Controversy Bringing Down the House (book)

1 controversy

1.1 boston magazine , boston globe articles
1.2 disclaimer , leeway
1.3 historical inaccuracies

controversy
boston magazine , boston globe articles

in march 2008 edition, boston magazine ran article investigating long-lingering claims book substantially fictional. boston globe followed more detailed story on april 6, 2008.

though published factual account , categorized under current events in hardcover free press edition, bringing down house not work of nonfiction in meaningful sense of word, according globe reporter drake bennett. mezrich not exaggerated freely, according sources both articles, invented whole parts of story, including pivotal events in book never happened anyone.

disclaimer , leeway

the book contains following disclaimer:

the names of many of characters , locations in book have been changed, have physical characteristics , other descriptive details. of events , characters composites of several individual events or persons.

this disclaimer allows broad leeway take real events , real people , alter them in way author sees fit. mezrich went further, both articles say.

historical inaccuracies

the following events described in bringing down house did not occur:

underground chinatown casino. underground casino used kevin s final test (pp. 55–59) entirely imaginary, according mike aponte , dave irvine.
use of strippers cash out chips. according aponte , irvine, strippers never recruited cash out team s chips, described on pp. 149–153.
shadowy investors. shadowy investors first referenced on p. 3 major source of intrigue mezrich s story, did not exist, according aponte , irvine. investors in team included players, 1 of kaplan s college roommates, few of kaplan s harvard business school section mates, , kaplan s friends , family members.
physical assault. scene in fisher beaten (pp. 221–225) imaginary. no 1 ever beaten up, according aponte , irvine. moreover, jeff ma claims have never been roughed casinos played in. still there times when casino employees had tried intimidate members of team.
player forced swallow chip. in scene on pp. 215–218, micky rosa recounts story in vincent cole—a private investigator plymouth investigations—forces member of count team swallow purple casino chip while detaining player in room. sources in globe described story implausible, , none recalled having heard it.
theft of $75,000. 1 mit player, kyle schaffer, did lose $20,000 when stolen desk drawer. mezrich inflates amount of theft 275% , turns desk drawer safe pried dramatically wall. moreover, robbery scene (pp. 240–244) creates impression team member or vincent cole culprit. schaffer says theft unrelated blackjack, noting $100,000 or more in casino chips inside drawer left untouched ( suggesting thieves had no idea of worth ).
forcible entry kevin lewis s apartment. kevin hurries scene of robbery own apartment (pp. 244–245) make sure well. nothing has been stolen, kevin finds single purple casino chip sitting on kitchen table. implication chip calling card left vincent cole warning kevin. scene again asks readers accept chip-swallowing story factual (or @ least in circulation among mit counters myth).




^ gonzalez, john (march 2008). ben mezrich: based on true story . boston magazine. metrocorp, inc. archived original on 2008-12-18. retrieved 2008-05-06. 
^ cite error: named reference bostonglobe invoked never defined (see page).
^ mezrich, ben, bringing down house: inside story of 6 m.i.t. students took vegas millions (new york: free press, 2002), p. iv.