. "It was 2001 and Vegas was the fastest growing metropolitan area in America," she writes. "Fifteen hundred people were moving into the city each week. Everyone I met was very much like me."
Then along comes Douglas "Dink" Heimowitz, a middle-aged man from Queens who loves baseball too much. Convicted of running an illegal bookmaking operation, he moves to Las Vegas to start over as a professional gambler. Dink may stand 6-foot-4 and weigh 280 pounds, yet he is anything but imposing. "He dressed like the mentally retarded adults I had met while volunteering at a group home," Raymer tells us. "His Chicago Cubs T-shirt was two sizes too small for his expansive frame. Royal blue elasticized cotton shorts were pulled too high above his belly button."
Dink offers Raymer a job at Dink, Inc. as an apprentice handicapper, teaching her how to read betting lines and place wagers. He indoctrinates her in the art of getting "the best of it," which refers to the never-ending quest for point spreads that offer the greatest value. To Raymer, this doesn't seem like real gambling. As she puts it, "It seemed like we were bargain hunting for luck."
Raymer's adventures take her from Las Vegas to New York to Costa Rica. As the Internet changes the way people gamble and the off-shore sports betting operations begin to rake in millions, she is faced with one elemental question: Is it legal? Her instincts tell her no. But the allure of easy money proves too strong, so she heads to Curacao to work for Bernard Rose at ASAP — All Serious Action Players.
Raymer is adept at bringing to life the rogue's gallery of people she once called colleagues. In Curacao, we meet Wladimir, a murderous clerk/drug dealer with a strong distaste for white people. Then there's Raymer's boss, Bernard, a "harmless maniac" with a genius for numbers and a weakness for chocolate éclairs. Wherever Bernard goes, he is followed by an entourage of Genos, Jimmys and Vinnies, drawn to a life of "inexpensive, high-quality cocaine and hookers."
Attracted to their unconventional lifestyle yet repulsed by their flaws, Raymer vacillates between admiration and disgust for these men. Although they see themselves as mavericks and talk like gangsters, they are thoroughly neurotic. They trust the wrong people, misplace enormous sums of money and cave in to their basest instincts. Whether vanity, paranoia or greed, their compulsions ultimately get the best of them.
Throughout "Lay the Favorite," Raymer means to give up the high-risk/high-reward life of professional gambling. Yet every time she tries to get out, she gets pulled back in. She's good at what she does and willing to put in long hours, but what she loves most is the lifestyle: white sand beaches, beachfront villas, wads of cash in her purse.
If she were a close friend or family member, we'd urge her to take the next flight home. But seduced by her stories, we long for this strange, sleazy and alluring landscape, even as the stakes get higher and Raymer's search for "the best of it" turns into a worst-case scenario.
With a film adaptation in the works, it's a safe bet that Raymer's memoir will find a wide audience. In fact, her engaging voice makes her a shoe-in for a sequel. I'm setting the odds at 3 to 1.
[Please note: This review originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.]
May 15, 2010
I won this book from Goodreads. I was definitely looking forward to reading it since I generally enjoy memoirs and this isn't one I would likely have picked up on my own. The first sentence tossed me right into the action of the story. However, after only a few pages, I began to wonder if this isn't more of a biography about Dink. I enjoyed Dink's backstory, but as far as the structure of the book goes, it confused me that so much time was spent focusing on Dink so close to the beginning of the book.
As soon as Raymer began taking an account of her own past as a private, in-home stripper and internet-porn entrepreneur, I began to wonder if this is a factual account of her life or if she isn't living out some fictional fantasy in the form of "memoir" a la James Frey. I'm not calling Raymer a phony. I'm explaining that this book simply does not feel genuine or sincere to me. It feels to me as if she extrapolated upon and sensationalized what were probably much more mundane life experiences. Every time she began to tell the tale of yet another new adventure, I thought, "Well, here we go again," and I read on with building skepticism.
By the time I finished the book, I was not only relieved to be able to move on to something different, but I realized the reason the book didn't ring true to me is that there is really no depth to it. It's just a series of stories about the surface activities of a person's life -- little more than a diary of events. There was very little about the presentation of the story that makes the author -- or any of the other characters -- interesting people outside of their professions and/or obsessions. The author seems to have few tendencies toward introspection, finding meaning, or exploring the motivations and desires of herself or those around her.
In addition to the poor character development, the odd structure of the book, and the simple, surfacey storytelling, I found the writing unimpressive. It was choppy, stilted, and sophomoric. I also wondered if the editor bothered reading the book because of the strange way the writing pulled the reader one way and then plunked the reader down in the middle of something entirely different. The writing felt very loose and thrown together. It didn't remotely feel like a high-quality, painstakingly crafted work of literature. It comes across as schlocky, to put it bluntly.
To summarize, two starts for the entertainment factor and for introducing me in a fun way to the world of high-stakes sports betting, but beyond that, while it had significant potential, in the end it has little merit.
