Betting Talk

OT: "Lay the Favorite" Movie...

blackbullblackbull Senior Member
edited December 2012 in Sports Betting
Terrible. Typical negative characterization of sports investing. An insult to any true sports investor anywhere. That is all. :thumbdown:

(Mods, if this isn't an acceptable topic, my apologies, but I was just trying to spare my BTF friends a few bucks and an hour and a half of feeling insulted)

Comments

  • deadpaintdeadpaint Senior Member
    edited December 2012
    I was looking forward to this movie, but was really disappointed in it, for many reasons. Any movie that is supposed to be an accurate description of gambling can not have the protagonist watching races from Del Mar, NFL games and NBA games all on the same day. It doesn't take a lot of research to realize those things can't happen on the same day
  • golfer1000golfer1000 Senior Member
    edited December 2012
    Is this movie in the theaters?
  • Old-TimerOld-Timer Senior Member
    edited December 2012
    I started the book a few months ago which was highly recommended didn't much care for it. It's still on my iPad and its just sitting there found parts very boring. If you like to read I can recommend a couple of books I think you would enjoy. If you haven't read it yet Personal Foul I enjoyed very much and I have Gaming the Game which I haven't started yet. There's more if imterested.
  • blackbullblackbull Senior Member
    edited December 2012
    golfer1000: it's still in theaters, but you can order it on demand if you have certain cable/satellite providers. However, I would suggest ordering something a little less aggravating than this insulting piece of drivel ;-)

    Exactly, OT. These books/movies are made for the general public who think it's cool/exciting to have so much on one game that you're getting upset and smashing tvs if it loses. We all know that this type of attitude/gambling is the antipode of cool and is how a fish lives his life on a daily basis. Watching this movie was like watching a buddy timidly walk up to a dime in the bar, tell her how pretty she is, and then ask if he can buy her a drink. It just makes you cringe!

    Appreciate the offer too buds. Yeah, I'd love a few recommendations. Plate is so full right now that I doubt I will have time to enjoy them, but it's always good to have a book ready to go just in case!
  • Old-TimerOld-Timer Senior Member
    edited December 2012
    Bringing Down the House

    It's about the 6 MIT students and ripping off the casino's for Millions. True story and worth the read. well written IMO

    Smart Money By Michael Konik

    It's not going to teach you anything but it's a great read
  • GoatsGoats Head Moderator
    edited December 2012
    Old-Timer wrote: »
    Bringing Down the House

    It's about the 6 MIT students and ripping off the casino's for Millions. True story and worth the read. well written IMO

    Agree. The movie version, "21", however was terrible IMO.
  • Old-TimerOld-Timer Senior Member
    edited December 2012
    Agree as a matter of fact I tried three times to get through it and couldn't
  • worm33worm33 Senior Member
    edited December 2012
    Old-Timer wrote: »
    Bringing Down the House

    It's about the 6 MIT students and ripping off the casino's for Millions. True story and worth the read. well written IMO

    Smart Money By Michael Konik

    It's not going to teach you anything but it's a great read

    Smart money is a great read.
  • guetsguets Member
    edited December 2012
    Thanks for the heads up Blackbull. Could not finish the book like OT. Thought it might be better on the screen . I guess not.
  • speculatorspeculator Senior Member
    edited December 2012
    i thought the book was great, written in a light and very entertaining style. dont know about the moviw, where can u see it? bruce willis is a gambler though, seen him a couple of times in vegas at the mirage....
  • speculatorspeculator Senior Member
    edited December 2012
    take it easy, how do you expect gamblers to be perceived? like a wall st banker? juat dont get paid the same. would u prfer your son in law to be a advantage gambler or a wall st trader?
  • kass101kass101 Senior Member
    edited December 2012
    speculator wrote: »
    i thought the book was great, written in a light and very entertaining style. dont know about the moviw, where can u see it? bruce willis is a gambler though, seen him a couple of times in vegas at the mirage....

    havent read the book for this but wouldnt be surprised if the book was much better.

