Bringing Down the House (book)
| Company type | Book |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Founder | Ben Mezrich |
| Products | Non-fiction book |
Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions is a 2003 publication by Ben Mezrich that chronicles the exploits of the MIT Blackjack Team, a group of card counters from the MIT. While categorized as nonfiction, The Boston Globe has reported that the book incorporates considerable fictionalization, with several pivotal incidents either embellished or invented. This account inspired the films 21 and The Last Casino.
Synopsis
The book centers on Kevin Lewis, an MIT alumnus who, in 1993, was recruited by elite players Jason Fisher and Andre Martinez to join the MIT Blackjack Team. The team received funding from Micky Rosa, a seasoned manager who had previously overseen blackjack teams on the Las Vegas Strip. This particular team achieved unprecedented financial success, yet ultimately dissolved due to internal disputes and intensified casino countermeasures.
Kevin Lewis
In the 2008 paperback release, it was disclosed that Kevin Lewis is based on Jeff Ma, an MIT mechanical engineering graduate from 1994. Ma later established Citizen Sports, a fantasy sports enterprise that includes a stock market simulation game.
Mezrich acknowledges that Lewis is the sole principal character rooted in an actual person; the remaining figures are amalgamations. Nonetheless, Ma has clarified that certain actions attributed to Lewis in the narrative did not transpire in reality.
Jason Fisher
The character Jason Fisher, who leads the team, is partially inspired by Mike Aponte, a professional card counter who secured victory at the 2004 World Series of Blackjack and subsequently founded the Blackjack Institute. Aponte also runs his own blog.
Micky Rosa
Micky Rosa, portrayed as the team’s main leader, is a composite figure primarily drawn from Bill Kaplan, JP Massar, and John Chang. Kaplan initiated and led the MIT Blackjack Team during the 1980s and co-managed it alongside Massar and Chang between 1992 and 1993, coinciding with Jeff Ma’s entry into the nearly 80-member team. Chang has publicly questioned the book’s veracity, describing many depictions as "so exaggerated they're basically untrue." The exact founding date of the team remains contested; a 1980 report indicates that Roger Demaree and JP Massar were already operating it at that time, suggesting its origins trace back to the late 1970s prior to Kaplan’s involvement.
Boston magazine and Boston Globe investigations
In March 2008, Boston magazine conducted an inquiry into persistent allegations that much of the book is fictionalized. This was followed by an extensive April 6 article in The Boston Globe.
Despite being published under "Current Events" as nonfiction, Drake Bennett of The Boston Globe asserted that Bringing Down the House "is not a work of 'nonfiction' in any meaningful sense." Informants for both reports indicated that Mezrich greatly exaggerated events and fabricated significant episodes.
Disclaimer and narrative liberties
The book contains this notice:
The names of many characters and locations have been changed due to physical characteristics and other details. Some events and characters are composites of multiple individuals or incidents.
This statement provides the author with considerable latitude to modify actual occurrences and personalities as he sees fit.
Historical inaccuracies
Numerous incidents depicted in Bringing Down the House did not actually take place:
- Fictional Chinatown underground casino. The secret casino setting featured in Kevin's ultimate challenge (pages 55–59) is a complete fabrication, as confirmed by Mike Aponte and Dave Irvine.
- Strippers cashing out chips. Contrary to the narrative (pages 149–153), no strippers were ever employed to redeem chips.
- Nonexistent shadowy investors. The so-called "shadowy investors" introduced early in the story never existed; funding came mainly from players themselves, Kaplan's university roommates, classmates from Harvard Business School, friends, and relatives.
- Fabricated physical assault. The incident where Fisher is attacked (pages 221–225) was invented; although casinos sometimes used intimidation tactics, no team member was physically harmed.
- Unsubstantiated chip-swallowing episode. The tale involving a private investigator forcing a player to ingest a chip (pages 215–218) is widely regarded as unlikely and lacks verification.
- Embellished $75,000 theft. While MIT team member Kyle Schaffer experienced a $20,000 loss due to theft from a desk drawer, Mezrich exaggerated both the amount and dramatized the event (pages 240–244). This theft probably had no connection to blackjack since valuable casino chips were left untouched.
- Unverified forced entry at Kevin Lewis’s apartment. The scene suggesting Vincent Cole left a warning with a purple chip at Kevin’s residence (pages 244–245) is unsupported and linked to the questionable chip-swallowing story.
Sequel
Although not initially intended, Mezrich followed up with Busting Vegas (), which chronicles another faction of the MIT Blackjack Team. The events in Busting Vegas precede those in Bringing Down the House. Despite aggressive promotion, it did not achieve the same level of success but briefly appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list. Like its predecessor, it was categorized as non-fiction but contained factual errors, with key figure Semyon Dukach disputing several accounts.
Film adaptation
The book was transformed into the movie 21, released on March 28, 2008, by Columbia Pictures and directed by Robert Luketic. To prevent confusion with the unrelated 2003 comedy Bringing Down the House, the title was altered.
Produced by Kevin Spacey, who also portrayed Micky Rosa, the film stars Laurence Fishburne, Kate Bosworth, Jim Sturgess, among others. MIT team members Jeff Ma, Bill Kaplan, and Henry Houh appear in cameo roles. Filming locations included Boston University, Cambridge, Boston, as well as Las Vegas casinos such as The Mirage and Caesar's Palace.
Mezrich mentioned that Spacey contacted him after reading the Wired adaptation of the book and expressed interest in producing the film. The crew sought authenticity by shooting scenes at actual casinos where these events occurred.