As soon as Raymer began taking an account of her own past as a private, in-home stripper and internet-porn entrepreneur, I began to wonder if this is a factual account of her life or if she isn't living out some fictional fantasy in the form of "memoir" a la James Frey. I'm not calling Raymer a phony. I'm explaining that this book simply does not feel genuine or sincere to me. It feels to me as if she extrapolated upon and sensationalized what were probably much more mundane life experiences. Every time she began to tell the tale of yet another new adventure, I thought, "Well, here we go again," and I read on with building skepticism.
By the time I finished the book, I was not only relieved to be able to move on to something different, but I realized the reason the book didn't ring true to me is that there is really no depth to it. It's just a series of stories about the surface activities of a person's life -- little more than a diary of events. There was very little about the presentation of the story that makes the author -- or any of the other characters -- interesting people outside of their professions and/or obsessions. The author seems to have few tendencies toward introspection, finding meaning, or exploring the motivations and desires of herself or those around her.
In addition to the poor character development, the odd structure of the book, and the simple, surfacey storytelling, I found the writing unimpressive. It was choppy, stilted, and sophomoric. I also wondered if the editor bothered reading the book because of the strange way the writing pulled the reader one way and then plunked the reader down in the middle of something entirely different. The writing felt very loose and thrown together. It didn't remotely feel like a high-quality, painstakingly crafted work of literature. It comes across as schlocky, to put it bluntly.
To summarize, two starts for the entertainment factor and for introducing me in a fun way to the world of high-stakes sports betting, but beyond that, while it had significant potential, in the end it has little merit.
October 3, 2011
I think that technically the subtitle of this book should have been "A Memoir of Being In The Vicinity of Gambling" because there is very little actual gambling in the life of the author and in the pages of the memoir itself. Which is not to say that the author hasn't lived (or at least, as I have to admit is possible in this crazy post-A-Million-Little-Pieces world we live in, invented) a fascinating life which includes everything from working as an in-home stripper to pursuing an amateur boxing title to traveling extensively to racking up the world's most horrifying collection of romantic poor judgments. But in that context, working for professional gamblers becomes just one of the many exotic, dangerously self-destructive pursuits in a pretty intense young adulthood. And I do think it's a crucial distinction: the author works FOR professional sports gamblers, not AS one. She collects debts and delivers winnings, she makes phone calls to odds-makers and comparison shops for the best places for her bosses to stake their money, but if you're looking for keen insight into picking winners and losers or anything like that, you may come away disappointed.
May 3, 2010
Your life is crazy, right? You've gone through shit, man. Shit. Sex, drugs, rock and roll. Shit, man. Man.
Stop writing memoirs. All of you.
On to the book...
Raymer goes through some interesting stuff. Not so much so that she should have done something as horrible as write a memoir, but what's done is done.
The biggest problem is Raymer herself. She isn't relatable. She isn't likeable. She isn't even unlikable.
Indifference toward a peice of art is the worst reaction imaginable...and I feel it for this book.
My suggestion to any of you who want to write or draw or hum is to do something people will love or hate.
Or, at least do something that will make people love or hate YOU.
Those are the only two emotions I feel anymore. I've become enlightened and phased all the others out.
Stop writing memoirs. All of you.
On to the book...
Raymer goes through some interesting stuff. Not so much so that she should have done something as horrible as write a memoir, but what's done is done.
The biggest problem is Raymer herself. She isn't relatable. She isn't likeable. She isn't even unlikable.
Indifference toward a peice of art is the worst reaction imaginable...and I feel it for this book.
My suggestion to any of you who want to write or draw or hum is to do something people will love or hate.
Or, at least do something that will make people love or hate YOU.
Those are the only two emotions I feel anymore. I've become enlightened and phased all the others out.
May 7, 2010
I won this book in Goodreads First Reads. The odds: 40 copies available, 726 people requesting. That's approximately 5.5%. Assuming random selection, but I'm starting to doubt it's entirely random.
----
I just got this book, and this is neat. The cover is sort of plain with publisher's logo in the background. It says at the top "Advanced Uncorrected Proofs" and that I shouldn't quote without checking against the finished book. Well, I find it neat, because I get to see the book before it's published, something I haven't seen before!
I started the first couple of pages, and the first impression is favorable. I like the way it jumps straight into action, but then pauses for some background. I'm looking forward to reading this, after I have my final exams next week. Shouldn't take me long if it's a good story; there are only 231 pages, a very slim book by my standards.
----
When the 'point of view' changed for the first time, and Beth started telling the story of her boss, I didn't expect that and was wondering whether it was her biography or Dink's (boss')? But it's all right. I just had to adjust my expectations.
Beth's first boss in the gambling industry was more interesting than her second one. So while I enjoyed the first part, the second one seems to lack action.
I was a bit concerned that it seems that she's using the real names of all these people, and they are sometimes engaging in illegal stuff; aren't they worried they'll get busted?
