A million dollars. That's what Beth won at the London casino where she was investigating the casino and it's owners. Without warning, Beth's win is declared invalid and she is asked to leave. Soon after she challenges the decision and accuses the casino of cheating, she and her father are in a serious car crash where Beth dies. Enter her big brother, Dex. He will bring his considerable resources to the challenge of proving the casino was cheating and that Beth's death was no accident.

This story introduces us to a Bond type character that uses his brain, his money and his crew of seriously talented friends to move through a very well detailed back story of casinos and crime bosses who make their livings and take their pleasures by cheating and sometimes killing anyone who threatens their world. Douglas Stewart details many of the means and ways of insuring the "house" wins most of the time. The casino world is a fascinating background for the action and thrills Dex's mission to avenge his sister's death and close down as much of the illegal activity he can. The story, the characters and the exciting trip from London to Vegas all made this a great read.

Gambling, corruption, money laundering and murder. Dex is drawn into his sister’s investigation into casino cheating and corruption after she dies in a car accident. Dex’s own investigation leads him to believe that his sister Beth’s death was not an accident but that she was murdered. He sets out to fulfill his promise to her that if something happened to her, he would bring down the casino and it’s corrupt owners.

The book blurb sounded interesting but this ended up being just an ok read for me. I found it to be a bit slow and by the time things really got moving I just wanted to be done. There was too much detail and not enough action to move things forward fast enough.

Beth is an investigative journalist looking into corrupt casinos and how they go about cheating customers and laundering money. Her brother Dax is a recovering alcoholic, taking a break and fishing after the loss of his wife and son a year earlier. When Beth is killed in an auto accident after accusing the casino of cheating her out of her money, Dax comes back to London to find out what happened not only to Beth but, also their father who was severely injured in a suspicious accident. Dax studies the csino and how the games work and goes about avenging his sister in his own way. This story was full of suspense, corrupt characters, an eclectic group of friends helping Dax, making it a very interesting story.
Thank you to NetGalley, Douglas Stewart and Chewton Publications for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great story about revenge and casinos!
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2020
I really enjoyed this fast-paced action-packed thriller. Plenty of twists and turns to keep me guessing to the end. I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion

Deadline Vegas by Douglas Stewart. The underbelly of casinos is exposed in this story of revenge. Beth is a good gambler and loves to win. When she is cheated out of a million-dollar win by an unscrupulous casino owner She called her brother Dex to ask for his help in getting her winnings. Dex stopped gambling over 40 years ago and is hesitant to get involved, but with Beth is murdered, he steps up to avenge his sister. The author is very familiar with casinos and gambling and brought that knowledge to the story. It was a fast read, and I learned a lot!

Interesting book. I have to admit I didn't finish it, mostly because I wasn't in the mood for a book about gambling and murderous casino owners. This book, however, will appeal to a lot of other people. The incredibly short chapters made for choppy reading and I just couldn't get past this. Hopefully, I'll get back to it, persevere, and find out if the brother was able to exact revenge or not.

Amazing!
First book I read by this author. Will read more. A great thriller

"Brilliant exciting book?"Stewart’s writing is a fast read and his British sarcasm comes very effortlessly. Vety hard ti put to put down.”
Dexter’s sister dies suddenly after confronting a casino boss for cheating her. He promised her to get revenge, Dex rushes into a dangerous world of casino bosses in London and Las Vegas. A multi-billion casino in Vegas is soon to open and Dex swore it will never happen. He e is trapped in a world of money-laundering, murder and corruption and trying to keep the promise he made to his sister.loved it

We have siblings Dax and Beth. Children of an abusive father who was more about money than family. While Dad is starting to show signs of dementia, the family is exceedingly well off from Dad’s business successes. But the money doesn’t erase what the kids and their mom endured.

Beth is (as I recall) an investigative reporter while Dax is a recovering alcoholic whose wife and child died a year or so ago. Dax now prefers fishing above all else. Beth has been looking into a connection to a member-only casino in London and a huge new casino opening soon in Vegas. She uncovers evidence that the London casino is laundering money for Vegas and doing so by cheating its customers who are too drunk or stupid to care that their winnings are being shorted and that the some of the games are fixed.

The heads of both casinos obviously don’t want all this to come out. Hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake as is the tentative opening date of the Vegas casino. Upon returning home to London from Panama after acquiring some crucial background details about the London operator, Beth is killed in a suspicious car accident. Then their dad is in another car accident and now almost fully incapacitated. Dax has to lay down the fishing pole, find care for his father and take up where Beth left off. A rich boy taking on the London and Vegas criminal heads of gambling.

His main tool for investigating is his very deep pockets and he spends freely on first class travel and even sets up his home office for roulette so he can study the game. A friend of a friend knows a guy who understands the inner workings of a casino (and if you’ve ever wondered yourself, Deadline Vegas if quite a good primer). This guy, himself a recovering addict, knows how casinos win, how they cheat, and how they can be beaten. Dax takes his no limit credit card and freely spends on tools to take down London and stop the Vegas opening.

This was a reasonable diversion for a week in the mountains. While the story was decent, it didn’t really grab me in and hold my attention for hours. Think my biggest issue was believing that a rich boy, despite his considerable bank account, would have the wherewithal to not only devise and pull off his plan but also to avoid getting himself destroyed by people who kill without blinking. But is certainly was a good way to see behind the curtains of just how a casino operates, legally and illegally.

This was a good plot idea. However, the story was very slow in pace. The stakes just did not feel all that high for Dex's motive for revenge.

Various characters were interesting. The writing was tight. As someone who enjoys Vegas and gaming, I found it kept my attention. However, some other readers might not.

