Customer Reviews

Farewell Jimmy the Greek: The Wizard of Odds

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More than a biography, this books reads like a novel--deftly written with narrative pinache. I entered the book with reservation since I didn't particulary care for the man, but left with an appreciation for him and the writer of the book. Ms. Wadsworth is a talented researcher, interviewer, and writer. She engaged me from the beginning and then guided me through the gaming jargon in the middle. By the end I felt I knew Jimmy the Greek personally.

A very interesting book on an icon. Jimmy was a broken man, who felt that he had lost his self-respect, after he was fired by CBS. Jimmy was a sacrificial lamb in an early poltical correct world. Jimmy ultimately filed lawsuits for wrongful termination against CBS, but most were past the statute of limitations. He died in Las Vegas. His daughter and a friend that he met late in his life were his best friends in his last years. Reading between the lines Jimmy must have had a strained relationship with his wife. The book talks of his fight with Brent Musberger and how he hated Phyllis George's then husband John Y. Brown, even though Jimmy was the catalyst in them meeting. Jimmy had sued John Y. over money that Brown had owed him from a business deal, then withdrew the lawsuit because he felt it would hurt his on-air relationship with George. Again reading between the lines, it is interesting that neither Musberger, George, Irv Cross, or any CBS executives attended his funeral. Although Jimmy had three children who were buried in Las Vegas, he chose to be buried in his hometown of Steubenville, OH. I've only been in Steubenville once in my life, but if I get near there again I'll stop and see Jimmy.