American Gambler Book Club

David Hill
  • 5.0 (7)
  • History
  • Updated Weekly

Each week I invite friends and guests to discuss a gambling-themed book (however loosely-defined) and whatever else may come up. Writers, entertainers, bon vivants and other smart and interesting people help me figure out what all belongs in the canon of books about gamblers as I work on my own contribution to whatever that is. Presented by InGame.com. davidhill.substack.com

  1. 1d ago

    Advantage Player with Gina Fiore

    Gina Fiore has lived an extraordinary life. She’s spent more than twenty years making her living from gambling - but not just any kind of gambling. She is an advantage player: someone who seeks out any edge, large or small, and takes advantage of it. She has sought out edges in countries all over the world and in casinos in every corner of America. And she has won millions of dollars along the way. Advantage Player is a memoir of her life, not only as a gambler, but as a child living in the margins and a mom raising a child of her own in Las Vegas. It’s a book filled with equal parts heart and adventure. It’s something every listener of this show should own. Sign up as a yearly subscriber and get a free signed copy! Buy a copy of Advantage Player See Gina at Wicked Spine on October 27th See Gina at The Writers Block on October 29th Subscribe to The Advantage Play on Substack Listen to “Gina Fiore, the Belle of the Blackjack Ball” Theme music by TRØN THE ARCHER Check out Edge Boost (use promo code AGB for $100 deposit match) The EDGE Boost Visa® Debit Card is issued by Cross River Bank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. EDGE is not a bank and is not FDIC-insured. Deposits to EDGE Boost are eligible for FDIC and/or NCUA deposit insurance up to $10,000,000 or more through Cross River Bank, Member FDIC, and Participating Institutions. Learn more about IntraFi® Network Deposits℠ and the network banks eligible to receive your funds. The $100 deposit match is a promotional credit issued by Edge Markets; match funds are no-withdrawable, have no cash value, and expire 60 days after issuance. Real-time transfers available for eligible account tiers; new accounts are subject to initial hold periods. See Terms of Service and Cardholder Agreement at EdgeBoost.io American Gambler is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidhill.substack.com/subscribe

  2. Oct 14

    Beneath the Cards with Caitlin Comeskey

    The last time we discussed Garrett Adelstein on this show was when we talked about the famous “Jack-Four” hand on the episode about Nate Silver’s On the Edge. This week we go even deeper into not only that infamous hand, but Garrett’s fascinating and turbulent life story, told in his new memoir Beneath the Cards: A High Stakes, High Anxiety Poker Journey. Joining me to discuss Beneath the Cards is the poker player and actress Caitlin Comeskey. Caitlin is perhaps best known for her hilarious videos parodying various poker celebrities, but she is a skilled and accomplished performer as well as a successful player over the felt. There is no better person to chop it up with about the world of professional poker in my opinion, and it was a treat to talk to her for this episode. Buy Beneath the Cards Subscribe to Caitlin on YouTube Listen to Andrew Neeme: The Pied Piper of Poker Theme music by TRØN THE ARCHER Check out Edge Boost (use promo code AGB for $100 deposit match) The EDGE Boost Visa® Debit Card is issued by Cross River Bank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. EDGE is not a bank and is not FDIC-insured. Deposits to EDGE Boost are eligible for FDIC and/or NCUA deposit insurance up to $10,000,000 or more through Cross River Bank, Member FDIC, and Participating Institutions. Learn more about IntraFi® Network Deposits℠ and the network banks eligible to receive your funds. The $100 deposit match is a promotional credit issued by Edge Markets; match funds are no-withdrawable, have no cash value, and expire 60 days after issuance. Real-time transfers available for eligible account tiers; new accounts are subject to initial hold periods. See Terms of Service and Cardholder Agreement at EdgeBoost.io American Gambler is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidhill.substack.com/subscribe

  3. Oct 7

    You Can’t Win with Karl Johnson

    Karl Johnson, author of The Magician and the Cardsharp, returns to the show to discuss Jack Black’s 1926 memoir of crime and punishment, You Can’t Win. Jack Black was a gambler, conman, burglar, safecracker, opium addict, train hopper and prison escapee who lived through the straightjacket at Folsom Prison. He eventually went straight and published his memoir to great critical acclaim. The book then fell into obscurity for many decades until the 1990s. Buy You Can’t Win Buy The Magician and the Cardsharp Listen to Karl Johnson’s episode from Season 1 Theme music by TRØN THE ARCHER Check out Edge Boost (use promo code AGB for $100 deposit match) The EDGE Boost Visa® Debit Card is issued by Cross River Bank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. EDGE is not a bank and is not FDIC-insured. Deposits to EDGE Boost are eligible for FDIC and/or NCUA deposit insurance up to $10,000,000 or more through Cross River Bank, Member FDIC, and Participating Institutions. Learn more about IntraFi® Network Deposits℠ and the network banks eligible to receive your funds. The $100 deposit match is a promotional credit issued by Edge Markets; match funds are no-withdrawable, have no cash value, and expire 60 days after issuance. Real-time transfers available for eligible account tiers; new accounts are subject to initial hold periods. See Terms of Service and Cardholder Agreement at EdgeBoost.io American Gambler is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidhill.substack.com/subscribe

