DANGEROUS ODDS is an explosive, behind-the-scenes look into the world of illegal sports betting, revealed by an insider who happens to be a woman. Marisa Lankester, a young thrill-seeking beauty with a privileged New York upbringing, stumbles in the back door of the largest illegal sports betting organization in the U.S., run by Ron “The Cigar” Sacco. With her looks and brains, Marisa maneuvers herself into the “men only” bookmaking operation, and soon becomes a trusted insider.

Along the way, she falls in love with Sacco’s business partner, the darkly charismatic Tony. In an attempt to evade the wrath of the FBI, the young couple relocate Sacco’s operation to the Dominican Republic, where gambling is legal; but what begins as an exciting ride on the Caribbean island, where Marisa also becomes a top model, morphs into a twisted nightmare when she finds herself trapped between a ruthless FBI agent and a corrupt Dominican general.

Santo Domingo, January 8, 1992

WHEN I LOOKED BACK later, I realized that the soldier pointing his gun at my head terrified me less than his confiscating my passport. Now I had no way to get off the island. I should have left my passport at home, I told myself. I shouldn’t have gone to work early. I had plenty of time to indulge in pointless recriminations as I sat locked away in a filthy, rat-infested Dominican prison. In this concrete fortress, the heat was so oppressive that even the walls around me were sweating.

THE MORNING HAD BEGUN like any other in the city of Santo Domingo.

A furious chorus of car horns split the heavy tropical air, alerting me to the blackout even before I hit the massive traffic jam. Blackouts were a feature of everyday life on the island, a product an unstable government presided over by the blind octogenarian president, Joaquín Balaguer. Poverty, widespread corruption, political “disappearances,” and power outages were hallmarks of the era. An unlit traffic light dangled uselessly over the jammed intersection. It was too late to avoid the snarled traffic. Instead I shifted down into first gear, waiting my turn behind the other vehicles on Avenida Tiradentes.

Santo Domingo was a city of intoxicating contrasts—a place where extreme poverty rubbed shoulders with unimaginable wealth. I loved it from the moment I arrived, almost five years ago; though that was not the experience of countless other American expats, drawn by the lure of easy money, endless beaches, and tropical weather. It took a certain type of personality—stubborn, resilient, determined—to flourish in the terrible beauty of Santo Domingo.

As I sat marooned in a sea of chrome, a thud on my windshield shook me out of my thoughts. An old man with a mouthful of rotten teeth tipped a large cardboard crate toward me and gestured to the half-dozen newborn puppies within. I shook my head. He trudged away to try his luck with the drivers behind me.

Ahead, nothing was moving. On most days I would have started to panic. In my line of business, getting to work late was not an option. The first time you were warned; the second time you were fired. Today, however, I had plenty of time. I cranked up the air conditioner and the radio, trying to drown out the incessant honking.

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Marisa Lankester was born in Rome, Italy. She moved to New York with her family when her father accepted a position with the United Nations.

After attending university in Manhattan and Vancouver, Marisa headed to Los Angeles and went to work for notorious bookmaker, Ron ‘The Cigar’ Sacco. She later relocated to the Dominican Republic where she helped establish the worlds first offshore gambling operation.

Marisa has resided in five countries and currently lives in Switzerland with her partner, Adriano, and their six daughters.

Dan “Danno” Hanks has a seven-page rap sheet showing more than fifty arrests and three terms in state and federal prisons. Hanks turned his life around by becoming a private investigator and a Confidential Informant for the DEA & FBI. He later teamed up with Fred Valis and formed Backstreet Investigations.
Together Hanks and Valis helped bring down “the biggest and most successful bookmaking operation in history”. Danno has been called “the private investigator to the media and the stars” and has worked as a story consultant to writer George Gallo & a technical advisor on police & crime dramas.

Find out more about Danno:

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