The power to tax is the power to destroy.

For any of you that get excited when thinking about Las Vegas or enjoy a fast paced read, I highly recommend the book “Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions,” by Ben Mezrich. This is Mezrich’s first foray into a nonfiction title, and it is partly because he is an acquaintance of one of the students involved.

The book tells us how a group of math whizzes were able to devise a system of counting cards at the blackjack table, and use it to their advantage to win a lot of money. And I mean *a lot* of money. The story itself is very interesting. It’s not just a description of the events, but more of a “put you in the shoes of the character” type of story. It gives you a glimpse of the behind the scenes underworld of Vegas itself.

Word to the wise: Don’t try this at home.