  4. Sep 30

    The House of Mirth with Kate Knibbs

    Edith Wharton’s tragic 1905 satirical novel The House of Mirth is about the commodification of women, the hypocrisy and false moral rectitude of the rich, and the conflict between art and romance and the strict social order of the Gilded Age. It’s also about gambling - on cards, on stocks, and on love. I’m joined to discuss this American classic by the writer Kate Knibbs. Kate is a senior writer at Wired who covers, among other things, the prediction market beat. We discuss Wharton’s novel as well as the current state of gambling and prediction markets in the United States. Buy The House of Mirth Read Kate Knibbs at Wired Theme music by TRØN THE ARCHER Check out Edge Boost (use promo code AGB for $100 deposit match) The EDGE Boost Visa® Debit Card is issued by Cross River Bank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. EDGE is not a bank and is not FDIC-insured. Deposits to EDGE Boost are eligible for FDIC and/or NCUA deposit insurance up to $10,000,000 or more through Cross River Bank, Member FDIC, and Participating Institutions. Learn more about IntraFi® Network Deposits℠ and the network banks eligible to receive your funds. The $100 deposit match is a promotional credit issued by Edge Markets; match funds are no-withdrawable, have no cash value, and expire 60 days after issuance. Real-time transfers available for eligible account tiers; new accounts are subject to initial hold periods. See Terms of Service and Cardholder Agreement at EdgeBoost.io American Gambler is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidhill.substack.com/subscribe

  5. Sep 22

    Good Vibes with John Reeder

    John Reeder is the host of the podcast Risk of Ruin (“the This American Life for gamblers”) and a scholar of all things gambling-related. He joins me this week to discuss Jay Cronley’s 1979 darkly-comic novel Good Vibes, which was the inspiration for the 1989 film Let It Ride. Listen to Risk of Ruin Read Good Vibes by Jay Cronley Theme music by TRØN THE ARCHER Check out Edge Boost (use promo code AGB for $100 deposit match) The EDGE Boost Visa® Debit Card is issued by Cross River Bank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. EDGE is not a bank and is not FDIC-insured. Deposits to EDGE Boost are eligible for FDIC and/or NCUA deposit insurance up to $10,000,000 or more through Cross River Bank, Member FDIC, and Participating Institutions. Learn more about IntraFi® Network Deposits℠ and the network banks eligible to receive your funds. The $100 deposit match is a promotional credit issued by Edge Markets; match funds are no-withdrawable, have no cash value, and expire 60 days after issuance. Real-time transfers available for eligible account tiers; new accounts are subject to initial hold periods. See Terms of Service and Cardholder Agreement at EdgeBoost.io American Gambler is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidhill.substack.com/subscribe

  6. Aug 19 ·  Bonus

    A Brief History of Sports Gambling in America

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidhill.substack.com This is the talk I gave at Bet Bash earlier this month. As I state at the beginning, this isn’t a comprehensive history or even a scholarly one. It’s merely a collection of anecdotes and stories I found surprising and interesting as I’ve researched this topic over the last couple of years. Folks at Bet Bash seemed to enjoy it and encouraged me to do it again, so I’ve recorded it here for paying subscribers. If you’re not already a paid subscriber and you’d like to watch, you can sign up with this link: If you’d like a more involved or comprehensive treatment of this topic, here’s a short bibliography of books I mention in this talk or that I found useful while researching it: Over/Under: An Unexpected History of Sports Betting by David Bockino Sports Betting and Bookmaking: An American History by Arne Lang Roll the Bones: A History of Gambling by David Schwartz Play the Devil: A History of Gambling in the United States from 1492 to 1955 by Henry Chafetz And don’t forget you can buy any of the books mentioned here on this substack or on the podcast at our bookshop: https://bookshop.org/lists/american-gambler-book-club

  7. Jul 29

    Odds Man Out with Jay Cohen

    Jay Cohen was one of the founders of World Sports Exchange in 1997, the first ever fully online sports betting site. In 2000 he was the first person ever convicted of violating the federal Wire Act for running an online sportsbook, despite the fact that his company was fully established and licensed in Antigua and that he built it with the advice of an army of lawyers, accountants and consultants to make sure he wasn’t breaking any American laws. Cohen was the only American offshore operator to come back to the United States and plead Not Guilty and fight the case. He lost and served 18 months in federal prison. Odds Man Out is the story not only of how he built World Sports Exchange, but of the years-long trial where he did battle with the U.S. government and the major sports leagues to defend his business and clear his name. Buy Odds Man Out Get your tickets to Bet Bash Subscribe to my Substack American Gambler is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidhill.substack.com/subscribe

  8. Jul 3

    Over/Under with David Bockino

    Elon University professor David Bockino’s new book on the history of sports gambling makes the case that sports in America aren’t corrupted by gambling - but owe their very existence to the undeniable American urge to gamble. He joins me on this episode to discuss his book and his research. Buy Over/Under: An Unexpected History of Sports Gambling American Gambler is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidhill.substack.com/subscribe

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

Each week I invite friends and guests to discuss a gambling-themed book (however loosely-defined) and whatever else may come up. Writers, entertainers, bon vivants and other smart and interesting people help me figure out what all belongs in the canon of books about gamblers as I work on my own contribution to whatever that is. Presented by InGame.com. davidhill.substack.com

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