Bet the House : How I Gambled Over a Grand a Day for 30 Days on Sports, Poker, and Games of Chance (Hardcover)

During the course of 30 days in early 2009, Roeper risked more than a quarter-million dollars on every method of gambling available in America. This exploration both celebrates and details the pitfalls and lures through Roeper's stories about his lifelong affair with gambling. Over 30 days in early 2009, Richard Roeper risked more than a quarter-million dollars on practically every method of gambling currently available in America. Bet the House chronicles his wild journey. Follow Roeper as he travels from celebrity-filled Vegas tournaments to podunk dog races, negotiates illegal sports bets with shadowy bookies, trolls overseas-based Internet gaming sites, wagers against a radio comedian, haunts blackjack tables, and flips coins at a bar. As the wins and losses mount, you'll share his suspense over that next big bet, the one that might, just might, get him back to black by the end of his odyssey.

Bet the House also explores:

- What it's like to bet money you don't have, knowing that if you lose, you're in some serious trouble.

- The worst referee's decision in the NFL in the last decade, and how it cost the author thousands of dollars.

- The time Roeper won more than $20,000 on a single horse race.

- Why the slots are such a bad play, why Roeper hates baccarat, and why state lotteries are worse than any numbers game run by the mob.

- The 10 best gambling movies of all time.

The true national pastime isn't baseball or football or basketball. It's gambling--on fantasy football, March Madness, poker, slots, the lottery, keno, church raffles, bingo, and more. Bet the House recounts with humor and pride the ultimate thrill ride of one American gambler.