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Lay the Favorite
- A Memoir of Gambling
- Narrated by: Phoebe Zimmermann
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
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Publisher's summary
An eye-popping and hilarious joyride through the underworld of sports betting
Beth Raymer arrived in Las Vegas in 2001, hoping to land a job as a cocktail waitress at one of the big casinos. In the meantime, she lived in a $17-a-night motel with her dog, Otis, and waited tables at a low-rent Thai restaurant. One day, one of her regular customers told her about a job she thought Beth would be perfect for and sent her to see Dink, of Dink Inc. Dink was a professional sports gambler—one of the biggest in Vegas. He was looking for a right-hand man—someone who would show up on time, who had a head for numbers, and who didn’t steal. She got the job.
Lay the Favorite is the story of Beth Raymer’s years in the high-stakes, high-anxiety world of sports betting—a period that saw the fall of the local bookie and the rise of the freewheeling, unregulated offshore sports book, and with it the elevation of sports betting in popular culture. As the business explodes, Beth rises—from assistant to expert, trusted and seasoned enough to open an offshore booking office in the Caribbean with a few associates, men who leave their families up north to make a quick killing, while donning new tropical personas fueled by abundant drugs and local girlfriends, and who one by one succumb to their vices. They lie, cheat, steal, and run, until Beth is the last man standing.
Beth Raymer is a natural storyteller: funny, charming, and fully awake to the ironies around her. But she is also a keen and compassionate observer of the adrenaline-addicted, rougish types who become her mentors, her enemies, her family. Raymer brings to life a world that teems with pathos and ecstasy in this wild picaresque that also tells the story of a young woman’s crazy, sexy, most unlikely coming-of-age.
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Critic reviews
“Betting on the come in her wickedly funny debut, Beth Raymer’s prose is like a virgin in a sandy bikini festooned with C-notes. From Vegas to Rio, from the boxing ring to the stripper's pole, she rubs shoulders and other things with the sickest crew of action junkies since Roulettenburg. Her ear for sports bettors' patois, for the ins and outs of pleasure, self-pleasure, and getting the best of it, makes Lay the Favorite a kaleidoscope of high-test debauchery.” –James McManus, author of Positively Fifth Street
“Strange as hell, wildly affectionate and very, very funny. It is a world filled with scoundrels, thieves, and gamblers. It is a world we all recognize, where everyone is looking to somehow come out on top while doing what they love. The book is wise and has a relish for life that is a treat.” –Stephen Frears
“Beth Raymer possesses one of the most original voices I've encountered in years of teaching, reading, and reviewing young writers. And she puts that voice to ideal use in depicting the demimonde of sports gambling, the place where she finds an unlikely but uncanny surrogate family. Lay the Favorite is a coming-of-age saga like no other you’re ever likely to read.” –Samuel G. Freedman, author of Letters to a Young Journalist
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Sometimes a man can be redeemed. But not in the way he expects. Jason Stafford is a former Wall Street hotshot who made some bad moves, paid the price with two years in prison, and is now trying to put his life back together. He’s unemployable, until an investment firm asks him to look into possible problems left by a junior trader who died recently in an accident. What he discovers is big - there are problems, all right, the kind that get you killed. But it’s not his only concern. Stafford has another quest as well: to reclaim his five-year-old son, "the Kid", from his unstable ex-wife, and then learn just what it means to make a life with him.
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I enjoyed it. I loved the end!
- By John on 05-16-14
By: Michael Sears
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Tryin' To Sleep In the Bed You Made
- By: Virginia DeBerry, Donna Grant
- Narrated by: Fran L. Washington
- Length: 16 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Gayle was the beauty who believed that a man could make her life complete. Patricia was the intellectual who thought that rising to the top of her career would make her happy. And then there is Marcus Carter, who has been linked to both Gayle and Pat since the tragedy that occurred when they were all children. Can either one save him from himself? Can friends survive a love that comes between them? Each of them gets what she wants, but no one counts on the price they have to pay.
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Better with each chapter!
- By Cyn B. on 02-09-16
By: Virginia DeBerry, and others
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Hardly Knew Her
- By: Laura Lippman
- Narrated by: Linda Emond, Francois Battiste
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Each of these ingenious tales is a gem, sometimes poignant, sometimes humorous, always filled with delightfully unanticipated twists and reversals. For people who have yet to listen to Lippman, get ready to experience the spellbinding power of "one of today's most pleasing storytellers" ( San Diego Union-Tribune). As for longtime devotees of her multiple award-winning novels, you'll discover that you hardly know her.
