https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3 Swayam Shah - Period: 7 en-us 2022-01-04 14:55:20 UTC 2026-01-04 16:08:33 UTC hello@padlet.com sbshah1 https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1974477650 I chose this book because this winter break, I visited Las Vegas. I saw huge casinos and a lot of gambling. I wondered why so many people gambled because most people lose all their money anyways. Or so I thought. At the library, I saw this book on the shelf and decided to check it out.]]> 2022-01-04 15:38:54 UTC https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1974477650 sbshah1 https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1974504264 At the beginning of chapter one of this book, the author says, "Chapter one - modern day," which means that the events in that chapter are happening at that time. At the beginning of chapter two of this book, the author says, "Chapter two - 1994," which shows this happened before and there was a flashback. This flashback was used to show how Kevin Lewis got introduced by his friends to gambling a long time ago and why he is living a double life. ]]> 2022-01-04 15:49:51 UTC https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1974504264 sbshah1 https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981338677 "Twenty-five thousand dollars in hundreds, strapped to each thigh. Another fifty thousand in a Velcro bag taped to my chest. Fifty thousand more stuffed into the pockets of my jacket. A hundred thousand nestled against the small of my back. I felt like a cross between the Michelin Man and a drug dealer. Bulging and nervous, I pushed through the revolving glass door and entered Logan Airport. Refrigerated air smacked me full in the face, and I paused, getting my bearings."

 I think it is a really good opening, because its cool to see how a person with so much money is going to get through security at Boston Logan International. I think the author drops the reader right before the line about refrigerated air. When I read these lines, I was instantly hooked.]]> 2022-01-08 01:35:59 UTC https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981338677 sbshah1 https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981340996 "His father was still trying to convince him to quit the MIT Swim Team so he could spend more time on his research. More time with the goddamn test tubes."

At the beginning, Kevin was described as a really smart kid attending MIT University. He came from a good background and his family urged him to pursue a career in sciences and math. He spent so much time in his lab, studying chemicals, that no one including him could have imagined he would be a full time gambler in a while.]]> 2022-01-08 01:40:11 UTC https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981340996 sbshah1 https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981344033 "But the team was riding so high from the past six months that not even the fear of an Indian jail could dissuade them."

Kevin and his blackjack team were in full swing hitting Vegas or other cities each weekend making a solid profit of around 50k each weekend. They were enjoying it and started forgetting about the risks. They were making so much money that they could pay for their rent after one night of playing. ]]> 2022-01-08 01:46:32 UTC https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981344033 sbshah1 https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981349363 "'But you're going to, Fisher, because I deserve an answer. Are you kicking me off of the team?'"

Kevin and his team got caught by a few casinos and started getting chased. They escaped, but it was very close. It was a nerve-wracking moment. Also, Kevin's team members didn't believe he didn't care enough about blackjack so they decided to kick him off the team. The team split into 2, one led by Fisher, the other by Kevin. They became competitors and after a member of Kevin's team, Dylan, his apartment was robbed and so were all the chips.]]> 2022-01-08 01:57:19 UTC https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981349363 sbshah1 https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981350694 I think a theme of this book is to not gamble too much. Kevin and his team had many close encounters. Martinez had been back-roomed, they were chased by the police, and they were kicked out of many casinos. Dylan was also robbed, indicating many bad things happened because of gambling.]]> 2022-01-08 01:59:24 UTC https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981350694 sbshah1 https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981352867 "Then his stomach dropped as the dealer turned over his bottom card to reveal a six. The dealer flipped the next card, a ten, for a twenty-one. Kevin's ears rang as the dealer swept his fifty thousand dollars off the table."