Deadline Vegas by Douglas Stewart is a superb read! It is an engrossing page turner of a read well worth the time spent

"Deadline Vegas" was a decent book. Finlay Dexter (Dex)'s quest to avenge his sister's death and bring down Dukes casino and Pepe Carmino, the proprietor of Dukes, as well as prevent the opening of Space City, the Vegas casino project that Carmino was helping fund, made for a good plotline. Pepe Carmino is a particularly nasty character and made for a great villain; however, the references to his S&M fetish could have been left out, as it did not really advance the plotline or add anything valuable to the reader's understanding of him that was not evident from other information in the story. The author has created a very eclectic group of characters. As Carmino notes when trying to figure out Dex's scheme, Billy Evans (down-and-out coke addict and gambler) is not someone that Adam Yarbury (Dex's godfather, retired bank chairman, wealthy, spends his days playing the horses, losing at blackjack, attends high society events) would normally associate with, but yet they are seen hanging out at the blackjack table together. The story has plenty of action and intrigue, with some pretty good surprises. I particularly liked how Dex goes about winning back the money that Pepe/Dukes Casino stole from his sister (as well as winning significantly extra, that he will be put toward charitable causes).

However, Dex has enough wealth that he is able to purchase essentially whatever he needs to complete his revenge scheme, including access to private financial information that practically no one else would be able to obtain. While his wealth and resources do not protect him and those he cares about from the danger that Carmino and his associates pose, his ability to essentially buy his way to success detracts from the overall appeal of the story.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Deadline Vegas is a new book by Douglas Stewart that uses characters he created for a 2007 book Late Bet. Deadline Vegas takes place immediately before the events in Late Bet and sets up that book quite well. The main character, Finlay "Dex" Dexter, is on a revenge mission against Dukes Casino of London, and more specifically casino boss Pepe Camino, for killing his sister. His means? Beating the house at roulette and blackjack by using strategies like Reverse Labouchère to give him an edge. I wouldn't advise you to try this yourself but it works well as a plot device in this fast moving and fascinating glimpse into the world of casino gambling. It's obvious that Stewart really knows this world well as he gives the reader insight into what's happening behind the scenes and why, while at the same time having Dex maneuver his way into some very sticky situations. Getting out of trouble, with the help of a very odd group of accomplices, keeps the plot moving with a good deal of suspense and more than a little sizzle. Great read.

Deadly Betting in a Casino

Dex’s sister is a gambler. She places a bet which the casino declares is too late and erases the tape that would prove her assertion. She asks Dex for help in proving that the London casino is a money laundering front, and they plan to open another casino in Las Vegas.

When his sister is killed and his father injured in what appears to be a staged accident, Dex finally becomes involved. He and his crew put together a plan to bring down the casino operation.

The plot moves swiftly and is filled with clever plans. There are plenty of twists that will keep you reading. The action is non-stop. If you enjoy crime novels that are well plotted this is a good one.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

Suspense, intrigue and an interesting plot. This one kept me turning pages well in to the night. Twisted corrupt characters, and casinos in Vegas and London. Plausible plot. Everyone knows the house has the advantage, not hard to believe they would exploit it. Can't wait to read more from this author.

After begin cheated by a big Vegas casino, Dex’s sister confronts him and is mysteriously killed. This puts Dex on a mission to get his life back together and avenge his sister. He has to pick through casinos in London and Las Vegas, a corporate growth plan that has lots of black money supporting it, and many threats to his life. He must also confront a casino boss who has remade himself since killing a customer in Panama. Great denoument, along with Dex finding a new love in a reporter turned human rights activist. Good reading on all these counts.After begin cheated by a big Vegas casino, Dex’s sister confronts him and is mysteriously killed. This puts Dex on a mission to get his life back together and avenge his sister. He has to pick through casinos in London and Las Vegas, a corporate growth plan that has lots of black money supporting it, and many threats to his life. He must also confront a casino boss who has remade himself since killing a customer in Panama. Great denoument, along with Dex finding a new love in a reporter turned human rights activist. Good reading on all these counts.

If gambling is your thing and the arcane details of baccarat, roulette and twenty-one interest you, you might find this mystery of crimes and misdemeanors in high stakes casino games in London and Las Vegas more than moderately interesting ; otherwise, the thin characterizations, convoluted plot, and missing pieces of the back story necessary to fill in the motivations of the protagonists make this a pedestrian outing.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
All opinions are my own.

It's no secret that I really love gambling and Las Vegas. Throw those elements in with some murder and career criminals, and I'm immediately interested.
The thing I loved most about this story was how quickly it moved. It started off quickly and didn't let up. I initially thought the main character was kind of a dope, but he definitely got better. I also learned a lot about roulette strategy, so that was a bonus.
If I had to change one thing, I'd say some of the chapters ended in weird places (like, in the middle of a normal conversation sans-bombshell) and probably could have been combined.
Bottom line, I would recommend this page-turner to others.

What a great read! Nice story line, credible characters, great suspense, full of action, fast paced and difficult to put down! Dax is a wealthy man who lost his wife and child previously. They were murdered and it hasn't been solved. He hasn't quite been the same and is still trying to recover. He then gets contacted by his sister who whats him to help expose illegal activities going on at casinos in London and Las Vegas. He doesn't want to help out but unfortunately his sister ends up murdered. Now Dax is motivated to find out what is going on. Again lots of action takes place as he learns what secrets are going on and what his sister discovered. This is an unputdownable book- you won't regret picking it up! Thanks to Net Galley and Chewton Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

A real page turner! I took the day off to read the book. So much action and emotion. I will never look at a casino in the same way again. This was an excellent story.

Enjoyed the premise of the book and did enjoy reading it,The author describes the scenes well and you can visualize what he wants to portray. However, I found the ending cli·chéd and unsatisfying.

I do want to thank NetGalley for the ARC.