----
It's an entertaining little book. Not something that I'd normally read, but it was neat to learn a bit about gambling terminology... The title "Lay the favorite" is one example. When you bet on something that's expected to win, that's the phrase you use; but if you bet for an unexpected win by newcomer or something along those lines, the phrase is "take the dog" (i.e. underdog).
I only really gambled once in my life, at Kentucky Derby; so the only gambling term I actually recognized was "to show" (means the horse will come in either 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place). There was a horse that I bet on "to show" which had a name similar to mine, and the jockey wearing my favorite color. It actually came 1st! Overall, that day was a net loss for me, but I'm glad I won at least one race.
----
I just got this book, and this is neat. The cover is sort of plain with publisher's logo in the background. It says at the top "Advanced Uncorrected Proofs" and that I shouldn't quote without checking against the finished book. Well, I find it neat, because I get to see the book before it's published, something I haven't seen before!
I started the first couple of pages, and the first impression is favorable. I like the way it jumps straight into action, but then pauses for some background. I'm looking forward to reading this, after I have my final exams next week. Shouldn't take me long if it's a good story; there are only 231 pages, a very slim book by my standards.
----
When the 'point of view' changed for the first time, and Beth started telling the story of her boss, I didn't expect that and was wondering whether it was her biography or Dink's (boss')? But it's all right. I just had to adjust my expectations.
Beth's first boss in the gambling industry was more interesting than her second one. So while I enjoyed the first part, the second one seems to lack action.
I was a bit concerned that it seems that she's using the real names of all these people, and they are sometimes engaging in illegal stuff; aren't they worried they'll get busted?
----
It's an entertaining little book. Not something that I'd normally read, but it was neat to learn a bit about gambling terminology... The title "Lay the favorite" is one example. When you bet on something that's expected to win, that's the phrase you use; but if you bet for an unexpected win by newcomer or something along those lines, the phrase is "take the dog" (i.e. underdog).
I only really gambled once in my life, at Kentucky Derby; so the only gambling term I actually recognized was "to show" (means the horse will come in either 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place). There was a horse that I bet on "to show" which had a name similar to mine, and the jockey wearing my favorite color. It actually came 1st! Overall, that day was a net loss for me, but I'm glad I won at least one race.
May 4, 2010
I expected a story of a woman who would become an obsessive gambler, would hit bottom, see the light, and share with the reader the tale of how she pulled herself out of a really bad place. This is not that story. Instead we have a woman who makes a series of choices, some not exactly good, but always understandable and even interesting. Beth Raymer is not me. She is not everywoman. Instead she is herself, very intelligent, but unable to find satisfaction in ordinary events. Hence, she lives a fast paced life and writes a fast paced memoir of her work experiences surrounding the gaming industry. She is not an obsessive gambler, rather she is an obsessive thrill seeker. And she is willing to let you go along on her ride and inform you the reader of how it really is in this other world of gambling. Raymer writes well and her description of all that happens when someone places a bet is well-informed and will truly be a revelation to most readers. If you can leave aside your own values and just take this memoir as it is, the honest story of a young woman trying to make a place for herself in a world of intense highs and lows, the odds are that you will likely enjoy this book.
August 17, 2010
Ugh. I thought this'd make a nice vacation from the tougher Shakespeare crap, but it didn't do much for me. It's a memoir of...what, a hanger-on? This chick who spent a little time on the outskirts of a not-very-seamy-or-dangerous gambling culture. That's not very interesting! It's competently written, but so are a lot of things sold in bookstores.
August 27, 2025
why does Beth continue to make the most terrible decisions!? Stop falling in love with these terrible men and go to college!
seriously, though this was very entertaining, but also left me wanting a lot more in terms of both details and connectivity between different parts of the narrative.
seriously, though this was very entertaining, but also left me wanting a lot more in terms of both details and connectivity between different parts of the narrative.
April 17, 2013
It was a slow Saturday evening so we rented a movie from Redbox. It looked cute but didn't get a good review from RottenTomatoes but it caught our eye. The movie was a 'hoot' if you love sports and Las Vegas and a little bit of gambling. As the credits rolled by, I noticed that the story was true and the source was a book by the heroine of the book, Beth Raymer... and that intrigued me a little more. Could WCPL own the book? Well , yes we do and I knew I had to read it to find out other things that were not in the movie.
Beth dreamed of getting a job in Vegas, not exactly a career move for a graduate of Columbia University. Yet there was something that drew her to the gambling capital of the US. After working as a waitress she got a recommendation for a job with Dink of Dink,Inc. , a professional sports gambler. And now the story takes off. Dink Heimowitz,the bright son of orthodox Jewish parents grew up in Queens , NY and he was a mathematical genius with an unbelievable interest in sports and gambling.
