Overview

The Australian Gamble explores Jack Rooklyn’s role as a thread that connects some of the best-recognized characters, and most pivotal events, in Australian criminal history. It is a story that begins overseas, with the origins of the Bally poker machine company — a scandal-prone business with a name that was fated to be forever linked with Rooklyn’s. From humble origins in Al Capone’s Chicago, Bally rode the amusement game wave to become one of the biggest players in the gaming industry worldwide … a status that made it an attractive target for takeover by America’s Italian Mafia. Run out of Cuba on the heels of Castro’s communist revolution, ‘The Families’ were looking for new opportunities to expand their gaming ambitions, both in the desert mecca Las Vegas and (more quietly) through clandestinely sinking their hooks into a financially struggling Bally.

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9781538177082

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Reviews

Paul Bleakley provides an entertaining yet informative look at organized crime in Australia. Readers will be struck by how organized crime has managed to extend its corrupt tentacles from down under to internationally and by the many connections to the American mafia. Highly recommended for crime buffs and for those interested in the impact of global crime.--Ron Chepesiuk, author, two-time Fulbright scholar, and host of the podcast, Crimebeat Anyone interested in how a major amusement entertainment company became the highly profitable source of millions of dollars from gambling should read The Australian Gamble. It's a unique history that will fascinate all Mafia buffs.--Jeffrey Sussman, author of Sin City Gangsters, Boxing and the Mob, and Big Apple Gangsters

Author Information

Paul Bleakley is assistant professor of Criminal Justice at the University of New Haven. Before entering the academic world, Paul was a journalist working in both London and Sydney. He is the author of two books on historical crime in Australia: Under a Bad Sun (2021) and Policing Child Sexual Abuse (2022).

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