Talk:Bringing Down the House (book)

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Does anyone know how true-to-life the story is? Did they just change names, or events too?--DoctorWorm 06:39, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

I beleive there were some real liberties taken for dramatic effect. The black chip on the table. The beatdown in the islands. I've corresponded with some of the principles and this is what they say. But of course, the basic point of MIT blackjack team existing, is factual.TCO 05:36, 12 September 2007 (UTC)

I've added some info on doubts about veracity, citing recent articles in Boston magazine and The Boston Globe. The story is true-to-life only in a very broad sense. Card counting is "real" -- it works, and people do it, and some are successful at it -- and the MIT Blackjack Team existed. Beyond that, Mezrich took tremendous liberties. He made stuff up. He didn't just change events, he created them. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Paleoriffic (talk • contribs) 18:50, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

The problem with your contributions is now the MIT Blackjack Team *itself* seems like fiction. The team did exist and they did take down the casino for *millions*. To me, that point alone makes the story very compelling, and I don't see why we need to add so many quotes that seem purposed to sully the entire story, calling into question the veracity of the MIT Blackjack Club itself. Supertheman ^(talk) 06:36, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

The current edits don't do what you say. Wherever possible they identify the real individuals who actually lived and breathed their way through the underlying story. If we've edited things in such a way as to call the existence of the team into question, please correct the tone of those edits.

The team existed. But that doesn't give so-called non-fiction authors the right to say anything they want to about it.

It did win millions, yes. If that were the thrust of Mezrich's opus, we wouldn't be having this conversation. He thrusts elsewhere. He created a bestseller by imagining violence, intrigue and danger that never happened. That is a smart thing for a greedhead author to do but it does have its consequences, including the ignominy of having his bullshit enumerated -- complete with bullet points -- in online community-based free enyclopedias. He weeps for this, no doubt. --Paleoriffic (talk) 17:15, 14 May 2008 (UTC)