Although both Beth and Dink grew up in NYC , they never met until Beth applied for a job at his gambling office in Vegas. And now Beth's story really takes off. And Beth's story really takes off when she takes off and heads back to the East Coast. She tries different career moves including boxing in the Golden Gloves. But her fascination with gambling and all the math that it involves hooks her up with another New York professional gambler, Bernard. And in order to stay one step ahead of the Federal government , Bernard moves his whole operation to the Caribbean island of Curacao ! Beth's adventure in the Caribbean will keep you turning the pages and you will never stop laughing.
This fascinating storyteller will keep you amused to the point that you might want to move either to the Caribbean or to Vegas.I can attest that Vegas is a lot of fun.
Beth dreamed of getting a job in Vegas, not exactly a career move for a graduate of Columbia University. Yet there was something that drew her to the gambling capital of the US. After working as a waitress she got a recommendation for a job with Dink of Dink,Inc. , a professional sports gambler. And now the story takes off. Dink Heimowitz,the bright son of orthodox Jewish parents grew up in Queens , NY and he was a mathematical genius with an unbelievable interest in sports and gambling.
Although both Beth and Dink grew up in NYC , they never met until Beth applied for a job at his gambling office in Vegas. And now Beth's story really takes off. And Beth's story really takes off when she takes off and heads back to the East Coast. She tries different career moves including boxing in the Golden Gloves. But her fascination with gambling and all the math that it involves hooks her up with another New York professional gambler, Bernard. And in order to stay one step ahead of the Federal government , Bernard moves his whole operation to the Caribbean island of Curacao ! Beth's adventure in the Caribbean will keep you turning the pages and you will never stop laughing.
This fascinating storyteller will keep you amused to the point that you might want to move either to the Caribbean or to Vegas.I can attest that Vegas is a lot of fun.
May 24, 2010
Although I expected Lay the Favorite to be a mostly on-the-job autobiography of a cocktail waitress-cum-bookie in Vegas, it turned out to be more of an opportunity to follow Beth Raymer as she chronicles her past relationships with men, mostly gamblers, including her father, her neurotic former employers, some boyfriends/lovers, and co-workers. Most of the autobiographical portion of the book lies in Beth's obsession with boxing and brief stint as an in-home 'dancer'. Many of the rest of the stories recount the ups-and-downs of male bookmakers and gamblers who show us that money definitely does not buy happiness and few seem to quit while they're ahead. It was a new experience for me to read about the underground world of online gambling, which I have never tried, nor do I wish to, especially after reading this book!
As a reader who hates sports and loves to travel, I was pleased that the stories mostly followed Beth hopping around Vegas, New York, Costa Rica, and Curacao. I was relieved that the book was not full of endless sports references and descriptions. Just as Beth moves from city to city, her narrative occasionally skips around various periods of her life, and the lives of her bosses Dink and Bernard, back and forth through time and geographical location. I never once found myself bored while reading this book, partly for this reason.
As other reviewers have mentioned, I too would like to know if there were any repercussions for anyone involved in some of the illegal activities mentioned.
As a final disclosure, I received this as a First Reads Giveaway. It was my first giveaway and I was not disappointed!
As a reader who hates sports and loves to travel, I was pleased that the stories mostly followed Beth hopping around Vegas, New York, Costa Rica, and Curacao. I was relieved that the book was not full of endless sports references and descriptions. Just as Beth moves from city to city, her narrative occasionally skips around various periods of her life, and the lives of her bosses Dink and Bernard, back and forth through time and geographical location. I never once found myself bored while reading this book, partly for this reason.
As other reviewers have mentioned, I too would like to know if there were any repercussions for anyone involved in some of the illegal activities mentioned.
As a final disclosure, I received this as a First Reads Giveaway. It was my first giveaway and I was not disappointed!
December 28, 2012
This is a book that I received from a Goodreads giveaway.
What to say about this book? It started off interestingly enough and moved along fairly well until I got about a third of the way through. I learned a bit about gambling (a world I knew nothing about prior to reading the book) but after 60+ pages I felt the book wasn't going anywhere. I may have missed the point but it seemed to me that the author was simply recounting her days at work. The characters in her book are colorful and fun to read about and there are some good stories (particularly about the author's stint as an escort) but it all started to sound the same after a while. Maybe if I were more of a sports fan or more interested in gambling my interest would have been held longer.
The author writes well and could write an interesting book if she had a topic or story line that kept moving toward some sort of resolution or climax or even a cliffhanger. However, as it is, Lay the Favorite just loses steam. I didn't finish it because I kept getting interested in reading other books and didn't really have interest in finishing Lay the Favorite. I see that the book has been made into a movie--the movie may fare better because of the visual appeal a movie can provide. On paper though, in black and white, the appeal that would have made me want to read the entire book is missing.
What to say about this book? It started off interestingly enough and moved along fairly well until I got about a third of the way through. I learned a bit about gambling (a world I knew nothing about prior to reading the book) but after 60+ pages I felt the book wasn't going anywhere. I may have missed the point but it seemed to me that the author was simply recounting her days at work. The characters in her book are colorful and fun to read about and there are some good stories (particularly about the author's stint as an escort) but it all started to sound the same after a while. Maybe if I were more of a sports fan or more interested in gambling my interest would have been held longer.
