Sleepless in Sin City
Tales from the Graveyard Shift
Behind every million-dollar spin was a dealer who saw it all. For 35 years Randy Rutecki dealt to whales, celebrities and hustlers at the Golden Nugget, Mirage, Bellagio, Wynn and Encore. This is what really happened on the night shift.
Free to read with Kindle Unlimited. Paperback and hardcover also available.
What readers say
Straight from the table
Randy Rutecki is a brilliant storyteller. I don't gamble, and I know nothing about craps, baccarat or the roulette wheel, but I couldn't put this book down.
CarolAnne Bills · Verified Kindle review
- ★★★★★
I dealt in the Las Vegas casinos for 26 years on Graveyard shift also. I read this in a little over a day.
Sandy · fellow Vegas dealer - ★★★★★
This author really has a great way of making the reader feel like they are alongside them while at the tables
Great Expectations · Kindle - ★★★★★
You truly experience a part of the history and evolution of Las Vegas through the eyes of an insider.
Kim P. · Kindle - ★★★★★
This book had me mesmerized from the beginning.
debbiel · Kindle - ★★★★★
I read this book in just little over 24 hours
Verified Kindle reader - ★★★★★
I can't put it down! Every page filled with shocking surprises.
Renee Mcdonnell · Hardcover - ★★★★★
I worked with Randy at The Mirage, so I enjoyed the memories. I recommend this book to everyone even if you have never been in the casino business.
Jacquelyn Clark · Hardcover - ★★★★★
A great read on the Vegas I knew before it became too expensive to really enjoy!
Kent Vaughn · Kindle
New in the Illustrated Edition
18 chapters. 18 plates.
Every chapter now opens with an original pen-and-ink illustration and a caption from the story it tells. Tap any plate to see it full size.
Plates appear in the Kindle, paperback and hardcover editions.
Chapter 1 · One Night on the Graveyard Shift
Read the first chapter free
Start where the book starts: a packed high-limit room, a hot streak, and a dealer one hour out of bed.
Chapter 1 + four bonus stories
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It's 3:55 a.m. and the white ball spins as I approach a game where one mistake could cost the house $80,000 or cost me my job. An hour ago, I was asleep. Now I'm alert and ready for the mental precision required when a single spin might move over a million dollars in chips.
There's no easing into it. You're either alert or you're a liability. “Sorry, I'm not awake yet” doesn't fly when the stakes are this high.
Minutes earlier, I'd slipped through the service entrance, weaving between delivery trucks loaded with supplies for the hotel kitchens. The concrete floor vibrated under my feet from the rumbling engines, the air thick with diesel fumes and kitchen prep smells. One moment you're navigating the industrial maze that keeps the place running, the next you're in a world where a single hand could buy one of those trucks outside.
I cross the casino floor, moving from the chaotic noise and flashing lights past the two crystal peacocks that guard the high-limit entrance. Usually, stepping into the high-limit room feels like entering a cathedral of money, all hushed reverence and quiet tension.
But tonight, the rarified air carries something different entirely. The room is buzzing with energy: champagne bottles, laughter, and the kind of electricity that only comes when someone's on a hot streak.
Illustrated Edition, 2026
Pick your format
Kindle
All 18 illustrations included. Start reading in seconds on any phone, tablet or Kindle.
ISBN 979-8-9988184-2-4 Buy on AmazonPaperback
Printed on cream paper, every plate on its own page.
ISBN 979-8-9988184-0-0 Buy on AmazonHardcover
The full illustrated edition with a printed hard cover.
ISBN 979-8-9988184-1-7 Buy on AmazonJacketed Hardcover
Collector's edition with a full-color dust jacket. Order from any bookstore.
ISBN 979-8-9988184-3-1 Bookshop.orgPrefer your local bookstore or library? Every print edition is distributed through Ingram. Give them the ISBN above and they can order it in.
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