The Wizard of Odds: How Jack Molinas Almost Destroyed the Game of Basketball

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In The Wizard of Odds, renowned and best-selling basketball writer Charley Rosen brings us for the first time the full life story of Jack Molinas, one of the greatest basketball players of his era, a man whose gambling addiction and hubris caused his ultimate demise. Drawing on numerous, previously unavailable first-person accounts, including Jack Molinass own journal and trial transcripts, Rosen presents the true saga of a man who perhaps better than anyone around him understood the weaknesses of the system in which he livedso much so that he convinced himself that he could manipulate that system to his advantage with total impunity, in a lifes journey that took him from NBA play to the Mafia and the pornographic film industry, and to an ultimate tragic destiny.

Reviews

Rosen's remarkably detailed book proves that Molinas's greatest gift was for self-destruction. . . . No Hollywood screenwriter could have drawn him more colorfully. Sports Illustrated


A fascinating view of the seamy side of sports gambling. Library Journal

Author Bio

A native of the Bronx and longtime pal of basketball guru Phil Jackson, CHARLEY ROSENled the league in technical fouls during each of his six years as a coach in the now-defunct Continental Basketball Association. Since then he has become the worlds foremost writer of fiction and nonfiction on the subject of basketball, chronicling the drama that takes place both on and off the court. His many novels include The House of Moses All-Stars, a New York Times Notable Book, and Sammy Wong: All-American. His non-fiction works include The Scandals of 51: How the Gamblers Almost Killed College Basketball and More than a Game, with Phil Jackson. Rosen is an analyst for hoopshype.com and a devotee of the Triangle Offense. He lives in Accord, NY.