The greatest gambling novels for adventurous summer holidays

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Posted: August 29, 2016

Updated: October 6, 2017

“The Crust on Its Uppers” by Derek Raymond is the most widely read gambling novel this summer

That gambling is a social phenomenon worth considering in any way, positively or negatively, is what thousands of novel written on gambling characters suggest. And while the classics on the issue such as Dostoyevsi’s Gambler are already well known to the gambling lovers, GamingZion presents several novels that any gaming enthusiast should have in his or her library. If you like the Guy Ritchie movies or the fabulous stories about china casino, then the following suggestion can definitely make your summer nights far more interesting. As gambling news note, the hidden worlds that these books open for the reader might be simply called an initiation into an “ultimate gambling experience”. All of them reader friendly, absolutely thrilling, and highly emotional.

“All In” by Mitchell Symons

Mitchell Symons marvelous novel tells the story about Stephen, a passionate gambler that cannot win the battle with his gambling obsession no matter how hard he tries. He just accepted that he is one of those man that cannot stop. However this leads him into many problems. He is losing lots of money and things are becoming more and more difficult for him to lie his wife about the debts they have. He decided to take a stock and places his ultimate wager. There is no coming back for Stephen.

Will the luck come on his side this last time? That is a question that bothers the main character too, who passes through a terrifying psychological situation of expectations and waiting for the several days when he will know the results. What Symons successfully pictures in this book is exactly this atmosphere of waiting for the luck to shine in the end and the transformations of the character of the gambler during this moments of expectations. The book is written in a diary form which makes the reading even more adventurous during the days of temptation of the main character.

“An Occupational Hazard” by James Wrethman

The novel by Wrethman published in 2009 combines facts and fiction when reporting about the events in the casino world in London in the 1970s. Unlike the gambling of today in London with online gambling sites in UK having the leading role in the industry, gambling once had a special “casino-life-style” characteristics. The events circle around the infamous Ventura Casino, portraying the life of the staff there as well as the ways in which corruption and the breaking of the law blossomed in Thatcher’s England.

The main character in the book is shown to experience the extremes of the gambling life, that lead her into several problems that the story tries to resolve. All the mysterious occurrences in the book unfold in the present from which the main character narrates the story. Book critics write that this novel “paints a sordid picture where lasciviousness and money meet institutional deviance”.


“The Crust on Its Uppers” by Derek Raymond

Derek Raymond novels have always been somehow put aside by the critics since they were not easy to digest for the readers in the 60s and the 70s, concerning the content they present. However that Derek Raymond is an extraordinary writer is out of question. In “The Crust on Its Uppers” he offers us the story of several public school boys who feel the world owes them a living because of their background, which they consider to be superior than the one of those around them. This is a story about several nasty, shallow characters progressing from gambling, through fraud to international crime. Their arrogance and obvious snobbery make them even more unlikeable for the reader. But if they were otherwise imagined then that won’t be a real Raymond novel. The book is the most widely read gambling novel of today, making it a must for all of you interested in the genre.


• Dostoyevsky’s “The Gambler” a classic in the genre

• Dennis Foon shows a perspective on gambling from the eyes of a teenager

• James Wrethman portrays the real life in a casino world

“Double or Nothing” by Dennis Foon In the life of the high-school senior Kip everything seem to be in perfect order. His “beloved” mother and supportive uncle took care of everything. Due to his mother’s earnings as well as to his work in a posh restaurant Kip has enough money to finance his college studies and make a carrier. A carrier in which everybody in the family lays their high expectations. However Kip’s passion for gambling makes things far more complicated than that.

When he finds out that his new girlfriend’s father, a famous magician, is in fact a high roller Kip’s life takes another turn. As online gambling news in US report, the novel is a narration driven in first person singular, offering the unique perspective of a teenager introduced in the adventurous world of gambling. The authentic dialog and the fast-moving plot make you read the book without stop from the beginning to the end.
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