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I Love Laura Lippman
- By Joy on 07-15-11
By: Laura Lippman
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The Rabbit Factory
- By: Marshall Karp
- Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte, James Jenner
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Marshall Karp is an acclaimed playwright known for his witty sense of humor and crackling dialogue. His debut novel The Rabbit Factory stars the irreverent LAPD detective duo of Mike Lomax and Terry Biggs. Dean Lamaar is the architect of an entertainment empire and the creator of iconic characters like Rambunctious Rabbit and McGreedy the Moose.
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Bizarre but engaging mystery.1st-rate performance.
- By MidwestGeek on 12-19-12
By: Marshall Karp
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Death, Taxes, and a French Manicure
- Tara Holloway Series, Book 1
- By: Diane Kelly
- Narrated by: C.S.E. Cooney
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Tax cheats, beware: The Treasury Department's Criminal Investigations Division has a new special agent on its payroll. A recovering tomboy with a head for numbers, Tara's fast becoming the Annie Oakley of the IRS-kicking ass, taking social security numbers, and keeping the world safe for honest taxpayers. Or else. Tara's latest mission finds her in hot pursuit of ice-cream vendor Joseph "Joe Cool" Cullen. Along with frozen treats he's selling narcotics-and failing to report his ill-gotten gains on his tax returns. Over Tara's dead body.
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Not a Bad Series
- By Sandy on 02-16-18
By: Diane Kelly
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Rats Saw God
- By: Rob Thomas
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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By his senior year, Steve York has come through the worst two years of his life. His parents have divorced, and his girlfriend has betrayed him. Worse yet, after running away to live with his mother in San Diego, forays into the drug culture have turned his A-average into a thing of the past. Steve's only hope to graduate on time and avoid summer school is to write a 100-page paper for his guidance counselor. Unfortunately, he has to write about something he knows, and all he knows well are the last two years of his life.
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Real
- By Mary on 06-26-09
By: Rob Thomas
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Big City, Bad Blood
- By: Sean Chercover
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Disillusioned newspaper reporter-turned-private detective Ray Dudgeon doesn't want to save the world; he just wants to do an honest job well. But when doing an honest job threatens society's most powerful and corrupt, Ray's odds of survival make for a sucker's bet.
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Quintessentially Chicago
- By Eva Gannon on 09-21-09
By: Sean Chercover
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Baltimore Blues
- Tess Monaghan, Book 1
- By: Laura Lippman
- Narrated by: Deborah Hazlett
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Unemployed at 29, Tess Monaghan is willing to take any freelance job to pay the rent—including a bit of unorthodox snooping for her rowing buddy, Darryl "Rock" Paxton. In a city where someone is murdered almost every day, attorney Michael Abramowitz's death should be just another statistic. But the slain lawyer's notoriety—and his noontime trysts with Rock's fiancée—make the case front page news...and point to Rock as the likely murderer. But trying to prove her friend's innocence could prove costly to Tess.
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I'm on #8 - This series is almost unique
- By connie on 02-19-12
By: Laura Lippman
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Bitter Is the New Black
- Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office
- By: Jen Lancaster
- Narrated by: Jamie Heinlein
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Jen Lancaster was living the sweet life-until real life kicked her to the curb. She had the perfect man, the perfect job-hell, she had the perfect life - and there was no reason to think it wouldn't last. Or maybe there was, but Jen Lancaster was too busy being manicured, pedicured, highlighted, and generally adored to notice.
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Intolerable
- By Betty on 09-12-09
By: Jen Lancaster
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I Hate Everyone, Except You
- By: Clinton Kelly
- Narrated by: Clinton Kelly
- Length: 4 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Clinton Kelly is probably best known for teaching women how to make their butts look smaller. But in I Hate Everyone, Except You, he reveals some heretofore unknown secrets about himself, like that he's a finicky connoisseur of 1980s pornography, a disillusioned critic of New Jersey's premier water parks, and perhaps the world's least enthused high school commencement speaker.
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Filthy language overshadowed stories
- By Doris on 04-29-17
By: Clinton Kelly
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Stories I'd Tell in Bars
- By: Jen Lancaster
- Narrated by: Jen Lancaster, John Fletcher
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Unfiltered. Unapologetic. Older, but not wiser, Lancaster goes back to basics in this hilarious essay collection about everything from taking community policing classes to accidentally getting high with her waiter after a fancy dinner. These are the tales she'd tell if she met you in a bar... if she weren't too lazy to put on pants and go to a bar. Offering advice ranging from how to remain happily married to a man who refuses to blow his damn nose already to not creating An Incident at the cheese counter during an attempt at Whole30, she's you, only louder.
