More free stuff

More free stuff On the topic of free benefits for MIT students Tonight (Wednesday) on campus, theres a free sneak preview of Tim Burtons Corpse Bride, brought to you by the MIT Lecture Series Committee (LSC). Long-time blog readers may remember that last year around this time I attended a free sneak of the film I Heart Huckabees, and also listed some other sneaks that have previously come to MIT, including 8 Mile, Grosse Pointe Blank, School of Rock and Harold and Kumar go to White Castle. LSC frequently (i.e., several times each term) gets sneak previews of upcoming movies, and usually theyre good ones. Its a pretty sweet deal. Next week, LSC will present a lecture (which, despite their name, is a rarity, as they mostly show movies) by Bringing Down the House (you know, the book about the MIT Blackjack team) author Ben Mezrich and MIT Blackjack team member Semyon Dukach. Theyre on campus promoting Mezrichs next book, Busting Vegas, which is subtitled The MIT Whiz Kid WHo Brough the Casinos to Their Knees. The whiz kid in question is the aforementioned Mr. Dukach. The LSC website says about this lecture: This MIT community exclusive event kicks off their national book tour, which includes radio and television appearances on programs such as 20/20. Mezrichs previous work is the basis of a Hollywood screenplay with Oscar Award winning actor Kevin Spacey producing. In his latest book, Mezrich reveals Dukachs incredible adventures as the Darling of Vegas a gambling wunderkind who ransacked the most famous casinos across the globe with his unheard of system. An MIT student on the weekday, Dukach spent his weekends as a force on the casino floor, shaking casinos from Vegas to Monte Carlo for millions but risking his life in unbelievable fashion. This is the second MIT Blackjack Team-related lecture this year, the first being this past IAP; I described it at the end of this post. So, I guess the message of this entry is, if you like free new movies or want to learn how to beat the casinos, then, um, MIT is your place.