Throughout the story, whenever the team is in a casino winning a lot of money, it creates a sense of excitement. There's excitement building up to see what the next hand is, how much he wins or loses, and if he gets caught.  When Kevin is described as "king of the paddleboat", there's a lot of hype as everyone is crowded around him and making a lot of noise in the Vegas environment.]]> 2022-01-08 02:03:41 UTC https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981352867 sbshah1 https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981353884 I would, only if it were legal. I find it exciting to fly to a big city like Vegas and earn my salary in one night. In my opinion, it is a win-win. I get to work a normal life during the week and a fast-paced money-making life on the weekend.]]> 2022-01-08 02:05:17 UTC https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981353884 sbshah1 https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981356222 I don't, because it isn't wrong to use a talent you have to make money. If someone is able to track cards so well in a shoe of 6-8 decks of cards, they should be rewarded. It's just someone simply noticing and being aware of their surroundings. ]]> 2022-01-08 02:09:56 UTC https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981356222 sbshah1 https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981363404 I would, especially because Las Vegas is a big city and I would want my parents to know where I am in the country in case something bad happens. I would also give some of my money to them so they can relax a bit.]]> 2022-01-08 02:23:06 UTC https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981363404 sbshah1 https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981368830 This book is from the story of the MIT Blackjack team led by Bill Kaplan. They were a group of students from nearby colleges that won over 60 million from casinos, using very sophisticated card counting techniques.]]> 2022-01-08 02:32:13 UTC https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981368830 sbshah1 https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981375527 I think the plot of this book is similar to the movie Ocean's 11 and the show Money Heist. In all 3 plots, the main characters are a group of 5-15 people trying to cleverly earn money. In this book, it's from the casinos via card counting. In Money Heist, it's from the Royal Mint of Spain and the National Bank. In Ocean's 11, it's from a bank vault and casinos. In all the plots, they succeed and earn a lot of money. All the characters are really smart people, using their talents in a creative way to earn them some money.]]> 2022-01-08 02:45:00 UTC https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981375527 sbshah1 https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981376867 "Martinez grunted. 'Getting crushed like a carton of eggs.'"

This is a simile, as Martinez is connecting his losing pattern to a carton of eggs as they are both being "crushed".]]> 2022-01-08 02:47:30 UTC https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981376867 sbshah1 https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981378240 "Micky's stories about the old days stirred Kevin's imagination and fueled his respect for the old guard of card counting."

This is personification as an imagination can't actually stir and someone's respect can't actually be fueled.]]> 2022-01-08 02:50:07 UTC https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981378240 sbshah1 https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981381096 "I can be a tough little bitch. And at first Martinez was the worst sort of chauvinist."

I think chauvinist means someone being over-loyal to someone or something.]]> 2022-01-08 02:55:17 UTC https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981381096 sbshah1 https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981382598 "She was the epitome of the Vegas girl, the sort of woman you saw on the arm of a celebrity in the high-stakes pits of whisking through a VIP line at a trendy nightclub."

I think epitome means stereotype, because it shows that she fits in a certain profile thus being the stereotype of that profile.]]> 2022-01-08 02:58:19 UTC https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981382598 sbshah1 https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981385941 "'One last thing,' Micky said, as the three of them rose from the couch. 'The most important decision a card counter ever has to make is the decision to walk away.'"

This is important because this advice that Micky Rosa gives the team is very handy towards the end of the book.]]> 2022-01-08 03:04:25 UTC https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981385941 sbshah1 https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981389134 "'It's not magic. Just math. It's called shuffle tracking. It's a basic probability-distribution exercise. You can even calculate the percentage of low-card infiltration into the run, caused by the dealer's shuffle. After that, it's just a matter of practice. Really good players can track a group of fifteen cards through a six-deck shuffle without breaking a sweat.'"

This is important because this strategy is what the team uses in various casinos across the country to make as much money as they can.]]> 2022-01-08 03:10:13 UTC https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981389134 sbshah1 https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981392214 This is important because this is when Kevin was admitted to the MIT blackjack team, which set the path for the rest of the book and Kevin's double sided life.]]> 2022-01-08 03:16:06 UTC https://padlet.com/sbshah1/nbzkry36oezltkq3/wish/1981392214