Temples of Chance [Hardcover]

David Johnston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 22, 1992

An account of how, in the 1980s, the junk bond kings usurped mob control of the casino industry discusses corruption in the industry and the role of the U.S. government in that corruption. National ad/promo.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Gambling is inevitable," declared the Commission on the Review of the National Policy Toward Gambling in the mid-1970s. Less than 20 years later, Johnston, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, finds that commercial gambling backed by such business moguls as Donald Trump, Merv Griffin and Steve Wynn and by such corporations as Holiday Inn, Ramada and Hilton has made profits the Mafia never even dreamed of when it controlled Las Vegas. Johnston's hard-edged, sobering account traces the questionable megabuck financial deals that support gambling's increasing popularity in America and indicts corporate and government organizations for encouraging minors to drink and gamble and for coddling high-rollers and money-mongers. An eye-opening expose.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

According to Johnston, when legitimate business gained control of the casino industry from organized crime, it obtained the ability and the license to abuse and destroy customers to an extent that was not possible when casinos were run by criminals. The liberal extension of credit, ambivalent attitudes toward underage gamblers, and ineffective state regulation are among the abuses reported by Johnston, an investigative reporter who has worked for several major newspapers. He observes that legal gambling is becoming a popular quick fix for budget shortfalls in many states. This is an important, well-written book that will inform voters of the unpleasant side of the gaming industry.
- Joseph Barth, U.S. Military Acad. Lib., West Point, N.Y.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 312 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (September 22, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385419201
• ISBN-13: 978-0385419208
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,954 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Cay Johnston, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times, has hunted down a killer the police failed to catch, exposed LAPD abuses, caused two television stations to lose their licenses over news manipulations, and revealed Donald Trump's true net worth. He has uncovered so many tax dodges that he has been called the "de facto chief tax enforcement officer of the United States." His last book, Perfectly Legal, was a New York Times bestseller and honored as Book of the Year by the journalism organization Investigative Reporters and Editors. Over his forty-year career he has won many other honors, including a George Polk Award.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How casinos went from Bugsy Siegel to Donald Trump, April 28, 2004

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Temples of Chance (Hardcover)

"Temples of Chance: How America Inc. Bought Out Murder Inc. to Win Control of the Casino Business" literally tells the story of how the modern Las Vegas invented by Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel when he built the Flamingo gambling resort as World War II was ending, was run by mobsters for three decades, who were bought out be a new generation of "respectable" businesspeople in the 1980s. While the media was focuses on the excesses of Wall Street the casino industry was being taken over by the heads of well known publicly traded corporations, as well as junk-bond kings like Donald Trump, Merv Griffin, and Steve Wynn. In "Temples of Chance" journalist David Johnston documents the little-publicized transformation of what has proven to be one of the country's fastest growing and most lucrative industries.

Johnston explains how in just over a decade revenues from gambling went from $2 billion a year to $10 billion. The immense profit potential of the gambling business attracted corporate giants like the Holiday Corporation and Ramada, Inc., both of which sold off their namesake hotel chains at the end of the 1980s and sank their resources into the new megacasinos. However, Johnston's book underscores that "no matter who deals the cards, the game is always the same." Now business school graduates and skilled managers have replaced mob muscle and the new "loaded dice" are provided by computer geniuses who carefully stack the odds against players, government officials who support corporate deal makers, and even subtle psychological techniques that invite addictive behavior.

The framing story for "Temples of Chance" is the story of Akio Kashiwagi, the boldest gambler in the world, who is wagering $14 million an hour for days while playing baccarat at Trump Plaza. As the first chapter ends Kashiwagi is has a pot of $18.6 million and the Donald is getting nervous. However, Trump has hired Jess Marcum, a physicist who helped invent radar and "a lonely atheist in the temples of chance because he did not believe in Lady Luck" on his side. Kashiwagi does not have a chance, but we do not find out how this game plays until the end of the book.

Ultimately "Temples of Chance" makes a convincing case that any wager placed on legal gambling in America is a sucker's bet, the exception being if you are one of the power brokers on the inside. Johnston has a whole series of horror stories reflecting the mentality of greed that drove corporate investors to sponsor casinos on Indian reservations, Mississippi riverboats, and every place it can get a foothold. Johnston maintains that the logic underlying government support of the expansion of legalized gambling is pretty stupid in light of the evidence that while legal gambling can offer short-term economic relief, it creates no new wealth, and has not and cannot permanently revive struggling economies. The value of this 1992 book as a warning has obviously waned, but it still provides a fascinating look at how Wall Street moved in on the mob to make a killing at the gaming tables.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating!!! A Must Read!, May 20, 2004

By 

RealDeal (Milford, CT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Temples of Chance (Hardcover)

This is an absolutely informative and yet totally entertaining book about the inside of the gambling industry. David Johnston does a great job of detailing the evolution of the casinos, all the while making a strong case for its negative impact on society. Throw in the flashy gangsters, mobsters, lawmen, colorful tales of some of the biggest gamblers, incredible stories of rags-to-riches and vice-versa, and you have a real page-turner.

4.0 out of 5 stars THIS IS AN EYE OPENER THAT IS SUPRESSED., October 9, 2010

By 

ROBERT J CHAISSON (PASADENA, MD USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Temples of Chance (Hardcover)

THIS IS A TRUTHFUL EXPOSE THAT WILL REMAIN SUPRESSED FROM THE AMERICAN PUBLIC ALONG WITH HIS LATEST BOOK, THE FREE LUNCH. EXTREMELY WELL DONE AND DOCUMENTED. DIFFICULT TO BELIEVE THAT AMERICA IS SO BLINDSIDED. IT IS SO OBVIOUS THAT OUR PRESS IS SO BLIND, OR RATHER SO CONTROLLED AS TO IGNORE THE CANCER OF CONTROLLED POLITICS IN THE TOP LEVEL OF OUR GOVERNMENT. IT IS CREDITABLE NOW TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE HAVE LOST OUR FREEDOM FROM WITHIN. REMEMBER THE COLLEGE STUDY OF THE BOOK 1984, IT IS STILL A VIABLE TEXT EXPOSED IN 2010.