Bets, Drugs, and Rock & Roll: The Rise and Fall of the World's First Offshore Sports Gambling Empire (Hardcover)

by Steve Budin (Author), Bob Schaller (Author), Brandon Lang (Foreword) "SO THIS IS where it all ends..." (more)
Key Phrases: sharp bettors, parlay cards, bookmaking business, Costa Rica, New York, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
With an abundance of clichés and hubris, Budin, a bookmaker and offshore gambling pioneer, tells of his rise and inevitable fall in the world of international gambling. After learning from his father, a master bookmaker, Budin goes into the business himself, stumbling upon the idea to take his operation offshore-making it, technically, a quasi-legal enterprise as far as U.S. law is concerned. In a conversational style, Budin relates his decadent adventures in Panama and Costa Rica-sleeping with his young employees, smoking three joints a day, popping magnums of champagne like cans of soda-but he relies too often on tired phrasing and street-tough posturing. Despite all his claims of legitimacy ("We were operating in a gray area," "we always wanted to be above board"), he glorifies repeatedly the gangster mentality that typifies gambling in popular culture, lionizing his father, "this big monster in the background waiting to chew anybody up," and indulging in tales of employee intimidation: "it certainly must have seemed like we were going to kill him. I can't say that wasn't by design." Rather than examine the intricacies of offshore gambling-a story with implications in both the underworld and the corporate arena-Budin just rehashes the old clichés of bookies, broken arms and concrete shoes.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
"Some guys see the big picture. Steve Budin dreams it, and then turns it into reality." -- Brandon Lang, from his foreword

"The offshore gambling world is the Wild Frontier of the new millennium, a place where thugs and thieves, visionaries and charlatans, sling wads of cash instead of guns. Steve Budin, an entrepreneurial trailblazer, was there at the start. His revealing memoir of the industry's early days provides an illuminating (and often chilling) glimpse at the greed, amorality, and high-stakes chicanery of the international sports-betting racket." -- Michael Konik, author of The Smart Money

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing (October 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602390991
• ISBN-13: 978-1602390997
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #410,120 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars If you like egomaniacs...., December 11, 2007

By	Julio (United States) - See all my reviews

you still might not like this book. Two things you have to understand about this book, 1- this man has the greatest, most incredible father of all time (in his opinion) and 2- this author is total honesty personified, a swell guy. I mean, this guy once smoked 53 joints in a single day! That's not a typo, 53 joints! Adultery? We have it here in spades! But Stevo just couldn't help himself. So many lovely ladies that wanted him. He's sooo handsome, just look at the back cover (if you can).
The author might be a visionary in the sports betting world, but what a loser in every other way. Save your money.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Shameless Self-Promotion - Don't Waste Your Time, December 4, 2007

By	NY Book Guy "Frank" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

I'm a 33 year old guy from Brooklyn, NY - I'm an avid reader and love sports and business. After reading the summary of Drugs, Bets and Rock and Roll, I assumed this book would be right up my alley. I was wrong. Although the story is interesting, the writing style is simply awful. I'm still amazed that an editor would allow a book so poorly written into production. I'm pretty sure Budin got paid by the word since he repeats lots of phrases and descriptions over and over again. Several times, I thought I had lost my place and was rereading earlier parts of the text. I wasn't.

In essence the story is about how awesome Steve Budin is. For all of his self-proclaiming drivel, you'd think he brokered world peace or invented space travel. The truth is that, backed by some NY muscle and money, he revolutionized the ease at which people can lose money gambling. The author continually talks about all of the good things which he accomplished in the industry as if it makes up for the countless lives ruined by gambling. The author's glorifiction of drug use and his objectification of women was so childish that it made him look foolish and pitiful. The author also finds time to insult the entire country of Panama and their "third-world" ways. As someone who's traveled throughout Panama, I found his depiction of the people and culture totally out of whack with reality. I guess coming from a guy who brags about hookers behind his pregnant wife's back, you can't expect much.

Like I said, it's a good story. Unfortunately the writing style and author's giant ego got in the way of a good tale. If you're stuck in a room for 3 hours and have to choose between reading this book or punching yourself in the face, read the book...but then punch yourself in the face for having wasted your time.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read - Very Entertaining - Funny Stuff!, October 18, 2007

By	Scott Richmond (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

I've been gambling for 25 years but never had any idea of the inner workings of the industry. I bought the book to get educated - never thought I'd get entertained at the same time. One funny, outrageous story after another. The author (Steve Budin) is kind of larger than life, a Tony Soprano-ish kind of guy (I kid you not; you should see the online videos he does on his SportsInfo site - never knew someone could blow so many smoke rings in 60 seconds LOL).

Back to the book - it takes you behind the scenes of some of the sports biggest fixes back in the 50's right through the creation of the offshore sportsbook industry - which this guy Budin created. Keep in mind, however, this guy is not some dime-a-dozen handicapper telling you how much he wins; he was on the other side of the fence and his travels along the way make it a quick, entertaining read.