Biggest Game Town Alvarez
Al Alvarez touched down in Las Vegas one hot day in 1981, a devoted novice poker player but a stranger to the town and it is crazy ways. For three mesmerizing weeks he witnessed some of the monster high-stakes games that could only have happened in Vegas and talked to the extraordinary characters who overshadowed them–road gamblers and local pros who won and lost fortunes on a regular basis.
Set over the course of one tournament, The Biggest Game in Town is botha chronicle of the World Series of Poker–the primary ever written–and a portrait of the hustlers, madmen, and geniuses who ruled the high-stakes game in America. It is a brilliant clear or deep perception into poker’s appeal as a hobby, an addiction, and a way of life, and into the skewed psychology of master players and fearless gamblers. With a new introduction by the author, Alvarez’s classic account is “the greatest dissection of high-stakes Vegas poker and the madness that surrounds it ever written” (TimeOut [UK]).
From Library JournalA big portion of this 1983 volume initially appeared in The New Yorker as a series of sketches of the cardsharps who each year descend on Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker. The players make for interesting portraits, and Alvarez lets them have their say. Anyone mesmerized in gaming will get enjoyment from this, but others might as well.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Review “A classic . . . There is no better book on America’s national pastime.”–James McManus, Author of Positively Fifth Street
“Probably the best book on poker ever written.”–The Evening Standard (UK) “A splendid book. Beyond the straights and fullhouses, Alvarez has written a book regarding people who are exceedingly good at what they do, and in regards to America.”–San Francisco Chronicle
“[Alvarez] endows the game with all the desperate fun and wry futility of life itself.”–New York magazine “Conveys an understanding of gamblers and their milieu that may appeal to an individual who has never seen a casino or doesn’t care to.”–The Philadelphia Inquirer
“Thoroughly agreeably diverting . . . both perceptive and literate.”–The Washington Post
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Most helpful customer reviews
54 of 59 people found the following review helpful.
 Picture of Poker 1983 AD
By Kim I. Eisler
I know this book is 20 years old, so its not particularly surprising that most of the anecdote and stories seem old. Its all about Johnny Moss and Nick the Greek and Amarillo Slim and Doyle Brunson. Naturally there’s a new posse in the world of poker today, Men the Master Nguyen, Phil Hellmuth , Poker Dick Cook. and the brilliant Russell Rosenblum. The world of the world series of poker has changed much since this book was written in 1983, there remains a question even about how much longer Binions will host the world series and the there is a real possiblity that Bellagio will even buy the trademarked name. This book advertises itself as a timeless cult classic, and as a period piece from 25 years ago, A. Alvarez captured a time and place. I wonder how much of this however will resound as novel to the poker player of today. When Alvarez mentioned Stu Unger winning the world series, it left me wanting to read about how stu ungar moved from world champion to dying in a run down Vegas motel room. Or when he talked about Ted Binion running Binions, the mind flashes to the fact that binion has since been murdered .Plenty of good advice in here for hold em play, of course the problem in gambling isn’t usually knowing what to do, its being able to do it, to fight fatigue, to fight temptation to play too many hands, to summon up the courage to pitch aces when you know they have been cracked. The problem with the gamblig genre is that there just arent that many good books out there. Too many agents and publishers think they won’t sell and bookstores tend to look down on gambling books as being anti-literary. Snobbery in the bookstore world is a real problem, as anyone who has ever asked a proprietor if they carry the Racing Form on their mag rack will quickly find out.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful.
 Delicate and Hypnotic.
By Bernard Chapin
Quite simply, this is one of the best books I have ever read. My only regret is that it was way too short. Alvarez, simply put, is a great writer. You will not be surprised by his background as a poet after opening it because he writes masterfully. He has a poet’s sense for distilled language no words are wasted and the quotations are carefully selected and sometimes astounding (like Binion’s equating gambling with all that is American). The organization and flow of the work is tremendous and his 188 pages turned like 40. There’s no way you’ll put The Biggest Game in Town once you start it.
No work better describes the “alligator blood” of the world’s top notch professional poker players. His portraits of Doyle Brunson, Johnny Moss, and Jack Strauss will be with you forever.
The sheer aggression of Hold ‘Em becomes quite obvious as does the way in which our sexual drives, and just about everything else, become sublimated in those who are addicted to gambling. However, the allure of “action” is quite apparent and will make readers want to fly out to the World Series of Poker to experience the pagaentry for themselves. This is a rare and valuable offering.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful.
The seminal work in the field.
By Bart King
It takes the insights of a foreigner to really lay out Las Vegas in all its bloated glory. Alvarez has an economical yet beautiful way with words that captures a time and place nicely. Though the Vegas he writes of is long gone (for example, the only kids’ attraction in the early 1980s was Circus! Circus!), this book is not just a snapshot of bygone times and tournaments. It is particularly interesting in its portrayal of Doyle Brunson, as well as other players of the era. Great stuff!
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