Whale Hunt in the Desert divulges the unbridled lengths to which casinos go to bag the world’s biggest gamblers—the whales. This definitive exposé reveals the shrouded world of ultra-high rollers and the Faustian pacts they forge with their hosts, the casino representatives whose job it is to part them from their fortunes. Private jets, penthouses, personal chefs, show-up money, rebates on losses, and the most beautiful women on Earth—nothing is too excessive.This is the only book ever to examine the lifestyles and motivations of this rarest of breeds, as well as the highly guarded inner workings of the most money-oriented culture known to man. This third edition includes a Foreword by Anthony Curtis and an extensive update about Las Vegas, the “greening” of gambling, the nightclub and dayclub scenes, the evolving host position, and much more—all in the words of the superhost, Steve Cyr.