Straight flush: the true story of six college kids who dealt their way to a billion-dollar online poker empire--and how it all came crashing down

Based on extensive insider interviews and participation, author Ben Mezrich's Straight Flush tells the rags-to-riches tale of a group of University of Montana frat brothers who turned a weekly poker game in the basement of a local dive bar into AbsolutePoker.com, one of the largest online companies in the world. At its height, Absolute Poker was an online empire earning more than a million dollars a day, following savvy business strategy and even better luck. Its founders set up their operations in the exotic jungle paradise of Costa Rica, embracing an outrageous lifestyle of girls, parties, and money. Meanwhile, the gray area of U.S. and international law in which the company operated was becoming a lot more risky, and soon the U.S. Department of Justice had placed a bull's-eye on Absolute Poker. Should they fold--or double down and ride their hot hand? This is a look behind the headlines of one of the wildest business stories of the past decade.--From publisher description.