Double or Nothing: How Two Friends Risked It All to Buy One of Las Vegas' Legendary Casinos by Tom Breitling, Cal Fussman
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Book Reviews of Double or Nothing: How Two Friends Risked It All to Buy One of Las Vegas' Legendary Casinos
Book Review: A True Story of Partnership and Friendship!
Summary: 5 Stars
A Great Read!!! Once I started I couldn't put it down. The ups and downs of their business negotiations kept me on a roller coaster of what will happen next. It was laugh out loud funny in some parts and tense in others.
Cal Fussman captured the true personalities of Tim and Tom. The reality of most partnerships does not survive what Tom and Tim's did. That is true trust, loyalty and friendship.
A must read for anyone thinking about going into a partnership.
Book Review: great read
Summary: 5 Stars
great read .. Tim poster is an old school throwback and quite a character .Fast paced story of two great friends creating and taking a vegas based business from scratch to huge success . lots of great personalities and vegas stories.Book Review: Disappointed
Summary: 2 Stars
Wow! This book was a huge disappoint for me. The reviews, taglines and first chapter all talk about the action of "Mr. Royalty". I thought I was in for a book about gambling and Las Vegas. While there were plenty of anecdotes and stories about those things, that is not what this book is about. All of the conflict about the odds and the limits of the casino introduced in the first chapter are wrapped up as almost a footnote towards the end of the book.
It was like watching a movie where the first scene occurs and then the next 80% of the movie is a flashback of related, but not the same type of, material.
If you're looking for a book about business deals and friendships, this is the book for you. If you're looking for a book about Las Vegas and gaming, keep looking.
Book Review: Insights into *three* oft-neglected areas of profound interest...
Summary: 5 Stars
... to the "college lit" crowd: the internet, gambling, and reality TV.
Tom Breitling and Tim Poster first pioneered a visionary approach to online hotel room sales, and then sunk their profits into the same resort that launched Steve Wynn's career: the venerable Golden Nugget. The latter adventure was recorded by the producers of *Survivor* -- and this is where the story takes a particularly human, uniquely 21st century turn. Breitling laments a professional and personal life lost to the condensed and overly dramatic needs of reality television, and his genuine disappointment upon seeing the finished (and nationally televised) product gives this book an honest and thoughtful tone.
Another element I enjoyed: this is an author who clearly gets Las Vegas, and who obviously has deep admiration and affection for the place. The book is filled with behind-the-cultural-scenes glimpses of the Las Vegas community (and no, that sentence contains no typos: Las Vegas indeed has both a culture and a community).
Contrast this with the recently released *Winner Takes All,* which belongs firmly in the "loathing Las Vegas" literary tradition. An uncritical read of *Winner* leaves you with the impression that all of the city's key players are actually losers -- or at the very least, they all engage in self- (which is to say Las Vegas-) loathing introspections. Breitling's tale, on the other hand, reveals a very human, very decent, and very proudly Las Vegas story -- albeit one that exists beyond the reach of the typical narrative woven by the city's critics.
This book deserves a place atop the college lit bestseller list, in the tradition of *Bringing Down the House* and *Moneyball.* It shares the a "generation next" Las Vegas theme with the former book, and it shares with the latter one a different analytical lens to appreciate the complex intersections of the internet and 21st century tourism.
Book Review: Cornell Hotel School Loves Tom and Can't Wait to Hear Him Speak on 4/15/08
Summary: 5 Stars
The American Dream personified. Everyone dreams of striking it rich... but there is A LOT of hard work involved! I LOVED this book and will make it required reading for my students. The only thing that is missing is that ONE of these guys should have graduated from the Hotel School at Cornell University!
If you know anything about hotel distribution, you just have to marvel at how some college-kid dreamed up the Merchant Model in an Entrepreneurship elective, and then had the foresight to bring on his best friend on as his business partner... the person who understood that the internet could automate what the company was already doing.
Long story short... TravelScape was sold to Microsoft Expedia for $105 million **cha-ching** Tim and Tom make their first $100 million dollars. And they decide to buy the Golden Nugget and revive "Vintage Vegas" downtown. One bad reality TV show, 14 months later, and Landry's Restaurant Group buys the GN for $113 million... PROFIT... **cha-ching** they make their second $100 million... and these guys aren't even 35 years-old!
You have to read this book. Fortunately for Cornell, Tom Breightling will be speaking on Tuesday, April 15th at 4:30 pm in the Beck Center, room 196. Read the book. Join Tom on 4/15.