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

Jack Molinas had it all — good looks, charm, an Ivy League education, a genius-level I.Q. of 175, and a huge talent for the game of basketball. He was also a gambling addict with a flair for larceny. The Wizard of Odds chronicles the rise and fall of this outstanding NBA All-Star who fixed games, cavorted with the Mafia, produced pornographic films, and was eventually murdered. Author Charley Rosen chillingly probes the life of a man who understood better than anyone around him the weaknesses of the system in which he lived — so much so that he convinced himself he could manipulate that system to his own ends with impunity. By the time he was arrested on January 9, 1954, for conspiring to fix NBA games, he was already deeply involved with the Mafia. After his release from prison, he would descend ever deeper into crime, a preoccupation that would end with a bullet in the head.