Top 5 Casino & Gambling Related Best Selling Novels

By John Isaac,
Editor at online-gambling.com

John Isaac Editor at online-gambling.com

John Isaac is an editor with many years of experience in the gambling industry. He writes expert articles on card games like blackjack and poker. In addition, he is also well aware of the US gambling laws and the Indian and Dutch gambling markets. You can rely on verified information and insightful details.

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Last updated: December 24, 2019

It might sound unrealistic, but you can learn a lot from fictional novels too, especially when we speak about casinos. Usually, they are based on real stories or even if they are truly a fiction, you can still learn a lot about the games, the situations you can fall in and the good and bad outcomes of the gambling passion. Our top 5 casino gambling books start with the famous Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky and his novel “The Gambler”.

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The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky is one of the most famous Russian authors of the 19th century. There are many noticeable novels of his, but the one dedicated to his own gambling passion is called “The Gambler”. The book was released in 1866 and it is a fictional novel which storyline attempts to show the danger in the compulsive nature of a gambler. In a manner of facts, Fyodor was also a passioned gambler and maybe this is why he wrote it, to express his feelings and help others understand his struggles.

The main character in the book is called Alexei Ivanovich who’s a tutor of a Russian general`s family in Germany. The general has several kids, 2 daughters Misha and Nadia and one stepdaughter named Polina. The story goes in several directions, but it keeps you thrilled the whole time. The general is in deep depts and he is hoping for his aunt “the grandmother” to pass away in order to inherit her fortune and pay his dues. Meanwhile, Alexei Ivanovich falls in love with Polina Alexandrova but their love seems to be impossible. The whole book goes around several aspects – the family drama, the impossible love and the damage that gambling could bring. Through the chapters, you will observe how Alexei becomes and roulette addict without even want it because usually, he is playing on behalf of someone else. This is a very realistic novel which could remind you how bad gambling could be.

Casino Royale by Ian Fleming

When you hear the name Ian Fleming probably your consciousness recalls “James Bond”. Yes, based on his novels the films were made. Ian himself was part of the Naval Intelligence Division during the Second World War and more particularly he was involved in two intelligence units. His first novel of this series is the Casino Royale, published in 1953, which set the beginning of a long storyline followed by 11 more James Bond novels. We know that probably you watch the film already, but despite that, we will tell you the story briefly.

Agent 007 was assigned by “M” or the head of the British Secret Service to execute his next mission in France and ensure the bankruptcy of the “Le Chiffre” or the control trade syndicate of SMERSH. Bond must win a high-stakes baccarat game in the Royale-les-Eaux casino based in northern France. Unexpectedly, James loses all of his funds, but the US secret services of CIA ensured another 32 million francs for 007. The luck is on his side this time, and he successfully takes 8 million francs from the SMERSH funds. Of course, the Le Chiffre kidnapped Bond and his female companion Vesper Lynd. James was tortured and threatened that they will both die if he doesn’t retrieve the money. As in every Bond novel, there is a love story going in the background. At the end of the book, it appears that Lynd faked her kidnapping and that she is a double agent for the Russian Internal Affairs but not willingly. They hold her beloved Polish Royal Air Force pilot and blackmail her to help them undermine James Bond`s mission.

The Music of Chance by Paul Auster

Paul Auster is an American film director and writer with many famous works like The New York Trilogy, Moon Palace, The Мusic of Chance, Sunset Park and the latest 4,3,2,1 in 2017. Paul has been a writer since 1974 when he published translated French poems and novels. The Music of Change novel was released in 1990, but after the amazing success of it, a film was made in 1993. It is a story about ambition, poker money, dirty deeds and revenge. It all starts with the struggles of a father called Jim Nashe and his incapability to work and take care of his daughter, therefore he sends her to his sister. With the time he realises that the girl has begun to forget him. But suddenly he and his sister inherit a large amount of money from their father, who abandoned them when they were kids. Jim understands that his girl will be better with her aunt and that pushes him to pay all his debts, purchase a Saab and enjoy the freedom while driving around the USA. During his country run, he meets Jack Pozzi who is a young and ambitious poker player. They see un opportunity to win some money in a poker game with two rich gentlemen named Flower and Stone.

