Unfortunately for this motley group of would be casino scammers, they did not make out quite so well as Mr. Clooney and  Mr. Pitt did in the Ocean’s 11 films.

Four men were recently indicted in an attempted high stakes theft in the Borgata Casino/Hotel according to this article from PressofAtlanticCity.com.

Apparently the foursome attempted to real in a high stakes player of Chinese Poker, Backgammon, and Chess. The games were set to be played in a hotel room at the Borgata. Unknown to the mark, surveillance equipment was set up in another room.

Their plot was uncovered before they they were able to defraud their mark. The charge they face is second degree attempted theft by deception. Each could face 10 years in prison plus fines. All are out on bail.

So please, for all of your own safety, don’t go playing in shady casino games that aren’t in the casino, but tucked away in a hotel room.

After reviewing Bringing Down the House here at PokerMoments and then hearing a movie is in the works based on the book, we thought we’d like to chat with the writer, Ben Mezrich.

Little did we know what a great sense of humor this Harvard-educated storyteller has. Here’s my conversation with him…

Sparky: Congratulations on your movie, 21, which is in the works! How did that come about?

Ben: Basically, it all started with a phone call I received from Kevin Spacey, right out of the blue. This was two weeks before Bringing Down The House came out; I’d done an article for Wired magazine about the book, and Spacey read it. He flew me out to LA, and basically told me he wanted to produce the movie, and maybe star in it as well. We then sold the project to MGM (ironically enough) which then became a part of Sony. So now it’s a Sony/MGM picture starring Kevin Spacey.

Sparky: I really liked your title “Bringing Down the House” - why wasn’t that used?

Ben: Sadly, Queen Latifah stole my title. Since there was already a BDTH movie, we had to change the name to ‘21‘. I like ‘21‘ too, because it’s got that Risky Business, coming-of-age feel, which captures the energy I tried to put into the book.

Sparky: Will you be in the movie?

Ben: I hope to do a cameo. I will definitely be on set for most of the filming, and am involved in most aspects of the production.

Sparky: How about having a contest for a PokerMoments reader to get to be an extra in the movie?

(more…)

Did Nicole Richie get breast augmentation?  What’s the scoop on Clay Aiken’s new hairstyle??  Is Pamela Anderson headed for a breakdown???  Well, we don’t know any of that, but here’s what secret we do know…

As a follow up to our review on Bringing Down the House, the exciting book by Ben Mezrich about MIT students’ card counting adventures of winning millions in Las Vegas…

It’ll soon be a movie!

The name of the movie is reported to be 21, with Kevin Spacey playing Micky, the father-figure, master-mind in the book.  Filming begins in February around Boston and Las Vegas.  More details…

Hey, you could always try out as an extra!