Dangerous Odds: My Secret Life Inside an Illegal Billion Dollar Sports Betting Operation

by Marisa Lankester

Overview

DANGEROUS ODDS - a True Crime Thriller Memoire - is the explosive, never been told, behind the scenes look into the world of illegal sports betting, revealed by an insider, who happens to be a woman. Marisa Lankester, a young beauty with a privileged New York upbringing, stumbles into the backdoor of the largest illegal sports betting organization in the U.S., run by Ron The Cigar Sacco. Marisa, a thrill seeker, maneuvers herself into this mob run men only bookmaking operation and with her looks and brains, becomes a trusted insider. Along the way, Marisa falls in love with Sacco's business partner, charismatic Tony. In an attempt to evade the wrath of the FBI, Marisa and Tony relocate Sacco's operation from Los Angeles first to Las Vegas and then to the Dominican Republic where gambling is legal. What begins as a fun and exciting ride on the Caribbean island, where the tall, blond beauty also becomes a top model, morphs into a twisted nightmare. It is also the romantic tale of a beautiful, smart young woman whose love for a charismatic and handsome Italian-American leads her down the road into crime, incarceration and rape.

DANGEROUS ODDS is the ultimate mistery thriller and suspense page-turner that draws the reader into what is the adrenaline pumped and genius world of sports gambling and betting.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783906196107
Publisher:	Cappuccino Books
Publication date:	03/10/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	402
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Marisa J. Lankester is an American memoirist whose 2014 award winning book, Dangerous Odds, told the story of her life, from growing up privileged in the suburbs of New York, to working in the heart of the largest illegal sports betting operation in US history during which time she was jailed and abused and also worked as a model and actress. Retiring (so far) permanently from bookmaking in 1994, she moved back to New York in 1996 to attend college in Manhattan. She currently resides in Zürich, Switzerland with her family. Lankester has been interviewed for input into the debate surrounding US gambling laws. Lankester is working on her next book and writes screenplays.

What People are Saying About This

Author of Wild at Heart - Barry Gifford

"Marisa Lankester's unique chronicle of high crimes and low company is as wild a ride as any reader is likely to be taken on. She was the lone woman in the eye of a predatory hurricane that blew across continents and devastated countless lives. That she survived is testament to her brains and bravery. The old-timers who invented violence as a second language contended that nothing is deadlier than the female, to cross her was to buck dangerous odds, and this book tells you why."

Editorial Reviews

STEVE KROFT, on "60 MINUTES", CBS

"The federal government says that more than a billion of those dollars are bet with one man, Ron 'The Cigar' Sacco. And while you may win or lose that bet, 'The Cigar' always wins."

Karen Sandlin Silverman - Library Journal

"This thriller-like memoir describes bookmaking for an illegal international sports-betting operation. Canadian Lankester, who has been a bookmaker and a model, fell into bookmaking after arriving in Los Angeles to train for a long-distance driving competition. When the police shut down Lankester and her boyfriend/boss's bookmaking operation, the couple moved to his hometown to start over. They married and had a baby, but owing to continued trouble with the law, moved to the Dominican Republic to set up an offshore office and started taking bets anew. Lankester's experience on the island was tumultuous--she spent time in prison, was raped repeatedly by a corrupt official, evaded the FBI, divorced and reconciled, nursed her ex-husband after a near-fatal accident, and became a popular model.

VERDICT: This memoir reads like a mystery and keeps readers on the edge of their seats--at one point Lankester must figure out who the mole is inside their organization--and will be popular with fans of true crime and adventure thrillers."

SHERRYL CONNELLY - NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Marisa Lankester tells all in her new book 'Dangerous Odds: My Secret Life Inside an Illegal Billion Dollar Sports Betting Operation.'The good little Catholic-school girl from New Rochelle grew up to become a hot blond bookie on the lam from the FBI in the Dominican Republic.

In the new book "Dangerous Odds: My Secret Life Inside an Illegal Billion Dollar Sports Betting Operation," Marisa Lankester tells about the harrowing journey that saw her play a key role in the creation of the first offshore gambling empire -- one steeped in mob ties -- before she was imprisoned in a "medieval hellhole" in the Dominican Republic and repeatedly raped by a general in the secret police.

Nothing in Lankester's proper upbringing in Westchester County foretold her life of criminal chaos. Her father worked for the United Nations and, like any student at the Ursuline School, her young life was a routine of lessons from ballet to piano.

From the Publisher

"It's unlikely you'll find a book about sports betting that tells the story as insightfully and from as fascinating a vantage point as this one."

Booklist - David Pitt

"This is a rollicking good thriller. Non-stop action. We rated it 5 hearts."

Heartland Reviews - Bob Spears

"MarisaLankester tells about the harrowing journey that saw her play a key role in thecreation of the first offshore gambling empire."

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New York Daily News - Sherryl Connelly

Truth is always wilder than fiction. Hold on to your hats and enjoy this page turning look inside the world of sports betting from a good girl gone bad for love.

Laura Atchison

Marisa Lankester's unique chronicle of high crimes and low company is as wild a ride as any reader is likely to be taken on. She was the lone woman in the eye of a predatory hurricane that blew across continents and devastated countless lives. That she survived is testament to her brains and bravery. The old-timers who invented violence as a second language contended that nothing is deadlier than the female, to cross her was to buck dangerous odds, and this book tells you why.

-- Barry Gifford, Author of Wild at Heart, Winner Palme D'Or at Cannes Film Festival

Barry Gifford

"So compelling, it left my heart racing; I couldn't put it down."

J.E. Ocean - The SilverPen Reviewer

The SilverPen Reviewer - J.E. Ocean

Lankester, the freewheeling daughter of a diplomat, thought it might be fun to work part-time for a California bookmaker (an illegal operation). She quickly impressed Ron Sacco, the bookmaker, and started climbing the ladder within his organization, winding up near the top. Soon she was the target of FBI investigators, who wanted to nail Sacco for illegal sports gambling, and eventually she wound up in the Dominican Republic, running a legal gambling operation for Sacco. This fascinating memoir approaches the story from two perspectives: there's the behind-the-scenes angle, of course, as Lankester takes us deep inside Sacco's sports-betting operation, but there's also the personal angle: Lankester was a woman in a man's world, the only female to hold a position of authority in a sports-betting organization. Her perspective is unique; you will find other books about sports betting, but it's unlikely you'll find one that tells the story as insightfully and from as fascinating a vantage point as this one.

David Pitt, May 1, 2014 - Booklist