Life Real Loud
John Lefebvre, Neteller and the Revolution in Online Gambling
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- USD 13.99
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- USD 13.99
Publisher Description
The man who gave it all away
At age 50, when some people start planning for retirement, John Lefebvre hit the digital motherlode. Neteller, a tiny Canadian internet start-up that processed payments between players and online gambling arenas, rocketed into the stock market. In its early years, Neteller had been a cowboy operation, narrowly averting disaster in creative ways. Co-founder Lefebvre, a gregarious hippie lawyer from Calgary, Alberta, had toked his way through his practice for decades, aspiring all the while to be a professional musician.
With the profit from Neteller and his stock holdings, he became a multi-millionaire. He started buying Malibu beach houses, limited edition cars, complete wardrobes, and a jet to fly to rock shows with pals. When that got boring he shipped his fine suits to charity, donned his beloved t-shirt and jeans, and started giving away millions to the Dalai Lama, David Suzuki and other eco-conscious people, as well as anyone else who might need a pick-me-up.
And then the FBI came knocking on his Malibu door . . .
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A writer such as Michael Lewis could knock a quirky business tale like this out of the park, but Reynolds, a veteran journalist, barely ekes out an infield single with this biography of a fascinating man and the online money-transfer firm that made him rich. Lefebvre, an aging rock-star wannabe with a law degree and a fondness for cannabis stumbles into the early days of the online gambling business and becomes rich beyond his wildest dreams. He blows millions on donations to environmental causes and hiring world-class musical talent to help him record his first album. Then the FBI comes knocking at his beachside mansion in Malibu to arrest him for racketeering. A writer such as Michael Lewis could knock a quirky business tale like this out of the park, but Reynolds, a veteran journalist, barely ekes out an infield single with this biography of a fascinating man and the online money-transfer firm that made him rich. Reynolds describes Lefebvre's car collection, sits in on his recording sessions and interviews friends and family. A portrait emerges of a restless but ultimately good-hearted ne'er-do-well who fell backward into great fortune, but nowhere do readers gain any real insight into the murky netherworld of online gambling or why the U.S. government, which tolerates bricks-and-mortar casinos, is so eager to stamp out betting online. Reynolds has a tiger by the tail but unfortunately lets it go.