The author writes well and could write an interesting book if she had a topic or story line that kept moving toward some sort of resolution or climax or even a cliffhanger. However, as it is, Lay the Favorite just loses steam. I didn't finish it because I kept getting interested in reading other books and didn't really have interest in finishing Lay the Favorite. I see that the book has been made into a movie--the movie may fare better because of the visual appeal a movie can provide. On paper though, in black and white, the appeal that would have made me want to read the entire book is missing.
August 10, 2010
Beth Raymer is young woman who impulsively moved to Las Vegas with her boyfriend, the promptly broke up with him. Since she was working at his family's Thai restaurant at the time, she needed a new job. One of customers refers her to Dink, a professional gambler. This book is the story of her job with Dink and others in the world of gambling and bookmaking. There are also significant detours into her former career as an in-home stripper and internet porn model and her hobby of boxing.
I loved this book. Maybe it is just my own interest in gambling and Las Vegas, but I don't think so. This may the most entertaining memoir I have ever read. As outrageous as the story is, I never felt that she was embellishing her story or conversely, leaving out big chunks of the story in order to give her story a more cohesive narrative. Raymer is an utterly winning, charming narrator. The story loses momentum a bit at the end and there is no payoff to the story, so it's not perfect, but I think anyone who enjoys reading memoirs will get a kick out this one. I am smiling just thinking about it.
I loved this book. Maybe it is just my own interest in gambling and Las Vegas, but I don't think so. This may the most entertaining memoir I have ever read. As outrageous as the story is, I never felt that she was embellishing her story or conversely, leaving out big chunks of the story in order to give her story a more cohesive narrative. Raymer is an utterly winning, charming narrator. The story loses momentum a bit at the end and there is no payoff to the story, so it's not perfect, but I think anyone who enjoys reading memoirs will get a kick out this one. I am smiling just thinking about it.
August 9, 2011
Okay memoir, would have been better as humorous mystery series ala Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum.
If you have an interest in gambling and/or Vegas you might find it interesting.
Possibly interesting characters, but not much really happens.
Former stripper, amateur boxer, investigative reporter boyfriend, crazy family, and her employer and most of her friends are gamblers or bookies. Locals include Vegas, Costa Rica and Curaco.
Sounds like promising character for a chick lit mystery, right? Instead it is an okay memoir about the author's life working with gamblers and bookies. The problem is that she does not have enough about the weird world of professional gamblers for a book and her own story of growing/maturing is not enough for a book, so the two halves are tapped together for a moderately interesting novel.
Here is to hoping that the author tries fiction. If she keeps her light, humorous voice and descriptions, I would read one of her novels.
If you have an interest in gambling and/or Vegas you might find it interesting.
Possibly interesting characters, but not much really happens.
Former stripper, amateur boxer, investigative reporter boyfriend, crazy family, and her employer and most of her friends are gamblers or bookies. Locals include Vegas, Costa Rica and Curaco.
Sounds like promising character for a chick lit mystery, right? Instead it is an okay memoir about the author's life working with gamblers and bookies. The problem is that she does not have enough about the weird world of professional gamblers for a book and her own story of growing/maturing is not enough for a book, so the two halves are tapped together for a moderately interesting novel.
Here is to hoping that the author tries fiction. If she keeps her light, humorous voice and descriptions, I would read one of her novels.
August 20, 2010
Charming and troubling. Girlish woman narrator takes risks and makes choice that seem both naive, stupid, and self-deluding but survives and succeeds in every situation. Told in a different tone this could be a cautionary tale but it is not. Neither is it self destructive catharsis. The confident and assertively unreflective way the main character make choices that the white suburban male teacher that I am wants to warn her away from is truly subversive. I want to say "Don't you know that stripping, gambling, boxing, flirting with your married boss, moving to Curacao to run a sports book...etc will ruin your life." Of course it doesn't.
Beth is puck, lord of misrule, bringer of chaos, and this book makes her life seem like a series of adventures that only require the right poise to pull off. And she does.
Beth is puck, lord of misrule, bringer of chaos, and this book makes her life seem like a series of adventures that only require the right poise to pull off. And she does.
May 8, 2010
Lay the Favorite was a fast, fun, and thrilling read. Raymer takes the readers behind the scenes of sports betting. She reveals all the dirty secrets and truth behind the money and glamour of the gambling world without holding anything back. The readers are in for a treat as she shares her adventure with them which begins with a waitressing job in Las Vegas to becoming a pro boxer in New York and everything in between.
It’s a good read for anyone that is looking to escape from their boring and ordinary life. You’ll be surprised by her impulsiveness and she’ll make you want to drop what you’re doing pack your bags and head to Vegas to embark on a new journey and see what’s in store for you.