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self absorbed
- By D D H on 06-15-19
By: Jen Lancaster
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Upside Down
- The Men of the Sisterhood, Book 1
- By: Fern Michaels
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 3 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Through public triumphs and private sorrows, the men in the Sisters' lives - husbands, friends, colleagues, and lovers - have offered invaluable aid and support. In the process, they've become an informal brotherhood of their own, able to relate to the unique challenges and rewards of life among the vigilantes.
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Lacking
- By Ken Huffman on 09-19-15
By: Fern Michaels
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Out of Orange
- A Memoir
- By: Cleary Wolters
- Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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The real-life Alex Vause from the critically acclaimed, top-rated Netflix show Orange Is the New Black tells her story in her own words for the first time - a powerful, surprising memoir about crime and punishment, friendship and marriage, and a life caught in the ruinous drug trade and beyond.
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Must read for OITNB fans
- By D. T. Douglas on 06-21-15
By: Cleary Wolters
What listeners say about Lay the Favorite
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jeffrey D Purtee
- 02-05-17
Fascinating Tales of the Sports Betting Life
While ostensibly the memoirs of the author, this book is much more than that as it dives deep into the world of the sports book and sports better. If you've ever been curious about that world, this is the best book i've read that gives you that inside perspective. Entertaining read.
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- Amazon Customer
- 03-02-21
A bit of a bad beat
A good portion of the story is very interesting as she recounts learning the gambling business and goes through several adventures along the way. She does a nice job of keeping the material accessible to a non-gambling audience, yet maybe too much so because I would guess the primary audience for the book is gamblers. The sideline about her boxing passion is equally as compelling. The story fails when it lingers too long on her love relationship. To much of the second half of the book seems written for the modern romance female crowd, rather than the mostly male audience that is going to be attracted to the title and presumably intent of the book. The narrator was above average. She read with great expression and variance that set a good tone. She was strong at delivering both male and female voices. The book reminds me of those wagers on underdogs that hold it together for a big portion of the game and make you feel like a master handicapper, but deep down you know the favorite could awaken at any point and rip success from you at any moment. Beth does a great job of telling a gambling story for a gambling audience, but in the end, she's more interested in her romance with her uninteresting leading man. There is enough gambling and boxing for me to recommend the book, maybe just fast forward through some of the romantic dribble.
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- Arthur
- 08-13-13
good book but too long
first half is great but second half drags. i am not as interested in her dating life as she is.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Roy
- 10-23-10
A Real Hoot
I ordered Beth Raymer's book because I thought it would give me insight into professaionl gambling (legal and otherwise). Well, I got much more than I bargained for. This is is a very smart and funny book about Beth Raymer's sojourn into various "career fields" of which gambling is just one. Certainly, this is one of the most entertaining books that I have obtained from Audible in some time. You will be seduced into her stories and enticed by the prose. Her character sketches are the best. The book is wonderfully written and the reading of Phoebe Zimmerman hits the mark. I hope that we hear more from Beth Raymer in the near future.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Stuart
- 06-02-14
Great Subject Matter, but Second Half Drowns.
Would you listen to Lay the Favorite again? Why?
Yes, I probably would. I found the obsessive gambling interesting and it had some good laughs.
What did you like best about this story?
I liked the main characters descriptions of herself and jobs that she have had in the past.
Have you listened to any of Phoebe Zimmermann’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Nope.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
I thought the way she reacted to men and relationships was weird. She falls in love very easily and was gullible.
Any additional comments?
It was a bit of a shame that the first half of the book was so great and then the second went into more of her relationship and was just kind of boring. It had a chance to be great, but missed.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Rich Tanguy
- 05-13-12
What is the over/under on how much is fiction?
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
Because I am taking the under. The essential structure of this story may be based in reality. But an awful lot does not ring true.
Would you ever listen to anything by Beth Raymer again?
No. And I am shocked at the info on the movie coming out based on the book. The best parts were the characters. Bruce Willis as Dink? My guess is that this movie may be fun to watch but will be pure fiction.
Did Lay the Favorite inspire you to do anything?
The narrator saved this book. I will look for more from her.
Any additional comments?
Very disappointed
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1 person found this helpful
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- Jonita Bonhomme
- 05-31-11
Extremely well written
I normally stick to the few of my favorite authors but for once I decided to take a chance after hearing the little sound byte preview. I was blown away at the in-depth descriptiveness in the writing that Beth Raymer provides. I was immediately taken along with her as she basically, ???wings??? it in the high stress area of sports betting. I cannot wait for her to write another book. Thank you Beth!
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