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| Loaded Dice (Swain, James) | 
| Author: James Swain
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Category: Book
List Price: $22.95
Buy Used: $0.66
You Save: $22.29 (97%)
New (7) Collectible (8) from $1.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  28 reviews
Sales Rank: 375621
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.7 x 6.4 x 1.1
ISBN: 0345463269
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780345463265
ASIN: 0345463269
Publication Date: June 1, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: ex library book The text is clean with some moderate exterior wear.
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Product Description
For ex-cop Tony Valentine, life in balmy Florida provides little R&R. In fact, he’s in demand now more than ever. Armed with a special grift sense, Valentine can spot card cheats and even bigger game whose sole purpose on earth is to relieve a casino of its cash. But when his son, who was going to card-counting school, goes missing, Valentine jets to Las Vegas. Once in town, he is pressed into service—and lands inside a treacherous game with higher stakes than he has ever encountered before.
There’s a new casino in town, aptly named Sin, the largest on The Strip: three thousand guest rooms and a gambling floor as big as an airport terminal. The owners of Sin want Valentine to show them how the scams are done. But these powerful men harbor ulterior motives: They want to use their newfound skills to put a rival casino out of business.
Sin’s competition is the Acropolis, run by Valentine’s longtime pal. Nick taps Tony to figure out how an amateur won $50,000 at his blackjack tables. But the small job is full of landmines. For starters, the suspect bears a strong resemblance to his late wife. What’s more, Valentine’s son is still M.I.A. Upping the ante, a dead stripper is found with Valentine’s calling card—and her grief-stricken boyfriend is vowing revenge.
Yet in a city where barracudas wear pinstripes, time seems motionless even while it flies, and reality and illusion shift depending on the neon light, a greater threat maneuvers through the streets: an all-new breed of criminal with an agenda propelled by fury that will shake not just Valentine, but the city of Las Vegas.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 23 more reviews...
 My 2nd Swain book = entertaining page turner July 17, 2008
This is my 2nd Tony Valentine book. Like the other, this one is loads of fun and sucks you in and keeps you turning the pages. Not going to stimulate any new neuron growth, but will keep you happily distracted and entertained for a few hours.
Story starts out from a pretty simple premise, but new layers/complications keep getting added until you've got yourself a full-blown terrorist threat. The events are a bit of a reach, but close enough that it doesn't lose you.
Naturally, Tony saves the day with an ending that's a bit over the top. But the rest of the story is pretty grounded and plausible. And the characters are vividly sketched, with many of them, including Tony, being quite likeable and empathetic.
And, of course, there are any number of subplots going on all the while - Tony's son, new baby, solving various cheating schemes (usually in, like, 5 seconds which streches credibility a bit - especially the one where his assistant figures out a cheating scheme over the phone by reading a textbook). But anyway, the subplots all tie in somehow and help to keep things moving quickly without getting too convoluted.
So, very solid effort and I recommend this as a perfect beach read, long flight, etc.
 Valentine Back in Vegas March 27, 2008
Retired cop turned casino consultant Tony Valentine is back in Vegas on a job, and searching for his screw-up son Gerry, when he spies a woman bearing a strong resemblance to his deceased wife getting ready to jump off her balcony. Tony races away from a meeting with three high-buck casino bosses and to the aid of Lucy Price, who's feeling suicidal after her $25,000 winnings are stolen. Of course, this is all just part of a bigger scam happening at the Acropolis Casino next door, an old-style Vegas joint complete with statues of its owner's ex-wives out front. Nick Nicocropolis and Valentine go back, so Valentine readily agrees to help catch the scammers, who are led once again by the legendary Frank Fontaine, who Valentine has tangled with before.
Much more is at stake, however, when Gerry Valentine teams up with a couple guys from card counting school who are up to no good. Ripping off casinos is only a part of the evil schemes his new companions are up to, and soon Gerry is in so deep he has no one but the old man to turn to.
While not as much fun as Swain's last effort, and relying a bit heavily on a cast of warmed-over characters from his first novel, this is nonetheless another entertaining tale in the Tony Valentine saga. We get a few more peeks into the characters, but I could have used a tad more, since Valentine's last novel was so good.
Somewhere in the middle...look for another book with 5 stars. August 23, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I read Sucker Bet by James Swain as well and I must say he brings good stuff that can be great. However, ending is such a "Hollywood" formula that I cannot give 4 or 5 stars.
As with other book by James Swain, he starts off great so he will suck you in but at the end, it fizzles.... and disappoints.
If you have nothing else on your reading list, pick it up and read it but don't expect an original ending.
You'll be turning those pages rapidly August 4, 2006
This entry in James Swain's Tony Valentine series is stuffed with character, action, plot, a subplot, Oedipal conflicts, and as an extra added bonus, tips on gambling scams.
Valentine, the retired Atlantic City cop turned gambling consultant to casinos, is one of the great new heroes in the thriller genre.
The dialog's crispy, you'll care for the characters, you'll forget lunch, you'll forget dinner.
One click it now!
Loaded With Entertainment January 2, 2006
Loaded Dice was very entertaining. During the five days that Tony Valentine(the protagonist)spends in Las Vegas, he discovers a scheme that cheats a casino, is accused of murder, has a short romance with an addicted gambler, saves his son, and gets involved with terrorists. Tony did all the work and I relaxed. This is a very easy read and there is lots of interesting information about methods of cheating at games. I recommend this book.
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