"Winner Takes All: Steve Wynn, Kirk Kerkorian, Gary Loveman and the Race to Own Las Vegas" by Christina Binkley: As a reporter for The Wall Street Journal who covered Las Vegas, Christina Binkley had an excellent perch as the city’s most powerful men triggered an epic wave of dealmaking. As the casino industry consolidated, Binkley chronicled Kirk Kerkorian’s takeover of Steve Wynn’s Mirage Resorts...

Cambridge - Blackjack has been on a hot streak lately, glamorized in best-selling books like Ben Mezrich's "Bringing Down the House" and its upcoming movie adaptation, "21," both chronicling the exploits of MIT teams that took the casinos for millions in the 1990s. How they beat the odds and made a small fortune in the process has become the stuff of pop-culture legend. Until recently, though, the blackjack world had puzzled over one lingering mystery: