"Bet you'll like this"

James Swain has done it again: another fascinating tale about Tony Valentine, president of Grift Sense, an International Gambling Consultant Firm. Swain, considered one of the best card handlers in the world, uses his considerable knowledge of gambling to develop the character of Tony Valentine, an extremely adroit nemesis of gamblers who cheat. So well respected is Valentine that casinos all over the world offer big bucks for his services.

Valentine, in his 60's, widowed, is a retired policeman who cannot give up being a cop. He dates a stunning woman wrestler, Kat Berman, who has a twelve-year-old daughter, Zoe. Valentine has a strained relationship with his son, Gerry, due to Valentine's long hours away from home when he was active with the Atlantic City police. Valentine's next door neighbor and friend, Mabel Struck, also in her 60's, sometimes helps him in his business, answering calls and conveying messages.

Besides these main characters, Swain develops Rico Blanco, Candy Hart, Saul Hyman, Running Bear of the Micanopy nation, and Bill Higgins as a mixture of villains and friends in "Sucker Bet." Swain also introduces many minor characters who play less important roles in the main plot and subplots. Swain does not go into exhaustive characterization, only enough to keep the story line moving. The result is an action-packed, fast-moving thriller that covers casino rip offs, a topic that few readers are familiar with, but most will find interesting.

This book gets its name from an involved scheme that Swain skillfully builds, step by step, throughout the book. Mixed in with the main plot are some additional scams foiled by Valentine. Swain's terse, but concise, diction takes the reader quickly into the world of gambling, con men, and casino operators, a fascinating story that will also teach the reader much facts about gambling and how unscrupulous people try to bend the odds in their favor.

Swain cites background information that, upon investigation, turns out to be factual. For example, do you know that the 1919 World Series was fixed by Titanic Thompson and Arnold Rothstein? Do you know the odds of two people in a group of thirty sharing the same birthday or that there is a website devoted to blackjack? Did you know that Edward Thorp's "Beat the Dealer," in 1966, caused casinos to change the way they play blackjack? Thorp's book helps Valentine solve a casino scam. The main story line involves a casino operated by the Micanopy Indians in Southern Florida who are earning far below what honest odds would expect. The Micanopy, are, most likely, based on the Seminole Nation. Micanopy is the name of the Seminole Nation's Capital city, itself named after a Seminole Chief during the Second Seminole war of 1835-42. The Seminole Nation today is building a hotel and casino, but it is not yet completed.

Swain brings in other cases handled by Valentine and blends them in a sequence that keeps you guessing throughout the novel. Swain grabs your interest, brings you to an understanding of a scene then introduces a new scene, equally interesting. Later in the book, you see that some scenes are related to the main plot, which Swain ties together in an exciting and skillful way. Swain develops Valentine's character with details of Valentine's family, friends, past activities, and deep goals. Swain mixes scenes of ruthlessness, betrayal, murder, with scenes of loyalty, fair play, and compassion. He has Valentine pitted against con men who almost kill him, alligators that almost devour him, a beautiful woman who wants to draw him into her world, a son who just might develop a better relationship with his father, and many subplots that task Valentine's skill. Swain paints Valentine as sometimes gruff, but honest and decent within.

This is a book anyone can bet on.

Reviewed by Maurice A. Williams
Posted April 8, 2003

Summary

A hardened ex-cop with great instincts, a sharp eye, and a short fuse, Tony Valentine still catches crooks, but a very special breed of them. He nabs hustlers who rob casinos, and finds the fatal flaw that allowed the place to get ripped off in the first place. Sometimes that means biting the hand that feeds him, but Valentine isn't paid to sugarcoat the cold, hard truth. Along flashy strips and in seedy dives, if there's a game to be fixed, Valentine knows how to spot the tricks, the scams, the sleight of hand. And with his new case, there's definitely more on the table than meets the eye. Harry Smooth Stone, head of security at the Micanopy Indian Reservation Casino in South Florida, desperately needs Valentine's expertise. A blackjack dealer has rigged a game, dealt a player eighty-four winning hands in a row, and disappeared. Valentine's gut tells him a different story: that the runaway dealer is alligator food and his employers are keeping secrets. But the missing dealer is part of an even bigger, far deadlier scheme. Valentine's trail leads him to Rico Blanco, a ruthless gangster who once worked for John Gotti, his shady, elusive partner-in-crime, Victor Marks, and a bombshell named Candy Hart, a hooker with dreams of love, a combination tailored made to double-cross. It appears they have a con going down involving a cocky, filthy rich Brit and his millions of dollars. Valentine's challenge: to figure out how all the pieces of the seamy puzzle fit together . . . before his luck runs out and his life goes bust. In prose that sizzles with style and a wicked sense of humor, with plot twists that could cause whiplash, James Swain takes readers behind the neon-lit scenes of casinos and the gambling trade—and reveals a colorful cast of hustlers and con men, bookies and grifters. Make no mistake about it: on the crowded shelves of fiction, Sucker Bet is a sure thing.