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Whale Hunt in the Desert
- Secrets of a Vegas Superhost
- Narrated by: Ed Walters
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
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Publisher's summary
Whale Hunt in the Desert divulges the unbridled lengths to which casinos go to bag the world's biggest gamblers - the whales. This definitive exposé reveals the shrouded world of ultra-high rollers and the Faustian pacts they forge with their hosts, the casino representatives whose job it is to part them from their fortunes. Private jets, penthouses, personal chefs, show-up money, rebates on losses, and the most beautiful women on Earth - nothing is too excessive.
This is the only book ever to examine the lifestyles and motivations of this rarest of breeds, as well as the highly guarded inner workings of the most money-oriented culture known to man. This third edition includes a foreword by Anthony Curtis and an extensive update about Las Vegas, the "greening" of gambling, the nightclub and dayclub scenes, the evolving host position, and much more - all in the words of the superhost, Steve Cyr.
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In the course of his legendary career as a manager, an agent, and a producer, Shep Gordon has worked with and befriended some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry, from Alice Cooper to Bette Davis, Raquel Welch to Groucho Marx, Blondie to Jimi Hendrix, Sylvester Stallone to Salvador Dali, Luther Vandross to Teddy Pendergrass. He is also credited with inventing the "celebrity chef" and has worked with Nobu Matsuhisa, Emeril Lagasse, Wolfgang Puck, Roger Vergé, and many others.
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It's like he's never seen the words before
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The Greatest Gambling Story Ever Told
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In the late 1980s, a spectacular three-year-old female racehorse named Winning Colors was being groomed for success under her famous Hollywood trainer D. Wayne Lukas and the billionaire owner of the San Diego Chargers pro-football team Eugene Klein. Meanwhile, three fun-loving gamblers Miami Paul, Dino Mateo, and Big Bernie believed that Winning Colors could be the unlikely female winner of the 1988 Kentucky Derby.
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Exciting & Entertaining Story
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Pietro La Greca Sr. was an intimidating Napolitano con man dubbed “Mexico’s real-life Don Corleone”. He ran Mexico’s biggest money-laundering scheme during the worst economic period in the country’s history. His was a world of fast cars, mansions on the water, and VIP treatment at Las Vegas casinos. His exploitation of Mexico’s financial free fall made him a wealthy man. But while he was running his criminal empire, his son, Pietro Jr., a.k.a. Picho, was learning his father’s tricks—if only to bring the man down.
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A Must Read Story
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Wanna Bet?
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The two-time best-selling author, comedian, actor, and radio icon explains the philosophy that has kept his existence boredom-free since the age of 13 - the love of risk. An avid sports better and frequent card player, Lange believes that the true gambler gets high not from winning, but from the chaotic unknown of betting itself. He recounts some of his favorite moments, many of which haven't involved money at all. In this candid and entertaining memoir, he looks back at the times he's wagered the intangible and priceless things in life: his health, his career, and his relationships.
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who needs Artie (to read)
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What It Takes
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An American Iliad in the guise of contemporary political reportage, What It Takes penetrates the mystery at the heart of all presidential campaigns: How do presumably ordinary people acquire that mixture of ambition, stamina, and pure shamelessness that makes a true candidate? As he recounts the frenzied course of the 1988 presidential race, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Richard Ben Cramer comes up with the answers, in a book that is vast, exhaustively researched, exhilarating, and sometimes appalling in its revelations.
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Great political book
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Loudmouth
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Fun but too much about early life
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The Asylum
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They were a band of outsiders unable to get jobs with New York's gilded financial establishment. They would go on to corner the world's multitrillion-dollar oil market, reaping unimaginable riches while bringing the economy to its knees. Meet the self-anointed kings of the New York Mercantile Exchange. In some ways, they are everything you would expect them to be: a secretive, members-only club of men and women who live lavish lifestyles; cavort with politicians, strippers, and celebrities; and blissfully jacked up oil prices to nearly $150 a barrel while profiting off the misery of the working class.
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A far better book than its come-on implies
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Remember the Time
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- Unabridged
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Hounded by the tabloid media, driven from his self-made sanctuary at Neverland, Michael Jackson spent his final years moving from city to city, living with his three children in virtual seclusion - a futile attempt to escape a world that wouldn’t leave him alone. During that time, two men served as the singer’s personal security team: Bill Whitfield, a former cop and veteran of the security profession, and Javon Beard, a brash, untested rookie, both single fathers themselves. Stationed at his side nearly 24/7, their job was to see and hear everything that transpired.
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Amazing Book! I didn't feel dirty listening to it
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Tokyo Underworld
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- Unabridged
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In the ashes of postwar Japan lay a gold mine for certain opportunistic, expatriate Americans. Addicted to the volatile energy of Tokyo's freewheeling underworld, they formed ever-shifting but ever-profitable alliances with warring Japanese and Korean gangsters. At the center of this world was Nick Zappetti, an ex-marine from New York City who arrived in Tokyo in 1945 and whose restaurant soon became the rage throughout the city and the chief watering hole for celebrities, diplomats, sports figures, and mobsters.