    Bringing down the house was a great book and the movie was a disgrace
  • blackbullblackbull Senior Member
    edited December 2012
    speculator wrote: »
    take it easy, how do you expect gamblers to be perceived? like a wall st banker? juat dont get paid the same. would u prfer your son in law to be a advantage gambler or a wall st trader?

    LOL, Appreciate the temperament advice big man, but obviously we have different standards for the industry. The majority of gamblers acting a fool are not a proper representation of the sharp players and I don't appreciate a movie that suggests otherwise. I'm sure the author had to sell books and she sensationalized A LOT to get the job done. Unfortunately she cast the industry in the typical bad light to do it. You may think the whole breaking t.v., watching games on the edge of the seat, etc. is cool, but it makes cringe with disgust. See, they can't make a movie depicting it truthfully b/c all it would be is collecting info, analyzing info, watching lines, etc. all day in the office and that is like watching paint dry. But then again, so is most other reputable professions.
  • Old-TimerOld-Timer Senior Member
    edited December 2012
    See, they can't make a movie depicting it truthfully b/c all it would be is collecting info, analyzing info, watching lines, etc. all day in the office and that is like watching paint dry. But then again, so is most other reputable professions.

    Well Said!
  • RoundballRoundball Member
    edited December 2012
    I've been interviewed many times for so called reality tv shows wanting to depict sports betting. Since I bet for a living I'm often sought out. All they want are your typical sportsbook guys who overreact to individual plays and games. I don't know anyone who bets for a living that would be depicted in a positive way. It's simply too boring. The book was better than the movie but I've yet to see a movie depict this industry correctly.
  • Old-TimerOld-Timer Senior Member
    edited December 2012
    Almost forgot I think a Must read is The Odds I believe it's based on Alan Boston's life.
  • RonbetsRonbets Senior Member
    edited December 2012
    "We Were Wiseguys and Didn't Know It." excellent book by former Stardust sportsbook director Scotty Schettler. The rise of sportsbetting locally and nationally. TOTAL NON-FICTION.
  • jaanisjaanis Senior Member
    edited December 2012
    Loved "The Odds". Any book based around the old Stardust is a must. Stayed there many of times before it was imploded.
  • Old-TimerOld-Timer Senior Member
    edited December 2012
    that was my old stopping grounds from the early 70's through 80's and still went there after that but those years I practicably lived there. Use to have the $1.99 all you can eat breakfast next door at Circus Circus. Poker, Plastic Ponies and sports. Remember the guys high up that changed the numbers and I even remember the hand written tickets.
  • Old-TimerOld-Timer Senior Member
    edited December 2012
    Almost forgot, The best part of that story was the Stardust was a Throw in when the Boyd's bought the Fremont (I worked at the Fremont also the best crap job in town at that time) The Boyd's didn't want the stardust but to get the Fremont they had to take it.
  • spiderman77spiderman77 Senior Member
    edited December 2012
    Old-Timer wrote: »
    Use to have the $1.99 all you can eat breakfast next door at Circus Circus.

    I remember that vividly. Stayed at the Westward Ho on my first trip to Vegas and cashed in on the buffet many times, and as 22 year olds we sure got our money's worth. Unfortunately, we left a lot of dollars at the blackjack tables, so in reality we paid several hundred dollars for each breakfast.

    Back in those days the only strip casinos that had sports books were the Stardust and the Dunes.
  • thecaptain12thecaptain12 Senior Member
    edited December 2012
    Ronbets wrote: »
    "We Were Wiseguys and Didn't Know It." excellent book by former Stardust sportsbook director Scotty Schettler. The rise of sportsbetting locally and nationally. TOTAL NON-FICTION.

    The last three books I read are above, Smart Money and Scott K's book. Was just going to rent Lay the Fav, then I saw this thread..Decided against it
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