Table of Contents:

Introduction
1. The Man With the $100,000 Breasts

In the Casino
2. The Cold-Deck Crew
3. A Lot of Crap
4. Count On It!
5. Comp City
6. Out of the Oscars, Into the Pan
7. The $17 Million Man

At the Racetrack
8. The Andy-capper
9. Go, Greyhound!

On the Golf Course
10. The World's Greatest Golf Hustler
11. The Ultimate Comp

The Straight Dope
12. New, Different, and Unbeatable
13. The Best and the Worst
14. Taking Advantage

Sports Betting
15. The Line Maker
16. Living by the Book
17. Risky Business
18. The Biggest Game of the Year
19. 1-900-NFL-SCAM

Poker
20. Shakin' Down the Sheiks
21. Trump Cards
22. The Grand Old Man
23. The Mozart of the Poker Table
24. The Adventures of Huckleberry Seed
25. The (New) Biggest Game in Town
26. The Hand You're Dealt

Excerpt:

     When I first meet Brian Zembic, he is living in a bathroom.
     This is not because he can't afford a place that has all the amenities, like a bedroom. It's because a couple of his degenerate gambling buddies bet him $14,000 h couldn't stay in a bathroom for 30 straight days.
     Several gambler friends playing the poker tournament circuit had told me about some psychopath they knew who would do anything to win a bet. "The guy's an animal," they opined. "You gotta meet him." But my pals neglected to mention that Brian doesn't really have a permanent address, save for a cheap motel he often stays in when he comes to Las Vegas. Tracking him down is like hunting a fugitive; he seems to jump to another motel, another apartment, another country, every time I try to get him on the phone. That he is confined to a bathroom for a month is my best opportunity yet to actually confirm this cipher's existence.
     When I arrive in Las Vegas, he's six days into the bathroom bet, and already he's going a little stir-crazy. As far as bathrooms go, it's a nice bathroom: carpeted, brightly lighted, bordering on spacious. But it's still a bathroom. The terms of Brian's bet allow him to keep the door open, but prohibit him from crossing the threshold into the adjoining hallway. Since Brian lives in the bathroom by himself—a $50-a-day housekeeper brings him sandwiches whenever he yells for her—most of his time is spent reading and practicing magic tricks. Rows of $100 bills are taped to the mirror to remind Brian what he's earning each day he servers his self-imposed sentence but, he confesses, his resolve is weakening. "Joey, one of the guys who made the wager with me, he owns the apartment and he's been sending people over here to take a dump," Brian tells me, reclining on the floor. "It's brutal."
     Six days later his buddies cave in and buy Brian out of the bet for $7,000.
     "I didn't think he'd do it, to tell you the truth," Joey admits, shortly after paying Brian off with a thick stack of hundreds. "I wouldn't do it. You wouldn't do it, right? I couldn't imagine myself or anybody else with half a brain staying in a bathroom for a month. I thought it was a good bet. I was wrong."
     Anyone who knows Brian Zembic well understands the guy will do just about anything to put money in his pocket—as long as it doesn't require punching a clock. Ironically, Brian's a top Las Vegas blackjack player, one of the world's best at "shuffle tracking," a complex method of following cards through the mixing process. He could be earning thousands of dollars a day plying his trade. But he doesn't do it regularly because that would feel too much like working, a concept that Brian despises. Working, he believes, means somebody owns him, owns his time, his freedom. When he needs to earn some money, which happens occasionally, he gambles. Backgammon mostly, a little poker, ping-pong when he can find a sucker—anything where his skill gives him the edge. Anything where his superior talent or knowledge makes him a favorite to win. This includes taking insane proposition bets. Like walking around for a year with a nice pair of womanly breasts.

Description:
     A fearless gambler who got breast implants to win a $100,000 bet. A hard-core dice shooter who turned a borrowed stake of $10,000 into $17 million. A marketing genius who created a "900" line for selecting winners of NFL football games-and used his four-year-old son to make the picks. These are some of the characters who populate Michael Konik's The Man With the $100,000 Breasts and Other Gambling Stories, a collection of the renowned gambling writer's best magazine pieces.
     Written in a literary style that is both informative and entertaining, Konik gives behind-the-scenes glimpses of poker champions, golf hustlers, card counters, and successful sports bettors at work.
     Michael Konik is the gambling columnist for Cigar Aficionado, where he has twice been nominated for the National Magazine Award.

Reviews/Media Mentions:

Fun ‘N’ Games, Poker Digest, Hana Hou—Hawaiian Airlines, Maxim, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Playboy, Independent Publisher, CityLife, Hollywood Reporter, Gaming Today, Details, SKY—Delta Airlines, Las Vegas Sun, Drink, Las Vegas Weekly, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Card Player, Blackjack Confidential, Chicago Sun Times, Reno News Review, Travel Channel, Learning Channel, E! Entertainment, Robb Report, Blackjack Forum, Extra, Casino Player, Midwest Gaming and Travel

“A book you can devour in a long evening.”
     —Independent Publisher

“An interesting, stylish and literary look inside the world of gambling.”
     —Poker Digest