Rating: 
Summary: Poker enthusiasts, read this book. Others, pass.
Review: In 350 pages (plus an appendix of poker terminology), the professor from the Art Institute of Chicago details what happened when he took his $4,000 advance from Harper's Magazine for an article on the increasing presence of women in high stakes poker and the murder trial of fallen casino heir Ted Binion, which was concluding concurrently with the World Series, and entered the 'Big One'. For any fan, the poker coverage is riveting, and the ins and outs of the trial will leave you pondering right to the end: are they gonna get off? The interspersed history of Jim's family, and the seemingly forced battle between what he calls 'good' and 'bad' Jim are less successful as literary tools go. Any poker fan will appreciate the insider look at the 2000 World Series of Poker from a man who went from dead money to being invited to sit with Becky Behnen, the Horseshoe Casino owner, as the verdict was being read in the trial of her brother's alleged murderers. But, I'd caution those without a love of the game from forking over the chips to see what McManus is holding in this one. I'd put him on a medium Ace, and it really depends on your point of view whether those are rags.
Rating: 
Summary: Great read for poker players.
Review: It amazes me that this book has sold so well to the general public, as opposed to the poker community. Although I found this book to be quite enjoyable (sans the Binion murder trial), I felt it was interesting simply because I was first learning the game at the time. If you've played the game and have aspirations of playing in the WSOP some day, you'll no doubt enjoy this book. However, a few friends who never play poker borrowed the book and returned it after reading just a few chapters.
Rating:
Summary: Positively........Good!
Review: But not great. I enjoyed this book, yet somehow it left me wanting more. I guess I wanted more of the seamy underbelly of Vegas, and a little less of the "Good Jim v. Bad Jim" !! But that's not how his experience was. The poker part of the book was excellent & in depth. The psychology of the game and the way He explains his moves were very good. The murder really did captivate the city (& still does!) Absolutely everybody in Vegas has an opinion about it and shares it whether you ask for it or not!
Don C.
Rating:
Summary: Aging Hipster Run Amok
Review: This book is three things: entertaining, annoying and pointless. It provides a very entertaining narrative of an amateur's run at the World Series of Poker. At the same time, the author's writing style is also incredibly annoying - he actually ends sentences with exclaimations like "Dude!" The most unsatisfactory part of the book, however, is his treatment of the Binion trial. As the book progresses, you come to find out that most of his coverage of the trial is obtained from watching Court TV. The rest is the result of conjecture. McManus tries to tie it all together - poker, Binion, Vegas and his own life. It reeks of fifty-something boomer philosophy, the former nonconformist convincing himself that he's still cool even though he now resides in the burbs and drives a Volvo. Ultimately, the book is more about the author than it is about fifth street and its titular consequences. The book shines, however, when he's writing about what went on at the tables. Although a working knowledge of poker may be recommended, it is by no means necessary. McManus makes full use of the jargon but does not overwhelm the reader, all the while spinning a very suspensful narrative. And of course, this part of the story wouldn't be nearly as good if not told from McManus' unique perspective. In short, read the poker parts, and skip the rest.
Rating:
Summary: Super fun book
Review: James McManus was sent to the World Series of Poker to write an article about women in poker for a magazine. He decided to try to win an entry in to the tournament and does. Then he plays in the tournament and survives the first day. At the end of the second day, he has a pile of chips in front of him. He ends up making it to the final table (the final nine players out of 600+ who enter) and has a chance to be World Champion. This book is a great read. Even if you don't know the first thing about poker, you will be entertained by the people the author meets on his way to the final table of the World Series of Poker.
Rating:
Summary: Only half a great book
Review: Had Mcmanus confined himself to a 150 page book on his experiences with the world series of poker, he would have had a great book. Unfortunately, the story of the Binion murder and trial is written in a stilted and artificial fashion - almost like a Hemmingway wnabe. Skip this part and you will have an enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: Talk About Sensory Overload.....Wow!
Review: What a wild, rollicking ride of a book! We jump right in with a detailed re-creation of the murder of an heir on one of Las Vegas' great fortunes. It's not just any murder...not when sex, handcuffs, Xanax, heroin and a turkey baster are involved. The victim is Ted Binion, son of Benny Binion, founder of Binion's Horseshoe, the last family-owned casino in Vegas. His accused killers are his live-in girlfriend and one of his employees. Call it fate, or perhaps irony, but it turns out that the conclusion of the Binion murder trial will overlap with the 2000 World Series of Poker, which is the Horseshoe's signature event and the richest, most prestigious of the many stops on the big money poker circuit. Enter our hero/author, who is also an avid amateur player. He wrangles an assignment from Harper's magazine to cover the tournament and the trial. Although the parallel is inexact, McManus then decides to pull a George Plimpton and use his advance from Harper's as seed money to enter the tournament itself. Only through actual experience, he reasons, can he accurately convey the full sensory impact of this adrenaline-charged event. He resolves to school himself in the subtleties of the no-limit game, though he entertains no illusions about his chances against the experienced pros he'll be facing. Without giving anything away, it's fair to say that a combination of luck and skill carry Jim much farther along the road to glory than even he could have imagined in the beginning. And when the trial concludes almost simultaneously with the final hands of the tournament, the whole story seems to come together in one big, gaudy package. Along the way, McManus manages to weave in the history of poker, even of the deck of cards itself, autobiographical slices, observations on the poetry of Sylvia Plath....So, this is a book about poker, and about sex. It's also about life, death, love, lust, greed, hopes and dreams....in short, it's about just about everything that makes us who we are.
Rating: 
Summary: Save your money
Review: I generally love reading any book regarding gambling. This book is the exception. I can't even finish the thing because he's SO boring. He rambles on and on about things that aren't relevant. I spend more time skipping pages than I do reading them.
Rating:
Summary: A Great look at tounament poker and life and death in L.V.
Review: MaManus has great style and insight and his take on tounament poker, sex and life and death in Las Vegas is excellent. His insights in to the death of Ted Binion are interresting but he may have been a little too close to Ted's family to have a completely clear perspective. The prosecution never proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt. The death of a heroin junkie is almost always due to the drug not foul play and it takes a lot of direct and circumstantial evidence to reach beyond a reasonable doubt and the proof against the accused was speculative at best and non existent at the worst. Sandy Murphy and her boyfriend were convicted on suspicious circumstances and other factors not evidence. The turkey baster and Burking theories were never more than the fantasy of the hired expert brought in from N.Y. The Supreme Court of Nevada has reversed the murder verdicts against Sandy Murphy and her lover and ordered a new trial not on lack of reasonable doubt but on other irregularities in the sensationalized trial which was unfair to the accused. Perhaps McManus will write a sequel dealing with the new trial. However this time he should stay out on the strip where his line of sight may be better. Also I would like to read his insghts as to life on the strip and tounament play at the Bellagio. Maybe his publisher will provide the seed money again.
Rating:
Summary: Lets play poker
Review: Lets follow along as the author James Mcmanus a writer for Harpers magazine goes to vegas to cover the 2000 world series of poker and the death of Ted Binion done in by a greedy stripper and her boyfriend.Mr. McMnaus convinces his wife that to get the true experience he will take his advance and get in the world series of poker where he eventually makes it to the final table and along the way tyes in the story and trial of ted binion.I really could have done with out the binion story but this was a excellent book and you root for the author all the way.If you like this book and you should especially with explosion of interest in holdem poker i would recommend also anthony holdens book big deal
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