Note: I received this book through Goodreads Giveaway.
It’s a good read for anyone that is looking to escape from their boring and ordinary life. You’ll be surprised by her impulsiveness and she’ll make you want to drop what you’re doing pack your bags and head to Vegas to embark on a new journey and see what’s in store for you.
Note: I received this book through Goodreads Giveaway.
May 4, 2010
To me this book was boring. The stories within the story were scattered. She explains one topic and then goes off on a tangent. The story was dry and choppy. I feel the book wasn't outlined or formatted prior to her beginning to write. It seems that it all got thrown together. It was an extremely slow read for me. The last paragraph was as disappointing and flighty as the rest of the book.
For Publisher: I did find a few simple typographical errors in the spelling of words and bunny eared the pages. I understand this is an uncorrected proof which is why I am not listing them.
For Publisher: I did find a few simple typographical errors in the spelling of words and bunny eared the pages. I understand this is an uncorrected proof which is why I am not listing them.
March 21, 2016
It is interesting to learn how seedy and undermining the gambling world is. What offshore casinos are like and what kind of people migrate towards that lifestyle. Pretty bad indeed.
Other than that the author, Beth Raymer really has no life nor ambition in it.
There really is no drama in this book and overall it is pretty boring.
Other than that the author, Beth Raymer really has no life nor ambition in it.
There really is no drama in this book and overall it is pretty boring.
April 25, 2023
RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: “DAMON RUNYON COULD NOT INVENT A FEMALE GAMBLING CHARACTER QUITE LIKE BETH!”
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At the age of twenty-four the author Beth Raymer finds herself living alone with her most trusted companion in life… her dog Otis… in a squalid $17.00 per night motel in Las Vegas. Beth arrived in Vegas with a new boyfriend of a few months… and when that quickly dissolved she attempted to make a living waiting tables in a Thai restaurant that was owned by her ex-boyfriend’s parents. Amy, a massage therapist… and a customer at the restaurant… and who for some unknown reason always wore dark sunglasses gave her the name of a potential employer so Amy could move up in life. The potential employer was “Dink” Heimowitz a six-foot-four, two-hundred-eighty-pound, hypochondriac, mathematical whiz… who made a living and fortune by betting on “THE NBA, NFL, PGA, NCAA BASKETBALL, NCAA FOOTBALL, TENNIS, WNBA, THE LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES, MISS AMERICA PAGEANTS, THE NATIONAL SPELLING BEE, AND THE CONEY ISLAND HOT DOG EATING CONTEST. HE SPECIALIZED IN HORSES, HOCKEY, BASEBALL, AND ALSO DABBLED IN POKER.” His lifeline and vocabulary revolved around “MONEY LINES, RUN LINES, TEN-CENT LINES, SPREADS, ODDS, AND PROPOSITIONS.” Dink needed someone who could do everything from get donuts and bagels in the morning… along with growing into a position that included… but was not limited to… placing bets… searching for lines… and even the risky “pay/collect” personal visits.
Beth not only had no experience in this field… but she didn’t even understand what he was talking about. But… the big-hearted Dink needed someone he could trust and for some reason he trusted Beth… hired her… and thus started a non-stop-whirl-wind-hair-raising-life-story that unfolds non-stop at rocket speed… and takes the reader from Las Vegas to Curacao to New York to more offshore betting sites than I can remember… and more nicknames this side of any Soprano episode. Along with “DINK” you’ll learn about BOBBY NEBBISH… FAT GEORGE… LOBSTER… JOEY USELESS… WOMBAT… GUPPY… THE BATTLER… BERNIE THE BARTENDER… SCOOTER…. CHINESE JOHN… LENNY SMALLS… and other upstanding citizens. (Note: Dink’s wife’s name is Tulip.) You’ll be amazed by the amount of cash that Dink keeps around sitting on his desk… and all around his office… without any real “muscle” for protection. When he sends out morally questionable employees with anywhere from forty thousand to sixty thousand dollars and above for a “pay/collect” and the employee either disappears with his money… or calls in with absolutely ridiculous excuses such as the money fell out of the car at a fast food drive through… you’ll be amazed at how kind hearted Dink accepts it.
As Beth becomes a “Jane-of-all-trades” in the gambling industry she also leads the reader on flashback trips into her past. She tells how her Father loved gambling and taught her how to gamble as a little girl. You will be surprised after you feel like you know Beth… when she has a flashback to when she had a job as an on-call stripper that involved a few more things than just stripping. Back in the present… Beth starts taking boxing lessons and dreams of fighting in the Gold Gloves in New York. When she goes to New York and is desperate for a gambling income environment she calls Dink back in Vegas and he sets up an interview with three-hundred-seventy-pound Bernard Rose… another gifted-mathematical-betting-“oddity”. Beth gets hired and along with Bernard’s love of “hoagie-sized” éclair’s and Boston Crème’s… another gale force explosion of gambling related hijinks engulfs Beth and the reader.
