Dealer Wins

Jon Konrath
Lulu Press (2004)
ISBN 1411614607
Reviewed by Geri Edens for Reader Views (07/06)

The first thing to note about “Dealer Wins” by Jon Konrath is that it is not a travel guide.  Instead, it should be considered more of a diary or journal of a mad scientist/cynical New Yorker type and his trips to Sin City over a span of nine years.  An author of four other books, this is the first Jon Konrath piece I have read.  If you love Woody Allen and the whiny New York mindset, you will love reading about Jon’s journeys from the city that never sleeps to the city full of sin.  While commercials may boast about what happens here stays here, Jon is more than willing to tell the reader all of the details of his journeys to Las Vegas. 

Konrath opens the book by telling the reader about catching the bug and why he loves Las Vegas.  This mystery prevails as the reader admits he isn’t always sure himself why he keeps going back.  Ultimately it’s the way that Las Vegas does things on a grand scale.  Everything is larger than life in Vegas, big hotels, big signs, big food and big value for your big bucks.  For New Yorkers with minimal square feet lofts this must seem like heaven yet Jon tends to focus on the negative and the bad aspects of his journeys. 

The chapters consist of the numerous trips he has made such as the one on his thirtieth birthday.  The author has chosen to routinely return to Vegas over the years around the time of his birthday, January 20th.  The author gives extreme detail into his life and goes to great lengths to share his day to day and play by play happenings.  He includes everything from the tiniest of details in preparing for his trips the night before to waking up, weather, traffic and an intimate look at his life.  Some readers may find this interesting and be able to relate to the author while others may find the details tedious.  One thing is for sure, New York is painfully cold in January making Vegas all the more attractive, yet again the author finds ways to make the pluses into minuses.

A note of warning to the reader, the author is a fan of the expletive and drops the F-bomb and numerous other profanities quite often so this book is not for the easily offended.  Jon clearly states that this is NOT a how to book about Vegas.  He does give general background and historical information about the city including movies that have been shot there, area attractions and several shows he attended.  He also gives some general do’s and don’ts such as do pack light, do tip, do get bottled water, do go downtown, do talk to cabbies, do read hotel magazines, don’t bring your kids, don’t use casino ATM’s, don’t arrive on Saturdays and don’t lose all your money. 

The author doesn’t seem to have a particularly good time yet he continues to go back and was inspired to write a book about his travels.  He tends to frequent restaurants like Subway, McDonald’s, Denny’s and TGI Fridays so how much fun can you really have at these run of the mill restaurants that you can go to in any town?  He doesn’t seem to be in to gambling or shopping or the nightlife to include the well advertised almost nude shows.  And as for the title “Dealer Wins”, without doing any real gambling or understanding the ins and outs of how casinos can trick you out of the money you do bring, I am left to wonder what the title really means. 

Having been to Vegas numerous times myself and loving all the tackiness and cheesiness, I find myself wanting to read a different book.  What I found most disconcerting is that nothing in the 150 pages can truly be coined, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” which seems disappointing given the author is a single man.  I would suspect that a single man can stir up a lot more trouble than the author does in this story.  If you are looking for a sarcastic, tongue in cheek look at one man’s pitiful, oftentimes disappointing travels, then this is the book for you.  If you are hoping to read an exciting, juicy look behind the scenes and tips on where to go and what to see then this is definitely not the book for you.

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