Lucky Devils
The True Story of Three Rebel Gamblers Who Beat the Odds and Changed the Game
Will be published approx. on 14. April 2026
Book
Hardback
288 pages
978-1-6680-8089-4 (ISBN)
Description
The rollicking true story of a trio of gamblers hell-bent on beating the house, who used their ingenuity to rake in hundreds of millions of dollars, transforming the way betting games are played.
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Using innovative strategies and technology that was decades ahead of its time, they did all that and more. They became pioneers of “advantage play.” Their pursuit of an edge would take them from the Las Vegas Strip to the grand casinos of Northern Europe to the sprawling, 85,000-capacity racetracks of Hong Kong. For more than thirty years they faced down angry pit bosses, violent mafiosos, bankruptcies, nights in foreign jails, lawsuits, and personal betrayals. They learned that the only thing harder than reaching the pinnacle of gambling is staying there.
Drawing from exclusive interviews with the three players and their associates, award-winning Bloomberg journalist Kit Chellel delivers a cinematic and often uproarious account of fortunes gained, lost, and gained again. Scrupulously reported and irresistibly told, Lucky Devils reveals how these players did more than simply amass wealth; they revolutionized the game itself.
Along the way, they defied gambling’s oldest rule. The house doesn’t always win.
>
Using innovative strategies and technology that was decades ahead of its time, they did all that and more. They became pioneers of “advantage play.” Their pursuit of an edge would take them from the Las Vegas Strip to the grand casinos of Northern Europe to the sprawling, 85,000-capacity racetracks of Hong Kong. For more than thirty years they faced down angry pit bosses, violent mafiosos, bankruptcies, nights in foreign jails, lawsuits, and personal betrayals. They learned that the only thing harder than reaching the pinnacle of gambling is staying there.
Drawing from exclusive interviews with the three players and their associates, award-winning Bloomberg journalist Kit Chellel delivers a cinematic and often uproarious account of fortunes gained, lost, and gained again. Scrupulously reported and irresistibly told, Lucky Devils reveals how these players did more than simply amass wealth; they revolutionized the game itself.
Along the way, they defied gambling’s oldest rule. The house doesn’t always win.
More details
Language
English
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 232 mm
Width: 150 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
499 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-6680-8089-4 (9781668080894)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Kit Chellel
Lucky Devils
The True Story of Three Rebel Gamblers Who Beat the Odds and Changed the Game
E-Book
04/2026
Atria Books
€14.83
Available for download
Person
Kit Chellel is a reporter at Bloomberg and Businessweek Magazine, covering sports gambling, financial scandals, state-sponsored espionage, and more. He has received a Gerald Loeb Award, an Overseas Press Club Award, and a feature reporting prize from the New York Press Club. He is coauthor, with Matthew Campbell, of Dead in the Water, which was shortlisted for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award.