The Strake ( ? )

Math Weenies Take on Vegas

I just started reading Rigged by Ben Mezrich - the true(*) story of a Harvard kid who gets caught up in some crazy games at the New York Mercantile Exchange (aka. “The Merc”). Drugs, alcohol, testosterone, and incomprehensible amounts of cash flow like water.

Anyhow, reading this new book reminded me of reading Mezrich’s previous hit, Busting Vegas. In that roller coaster ride, the author embeds himself with a group of math geniuses at MIT who have mastered their own card counting scheme and give the Vegas casinos a beatdown. And this reminded me that a movie adaptation was due out soon. It almost slipped beneath my radar, but the trailer for (the renamed) “21” was recently released. With Laurence Fishburne and Kevin Spacey on board, it’s got the makings of a good one.

(*) written in the form of a novel and obviously embellished to some degree