Lay the Favorite is a remarkable ride through the high-stakes sports gambling world. Beth arrived in Las Vegas in 2001, hoping to land a job as a cocktail waitress. Instead, she ended up living in a $17-a-night motel and working at a Thai restaurant in a strip mall where one of her regular customers suggested that Beth was perfect for a different kind of job. On a scrap of paper, she wrote the name of the business and its proprietor: Dink, of Dink, Inc. Dink was a professional sports gambler—one of the biggest in Vegas. Having no idea what to expect, Beth showed up for the interview in a denim mini and converse high tops, with her dog, Otis, at her side. Dink greeted her with a copy of the Daily Racing Form in one hand and a bagel piled high with lox in the other, and explained that he was looking for a right-hand man—someone who would show up on time, who had a head for numbers, and who didn't steal. She got the job.

Moving from Dink's legal gambling office in Las Vegas, to the illegal business of New York City bookies, to the wild regulation-free frontier of offshore betting agencies, Lay the Favorite is compulsive, addictive, fast-paced entertainment—and announces the arrival of a supremely gifted storyteller.

"Raymer's crackling, hilarious memoir ricochets through the gambling underwold in Las Vegas, and is peopled with all manner of lovable wack-jobs, none of whom is quite as wacky–or lovable–as Raymer herself."
—Marie Claire

About the Author:
Beth Raymer has an MFA from Columbia University. In 2007 she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship. In addition to her work in the world of sports gambling, Beth was also a competitive boxer in Las Vegas and New York City.