Overview

Al Alvarez touched down in Las Vegas one hot day in 1981, a dedicated amateur poker player but a stranger to the town and its crazy ways. For three mesmerizing weeks he witnessed some of the monster high-stakes games that could only have happened in Vegas and talked to the extraordinary characters who dominated them--road gamblers and local professionals who won and lost fortunes on a regular basis. Set over the course of one tournament, The Biggest Game in Town is botha chronicle of the World Series of Poker--the first ever written--and a portrait of the hustlers, madmen, and geniuses who ruled the high-stakes game in America. It is a brilliant insight into poker's appeal as a hobby, an addiction, and a way of life, and into the skewed psychology of master players and fearless gamblers. With a new introduction by the author, Alvarez's classic account is ""the greatest dissection of high-stakes Vegas poker and the madness that surrounds it ever written"" (TimeOut [UK]).

Full Product Details

9780312428426

Table of Contents

Reviews

<p> A classic . . . There is no better book on America's national pastime. --James McManus, Author of Positively Fifth Street <br><br> Probably the best book on poker ever written. -- The Evening Standard (UK)<p> A magnificent book. Beyond the straights and fullhouses, Alvarez has written a book about people who are extremely good at what they do, and about America. -- San Francisco Chronicle<br><br> [Alvarez] endows the game with all the desperate fun and wry futility of life itself. -- New York magazine<p> Conveys an understanding of gamblers and their milieu that can appeal to someone who has never seen a casino or doesn't care to. -- The Philadelphia Inquirer<br><br> Thoroughly entertaining . . . both perceptive and literate. -- The Washington Post

A classic . . . There is no better book on America's national pastime. --James McManus, Author of Positively Fifth Street <br> Probably the best book on poker ever written. -- The Evening Standard (UK)<p> A magnificent book. Beyond the straights and fullhouses, Alvarez has written a book about people who are extremely good at what they do, and about America. -- San Francisco Chronicle <br> [Alvarez] endows the game with all the desperate fun and wry futility of life itself. -- New York magazine<p> Conveys an understanding of gamblers and their milieu that can appeal to someone who has never seen a casino or doesn't care to. -- The Philadelphia Inquirer <br> Thoroughly entertaining . . . both perceptive and literate. -- The Washington Post

Author Information

Al Alvarez is a poet, novelist, literary critic, anthologist, and author of many highly praised nonfiction books. From 1984 to 1994, he played regularly in the World Series of Poker. He lives in London.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available