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A Man with a fork in a world of soup
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Making Jack Falcone
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- Unabridged
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At six-foot-four-inches and 375 pounds, Jack Garcia looked the part of a mobster, and he played his part so perfectly that his Mafia bosses never suspected he was an undercover agent for the FBI. "Big Jack Falcone," as he was known inside La Cosa Nostra, learned all the inside dirt about the Gambino organized crime syndicate and its illegal activities---from extortion and loan-sharking to assault and murder.
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interesting story--offensive narration
- By Mark on 03-17-12
By: Joaquin "Jack" Garcia, and others
What listeners say about Whale Hunt in the Desert
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Haduken
- 02-19-21
Vegas baby
If you like Gambling and all things vegas you will like this book. Great story of how Steve hustled his way to the top of being a Vegas casino hosts and all the stories to go with it.
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- Amazon Customer
- 06-22-21
Performance is awful!
I can’t stand to even listen to this. Sounds like a robot is reading the book and I just can’t tolerate it. Too bad bc might have been a good listen!
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- Per
- 06-18-21
Great book, horrible narration
The book is great fun and you eventually overcome the robotic narration. But for the first 30 min you want to quit
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- Ama zon Customer
- 08-12-20
Very Well Written. Great Listen
This is by far one the best books I've heard about the real deal inner workings of the high roller lifestyle directly from one of the true innovators of the casino host industry.
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- Brian Richman
- 07-10-18
A Whale of an Audiobook!
Take a spectacular author writing about a spectacular person and you end up with a spectacular audiobook!! This is an incredible listen...it is by far the best book on high rollers and their hosts ever written. It is an "insider" view of Vegas that is both fascinating and revealing: a high octane blast of Superhost Steve Cyr and his multi-million dollar casino "whales." If you want a glimpse of how a top casino host operates, the kinds of comps and treatment afforded high rollers, and the lifestyle and gambling habits of the truly wealthy...this book is for you. It's the next best thing to a seven figure credit line! Enjoy.
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- bsmall
- 03-05-19
Should Have Read It To Myself
The story is fantastic. The narrator is really, really difficult to listen to. I've never been so excited to listen and so apprehensive at the same time. The narrator is robotic and truly sounds like a computer reading the story. It takes about 30 minutes to become numb to his cadence and identical inflection sentence after sentence. Would prefer Gilbert Gottfried to have read it.
The story is fascinating and definitely worth the READ. The only way I'd recommend this narrator was if you had a hostage situation and you were really pressed for time.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Jonathan
- 01-15-21
A library Staple for Any Serious Gambler
Probably one of the funnest non-fictions I’ve ever read. As sleazy as it is insightful, Whale Hunt In The Desert gives readers a peak into the hospitality and marketing aspect of the casino industry. If you’re a gambler with hopes of becoming a high roller, this book will help fuel that day-dream. Aside from this audiobook, I also own a signed copy (thank you Mr. C!) and I bought and sent another copy as a gift to my host at The D.
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- Raj Bhatti
- 05-04-19
Robot Narrator
The story is very interesting but the person reading the book is either an artificial intelligence robot or someone who seriously needs to develop a better reading style. An exciting story is made almost unbearable to listen to.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Lisa F from Florida
- 09-04-19
Nice look behind the scenes.
Really enjoyed the book. Expected to hear some of the really outrageous stuff but it was actually sort of tame and slightly disappointing in that area. Other than that it was an excellent book.
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- Max Riley
- 07-10-18
Wondered what it was like to be a high roller?
If you want to hear about Las Vegas's highest of high rollers, "whales," and what a casino will do to keep them happy, then this story won't fail to satisfy. Along the way you'll meet Steve Cyr, a young Turk casino host. A host is the casino's employee whose job it is to look after the big players and to keep them happy and, more importantly, keep them coming back and gambling more and more.
Much of the book is built around Cyr and his style (his style can be both inspiring and annoying). Cyr is about 70% time-share/condo salesperson and 35% cruise director and 10% Kato Kaelin (yeah, he's 115%). But the story is more than Cyr and his successful effort to modernize the way casinos market to high rollers. You'll meet some of the whales themselves. You'll find out about the mini-palaces casinos have built just for them. And one subject usually kept off the record is covered: do casinos provide sex to their top players?
The audiobook is not a superficial People Magazine of famous celebs who frequent Vegas. It's about both sides of the table, the whales and the casinos and hosts who harpoon them. The dark side of gambling is offered up as gamblers spin downward out of control, losing millions. There are plenty of details and that's what really distinguishes this. Other books have touched on the fantasy of the high roller's life. Such as Lifestyles of a High Roller, Anderson's Burning the Tables, Rubin's Comp City and a couple specials on the Travel Channel, but nothing has offered up the depth or detail of Whale Hunt.
The only thing missing from the audiobook is more.
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1 person found this helpful