24/7 : Living It Up and Doubling Down ANDRES MARTINEZ
Publisher: Dell
ISBN: 0440509092
Edition: Paperback; 2000-11-07
Summary:
In April 1998, Andrés Martinez withdrew fifty thousand dollars
from the bank--most of the advance he was paid for this book--and
boarded a plane to the fastest-growing metropolis in America: Las
Vegas. Armed with a wad of traveler's checks, Martinez spent a month
within the belly of the beast. 24/7 is the round-the-clock chronicle
of his wild ride through America's neon Gomorrah.
Every chapter--each
is named after one of the fabled hotels where Martinez holed up with
his bankroll--is a fly-on-the-wall view of a different aspect of Las
Vegas. From the sumptuous Bellagio to the off-Strip grind joints that
cater to local addicts, 24/7 evokes a city that is both human and
larger than life. We
are introduced to the people who work in, pass through, and thrive on
Vegas: a minister who shines shoes at a topless joint, a school
superintendent who must build a new facility every twenty-eight days,
and a water czar who covets her neighbors' share of the Colorado
River. Martinez hobnobs with conventioneers, befriends a professional
sports gambler who raised six kids while losing eight million
dollars, and dines with a retired Israeli "security officer" whose
lifelong ambition was to move to Vegas and become a blackjack guru.
Martinez wanders into the Liberace Museum, attends Easter Sunday mass
in the Strip cathedral of the world's most rapidly expanding Catholic
archdiocese, and ponders the meaning of it all with Vegas's leading
historians.
Interwoven throughout
are dispatches from the green-felt front. Martinez laces his blood
with adrenaline in an exhilarating all-night session of baccarat with
some well-heeled Chinese and idles over slots with an abandoned
bride. Above all, he goes mano a mano at blackjack--learning the
ropes from his dealer, gathering tricks of the trade from his
breakfast companions, and experiencing the angst of Dostoevsky and
the sheer ecstasy of the triumphal
gambler. Thought-provoking,
hilarious, personal, and journalistically brilliant, 24/7 is a rush
of a read, a head-on exploration of a unique American landscape.
Click on a subject to see other books listed with the same
subject or to drill down into components of the subject -- such as
geographical locations, dates and so on.
We query many merchants so that you can instantly
compare prices and
availability. You can even check historic prices and subscribe
for notifications. For a manual check, clicking on a link will open a
new window with a search for this book on the merchant's site of your
choice.