Though this is a non-fiction book… some of the character’s and behind the scenes look at the lifestyle of employees at the offshore betting companies… it’s hard to believe some of this isn’t fiction. Some of the bets themselves are believable but strangely sad such as: “BETTING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ON WHETHER THE WINNER OF THE SPELLING BEE WOULD BE WEARING GLASSES… or betting on the results of a prostate exam.
For a first time author… Beth was able to accomplish what many longtime authors cannot… keep the reader entranced from start to finish… without ever being bored.
P.S. PLEASE BELIEVE MY LIFETIME BOOK-TO-MOVIE MANTRA: “NO MOVIE IS AS GOOD AS THE BOOK!” AND THIS WILL PROVE TO BE TRUE IN SPADES IN THE FUTURE!!!!
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At the age of twenty-four the author Beth Raymer finds herself living alone with her most trusted companion in life… her dog Otis… in a squalid $17.00 per night motel in Las Vegas. Beth arrived in Vegas with a new boyfriend of a few months… and when that quickly dissolved she attempted to make a living waiting tables in a Thai restaurant that was owned by her ex-boyfriend’s parents. Amy, a massage therapist… and a customer at the restaurant… and who for some unknown reason always wore dark sunglasses gave her the name of a potential employer so Amy could move up in life. The potential employer was “Dink” Heimowitz a six-foot-four, two-hundred-eighty-pound, hypochondriac, mathematical whiz… who made a living and fortune by betting on “THE NBA, NFL, PGA, NCAA BASKETBALL, NCAA FOOTBALL, TENNIS, WNBA, THE LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES, MISS AMERICA PAGEANTS, THE NATIONAL SPELLING BEE, AND THE CONEY ISLAND HOT DOG EATING CONTEST. HE SPECIALIZED IN HORSES, HOCKEY, BASEBALL, AND ALSO DABBLED IN POKER.” His lifeline and vocabulary revolved around “MONEY LINES, RUN LINES, TEN-CENT LINES, SPREADS, ODDS, AND PROPOSITIONS.” Dink needed someone who could do everything from get donuts and bagels in the morning… along with growing into a position that included… but was not limited to… placing bets… searching for lines… and even the risky “pay/collect” personal visits.
Beth not only had no experience in this field… but she didn’t even understand what he was talking about. But… the big-hearted Dink needed someone he could trust and for some reason he trusted Beth… hired her… and thus started a non-stop-whirl-wind-hair-raising-life-story that unfolds non-stop at rocket speed… and takes the reader from Las Vegas to Curacao to New York to more offshore betting sites than I can remember… and more nicknames this side of any Soprano episode. Along with “DINK” you’ll learn about BOBBY NEBBISH… FAT GEORGE… LOBSTER… JOEY USELESS… WOMBAT… GUPPY… THE BATTLER… BERNIE THE BARTENDER… SCOOTER…. CHINESE JOHN… LENNY SMALLS… and other upstanding citizens. (Note: Dink’s wife’s name is Tulip.) You’ll be amazed by the amount of cash that Dink keeps around sitting on his desk… and all around his office… without any real “muscle” for protection. When he sends out morally questionable employees with anywhere from forty thousand to sixty thousand dollars and above for a “pay/collect” and the employee either disappears with his money… or calls in with absolutely ridiculous excuses such as the money fell out of the car at a fast food drive through… you’ll be amazed at how kind hearted Dink accepts it.
As Beth becomes a “Jane-of-all-trades” in the gambling industry she also leads the reader on flashback trips into her past. She tells how her Father loved gambling and taught her how to gamble as a little girl. You will be surprised after you feel like you know Beth… when she has a flashback to when she had a job as an on-call stripper that involved a few more things than just stripping. Back in the present… Beth starts taking boxing lessons and dreams of fighting in the Gold Gloves in New York. When she goes to New York and is desperate for a gambling income environment she calls Dink back in Vegas and he sets up an interview with three-hundred-seventy-pound Bernard Rose… another gifted-mathematical-betting-“oddity”. Beth gets hired and along with Bernard’s love of “hoagie-sized” éclair’s and Boston Crème’s… another gale force explosion of gambling related hijinks engulfs Beth and the reader.
Though this is a non-fiction book… some of the character’s and behind the scenes look at the lifestyle of employees at the offshore betting companies… it’s hard to believe some of this isn’t fiction. Some of the bets themselves are believable but strangely sad such as: “BETTING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ON WHETHER THE WINNER OF THE SPELLING BEE WOULD BE WEARING GLASSES… or betting on the results of a prostate exam.
For a first time author… Beth was able to accomplish what many longtime authors cannot… keep the reader entranced from start to finish… without ever being bored.
P.S. PLEASE BELIEVE MY LIFETIME BOOK-TO-MOVIE MANTRA: “NO MOVIE IS AS GOOD AS THE BOOK!” AND THIS WILL PROVE TO BE TRUE IN SPADES IN THE FUTURE!!!!
