This book was a bit slow for me & too “putdown-able”, I’m afraid. Not a total miss but was hoping for a hit. Will check out more by this author and keep my eyes peeled for future. Thanks for this ARC!

I did not care for the overly stylized, frenetic voice of this beleaguered, ne'er-do-well narrator. Could not finish.

I was very excited about reading a book written by an author who was compared to Richard Russo and Jonathan Troppor, but this book is too depressing and too hopeless for me to find the humor which I love in their books.

Ray Parisi is a compulsive gambler who has lost everything. He is out of control, no hope left, until he received an inheritance from his estranged father. He made a decision to run from possible arrest, go to Vegas and try to make enough money to buy a house that he thinks will salvage his life. He is a man who believes in gambling as a magic wand to grant him his wishes. He believes his wife will return and leave her stable fiancé. He does manage to make his fortune, but that doesn't help. He is too far gone and he has lost too much.

I found this book too dark and Ray too hopeless to see the humor.