Unfortunately, they lose the game and it is necessary to stay and build for them a stone wall in their backyard in order to repay their debt. Jim accepts this as something fair, but Jack feels it more like a violation of his human rights. The problem is that after they finished the wall, the owners of the property decide to add extra taxes for the food and accommodation. This was the breaking point in Jack`s Pozzi mind, the moment they start to contemplate their plan of escape. The real horror begins when Jim Nashe finds his friend laying in the garden, unconsciousness. The residents of the manor claim that they don’t know anything about it, but they let him take Jack to the hospital. It appears that Mr Pozzi is in a coma because he was heavily beaten. In two weeks the butler Mr Murks advises Jim that his friend checked-out and left the hospital on his own, be he truly believes that Jack is dead. From this moment onwards, revenge is all that pushes Jim Nashe forward. His main suspect is the butler Calvin Murks. There is no happy ending in this story, Jim takes Calvin and son in his car, speeds up to over 80 miles and deliberately crashes into the oncoming car.

Fools Die by Mario Puzo

Mario Puzo was a famous American screenwriter, journalist, writer of some of the most famous mafia classics like The Godfather trilogy and many more. He, unfortunately, passed away in 1999 but he left a hell of a legacy behind. The novel Fools Die was published in 1978. Mario Puzo recognises Fools Die as one of his personal favourites.

The story starts in Las Vegas where several strangers become friends thanks to their common passion – the gambling. In the beginning, the novel is focused only on gambling and women and the million ways to have fun in Vegas. The main characters are John Merlyn, Cully Cross and Jordan Hawley. One night they win $500,000 on baccarat and craps, but despite that Jordan surprisingly commits suicide in his hotel room. Merlyn decides to return in New York to his family while Cully prefers to stay in Las Vegas and work his way out as a hustler and a gambler. The casino owner Alfred Fronevelt decided to hire Cully and even grooms him to be his second man in command.

Meanwhile, John Merlyn struggles as a government worker and he barely makes his ends. Thanks to his father in law he starts a new government position as a US Army Recruiter. But this still doesn’t change his financial situation and the many difficulties he faces every day. One of his colleagues persuades him to start taking briberies and help rich people children skip the military service. Unfortunate for John, the authorities find out about the scam. Then he decides to seek out help from his trusted friend Cully whos currently a casino manager with a strong connection with the underground mobs. He pulls some strings in order to take John Merlyn off the hook and even offers him a job as a reviews writer for the huge magazine. This is how John meets another but way more famous writer than him named Osana. Meanwhile, he publishes a novel which becomes very popular and many Hollywood studios are fighting for the right to turn it into a film. This is how John moves to LA, to work and contribute more and more to the raising movie production. John falls in love with one of the actresses. Merlyn finds his new and decent life in LA but one by one his closest people are leaving this world. His friend Cully was murdered, his brother Artie dies from a heart attack and his friend Osano suffers deadly and incurable disease which makes him commit suicide. In the very end of the book, even his beloved Janelle dies from a brain aneurysm.

The Man with the $100,000 Breasts by Michael Konik

Michael Konik is an American tv star, singer, comedian, gambler and writer who currently lives in Hollywood California. He has a versatile personality and he has been part of many TV shows, gambling contests, comedy actions and casino gambling books. One of them is The Man With the $100,000 Breasts based on the true story of Brian Zembic who implanted himself with 38C breast implants because of a bet with his friend Jobo.

Brian Zembic is a high-stakes player, famous with his risky bets, passion for women and lust for money. The novel tells the story of how Brian took a bet and surgically implanted 2 breast implants for the period of 1 year and he will win $100,000. It all started from a argue between Brian and Jobo about the value of female breast implants and their contribution to the healthy state. The same night Jobo offered Brian the beforementioned bet. In the very first months after the bet, Brian didn’t do anything, but after he lost a lot of money on the stock exchange, it was necessary to win this money. He found a cosmetic surgeon whose passion was gambling, so Brian played a few games with him and successfully organised his operation for only $4.5 because the doctor was already in debt to him. After round bound 6 mounts after the surgery, his friend Jobo offered him $50,000 and to forget about the bet and release him from his obligation to keep the implants, but Michael refuses and prefers to keep them for a full 1 year. Surprisingly, even after that, he kept them, and up to this date, he is still the man with the $100,000 breasts.