Double of Nothing

I really enjoyed reading this book and learning how Tim Poster and Tom Breitling bought and sold and the Golden Nugget casino in Las Vegas and made millions in the transaction. The book takes you from the beginning when they met though their ownership and sale of the casino. In between that time, Tom explains how they started and sold a successful hotel booking company, endured the rigors of getting a casino license in Nevada, and overcame the bad press from a reality television series. The book also gives you a behind the Las Vegas history.

Tim Poster and Tom Breitling are and American success story. They started with nothing and created hotel booking business which they sold to Expedia for $105 million. They used that money and to buy the Golden Nugget casino in Las Vegas which they transformed into a successful enterprise before selling it for another $120 million profit.

There chance meeting in college turned these two guys with opposite personalities into a dynamic business partnership that built a financial empire twice. Tim and Tom are the true odd couple. Tom grew up in Burnsville, Minnesota and said he never saw a hundred dollar bill until he went away to college. Tim on the other hand was raised in Las Vegas and grew up in a family of odds makers. This is more than just a business memoir, it is also a story of a friendship that was tested at times but survived through it all.

Many people first heard of Tim Poster and Tom Breitling when Fox television aired the reality series, The Casino, in the summer of 2004. The series was produced my Mark Burnett and was supposed to give the viewers a realistic look at the day to day operations of a casino. Instead it gave the viewers and unrealistic view of the owners. In Double or Nothing Tom sets the record straight and talks openly about how many of the scenes were staged and the negative effect that the series had on their efforts to restore the Golden Nugget back to its rich Las Vegas history.

Tim and Tom wanted to make the Golden Nugget a casino where the players could get the best game possible. To do this they raised the maximum table limits in an effort to entice the high rollers to come gamble at the Nugget. One player who they dubbed Mr. Royalty took them for millions of dollars when he rolled 22 consecutive passes at the craps table. This led to some sleepless nights for the owners but makes for a compelling story.

This book will appeal to a number of readers. It gives you a behind the scenes look at how a casino operates, some interesting history of Las Vegas and it is a financial success story. Double or Nothing is also available as an audio book.