Whale Hunt in the Desert: The Secret Las Vegas of Superhost Steve Cyr

by Deke Castleman

    The world’s largest gamblers, known as whales, can make $50,000-$250,000 bets—not cumulatively over a trip, but on every hand, hour after hour, day after day. A whale’s wins and losses can top out at $20 million to $30 million during a typical Las Vegas weekend. This can and does impact a huge publicly traded casino corporation’s entire quarterly earnings.

     Of course, whales don’t just swim up to a casino with the tide. With only a handful of them in the world, they’re actively hunted by casino marketing executives, also known as hosts. Whale Hunt in the Desert is the story of one such host, Steve Cyr.

     The book delves deeply into the whale hunt, mostly through the saga of this superhost: where he came from; how he employs casino perks such as limos, penthouses, shopping sprees, trips abroad, show-up money, discounts on losses, and sex to hook the big fish; and what it’s like to be a part of the lifestyles of the most blubbersome gamblers on the planet.

 

319 pages • HARD COVER
10-Digit ISBN: 0-929712-91-9 • 13-Digit ISBN: 978-0-929712-91-8 • $24.95us