December 26, 2021
I discovered this book after seeing the film based on it. Autobiographical movie adaptations tend to focus on a handful of events and ignore huge blocks of time, but I was intrigued enough with the smattering of scenes to read the book. Now that I've completed the read, it's clear that the film diverges even farther from Beth Raymer's reality, and enters the science-fictional realm of shows like Seinfeld, where a miserable New Yorker dates a new supermodel every week (for example, the overweight, ungroomed and slimy character named Dink is portrayed by a slim, polished, charismatic Bruce Willis). The book is a chronological-but-scattershot dive into Beth's many attempts to lie down with dogs and get up without fleas, failing time after time. After a career as something of a junior prostitute, Beth turns to bookmaking and professional gambling. Regardless of where this occurs (New York City, Las Vegas, Costa Rica, Curacao), it's always run by NYC scumbags with a religious slant on lawbreaking. And time and again, as external opportunities that most would revel in come Beth's way, she inexorably fails to take advantage of a less despicable life. It's mildly entertaining and colorfully written, maybe worth checking if your to-read list has been exhausted.
December 24, 2020
В этих очень честных мемуарах читатель может получить редкое представление о преступном мире спортивных азартных игр, о его агентах «плати и собирай», шутах, хулиганах, маргиналах и мошенниках. Можно ли выиграть в казино? Бет Реймер утверждает, что каждый зависимый игрок хочет проиграть. «А что касается редких профессионалов, которые достаточно талантливы, чтобы обыграть дом, остальные уверены, что они пойдут на все, что потребуется, чтобы окружить себя людьми, которые потеряют из-за них свои деньги».
Однако отличить хорошее от плохого, диковинный совет от хорошего может быть довольно сложно, как для новичков, так и для опытных. Хорошая книга, написанная уважаемым автором, иногда является лучшим способом узнать больше о любом конкретном предмете, который интересует человека.
Однако отличить хорошее от плохого, диковинный совет от хорошего может быть довольно сложно, как для новичков, так и для опытных. Хорошая книга, написанная уважаемым автором, иногда является лучшим способом узнать больше о любом конкретном предмете, который интересует человека.
October 9, 2021
I couldn't tell if this was non-fiction or not and after reading it, I still had my doubts but this is non-fiction. The characters in this book all had big personalities and the author seemed totally genuine and honest in regards to how she was feeling about something or her inner dialogue. I'm a huge fan of sports betting and that's what got my attention of the book. It's a fun hobby but it's so easy to see how people can/do destroy their entire life because of gambling. But I really enjoyed reading about her fast-pace, chaotic lifestyle and she'll make you feel that rush and excitement just by reading her account of it. I can't see any reason to knock this book for really anything so I give it 5 stars, but since it was about sports betting, it probably began as 4.5 before I even started it.
February 20, 2023
What a satisfying read!! I loved it. The premise grabbed me and the book more than lived up to my expectations. When she was 24, Beth Raymer, author of the gambling memoir, LAY THE FAVORITE, followed a guy to Las Vegas. When the relationship went bust, Raymer drifted from waitressing at his parent’s Thai restaurant to an in-homes stripper gig. When she found herself in a client’s house with a gun pointed at her head, she ran, locked herself in his bathroom, and questioned her career choices. I can't wait for more books from Beth Raymer!
April 27, 2021
Glad they changed the cover art, the one I read had the movie poster on the front which immediately caused me to read the whole novel in a "romantic comedy" style which I don't think it truly fits. So where does it fit? Nowhere I think, in that the stories are all so surface and scattered you never have the time or inclination to care about a character. She seems to be on the periphery of so many different things, so that is where we are kept as well.
June 8, 2021
The movie was fun, so when I found out it was based on a true story, I had to read it. There is even more to Beth Raymer's story than they put in the movie (she trained as a boxer!), and the ending is different too. The gambling lingo is complicated and confusing, but I won't be entering that profession at this point, so it was just an enjoyable read.
December 1, 2023
3.5… A bit jumpy; each plot twist was too quick and fizzled off immediately. We heard back stories of the characters but no follow through! However, Beth’s (the character, not the author) quick ability to fall in love is endearing, I loved her as the main!! Like Raymer’s other book “Fireworks Every Night”, the book just… stopped. Her style is not my ideal end of a book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 30, 2019
excellent read on bookmaking ; exacta; mutuel; cocaine whores; Quaaludes and; exotic locales.
i recommended it to all my friends
i recommended it to all my friends
April 9, 2018
an interesting look a sports gambling; sections in the jargon of the business are uninteligable to an outsider; the author's many wrong choices in her life are explored
August 26, 2019
I barely understood half of this book because the language was so far out of my vernacular. But it was quite interesting anyways. A lifestyle incredibly different from my own.
July 14, 2020
Quirky, fun read.
August 24, 2020
Worst book ever.
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