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Whale Hunt In The Desert: The Secret Las Vegas Of Superhost Steve Cyr
 
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Whale Hunt In The Desert: The Secret Las Vegas Of Superhost Steve Cyr (Hardcover)

by Deke Castleman (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Review
Whale Hunt in the Desert one of the best gambling books I've seen in a long time.

  -- John Grochowski, Chicago Sun-Times

Product Description
In pre-1990s Las Vegas, casino marketing executives were all cut from the same cloth; sharply-dressed and smooth-talking with street-savvy. They rose through the ranks of operations--dealer, floorman, pit boss, shift boss and casino manager. When it was time to leave the trenches, they went "upstairs" into the executive offices, where they hosted a handful of established players according to the unwritten rules of old-school Vegas. Then Steve Cyr showed up.

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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 319 pages
  • Publisher: Huntington Press; illustrated edition edition (September 30, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0929712919
  • ISBN-13: 978-0929712918
  • Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #151,052 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Wondered what it was like to be a high roller?, September 23, 2004
By Tennis Bum (Saratoga, CA) - See all my reviews
If you want to read about Las Vegas's highest of high rollers, "whales," and what a casino will do to keep them happy, then this book won't fail to satisfy. Along the way you'll meet Steve Cyr, a young Turk casino host. A host is the casino's employee whose job it is to look after the big players and to keep them happy and, more importantly, keep them coming back and gambling more and more.

Much of the book is built around Cyr and his style (his style can be both inspiring and annoying). Cyr is about 70% time-share/condo salesperson and 35% cruise director and 10% Kato Kaelin (yeah, he's 115%). But the book is more than Cyr and his successful effort to modernize the way casinos market to high rollers. You'll meet some of the whales themselves. You'll find out about the mini-palaces casinos have built just for them. And one subject usually kept off the record is covered: do casinos provide sex to their top players?

The book is not a superficial People Magazine of famous celebs who frequent Vegas. It's about both sides of the table, the whales and the casinos and hosts who harpoon them. The dark side of gambling is offered up as gamblers spin downward out of control, losing millions. There are plenty of details and that's what really distinguishes this book. Other books have touched on the fantasy of the high roller's life. Such as Lifestyles of a High Roller, Anderson's Burning the Tables, Rubin's Comp City and a couple specials on the Travel Channel, but nothing has offered up the depth or detail of Whale Hunt.

The only thing missing from the book is more.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars spellbinding , December 23, 2004
An utterly spellbinding behind-the-scenes look at the world's highest rollers and the professional sycophants/enablers, called casino hosts, who cater to their every whim while encouraging their every base instinct. I couldn't put it down. And Castleman's brief essay on gambling and religion at the end is worth the price of the whole book.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Compulsively Readable, October 27, 2004
By Brian Rouff (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
If a non-fiction book can be classified as a page-turner, this is the one. Casino superhost Steve Cyr and the international cast of whales spring from the pages as larger-than-life, almost mythical, characters. Cyr takes center stage as the free-wheeling, fast-talking whale hunter, always pushing the envelope (and changing the entire industry in the process).

I especially enjoyed the cat-and-mouse interplay between Cyr and his "clients." On the one hand, he represents his casino bosses; his earnings are directly tied in to the big money losses of the whales. On the other hand, he must seem like the whales' best buddy, taking their side and making himself available 24/7 to satisfy their every whim. It's a fascinating balancing act, especially when a whale goes on "tilt" and runs the risk of permanently tapping out, thereby damaging Cyr's long-term revenue. I found myself going back and forth, sometimes rooting for Cyr, other times identifying with a particular whale, all the time knowing I could never be either. The later sections on whale psychology (and pathology) are equally fascinating. For anyone who's ever been to Vegas and peeked with amazement into a high-roller salon, marveling at the vast sums of money exchanging hands, this book is a must read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book and interesting
This was an enjoyable and easy read (less than a week for me and most people it would probably take a couple of days to finish). Read more
Published 3 months ago by Eric Aros

5.0 out of 5 stars Read about the Best Whale Chaser in Vegas
I love gambling and think that I was born with the gambling gene. This book attracted me at first because I wanted to get the chance to see what it was like to be a "whale" (the... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Diana De Avila

5.0 out of 5 stars You think you are a high roller...what until you read this book
We have all played cards or hit the slots and when we win we think we are big shots. Not a chance compared to the people in this book. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Waivers13

5.0 out of 5 stars A Whale of a Book
Take a spectacular author writing about a spectacular person and you end up with a spectacular book!! This is an incredible read... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Edyth Karlins

5.0 out of 5 stars As close as I'll ever get to being a high-roller
Although the last few chapters are clunky, the rest of the book is so good that I really didn't care! Read more
Published on September 3, 2006 by Lorelei White

1.0 out of 5 stars Boreing
This is a book about an egotistical, self promoter. If you want to read about how great Cyr believes he is buy this book. Read more
Published on January 22, 2006 by Avid Reader

4.0 out of 5 stars No free comps
As a gambler, I learned alot from the book. I never realized my casino host's bonus was tied to our losses. I always thought they were sincere. Read more
Published on September 21, 2005 by C. W. Moyers

5.0 out of 5 stars Whale Hunt in the Desert
I enjoyed this book as it informs the reader how the behind the scenes casino hosting business works. What a job to have!
Published on August 18, 2005 by Timothy J. Niles

5.0 out of 5 stars Aces all the way
I've read dozens of books on the subjects of gambling and Las Vegas, and "Whale Hunt" is by far the most entertaining I've ever come across. Read more
Published on August 7, 2005 by R. Wiser

4.0 out of 5 stars great read about a previously unknown area
Steve Cyr work's in a fascinating area. He specializes in finding and kowtowing to rich gamblers, using any lures he can to bring them into his host casino. Read more
Published on December 9, 2004 by je

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