Book excerpt: It is a story of a young man growing up in the suburbs of East Los Angeles, Ca. A story of what all young gamblers dream of and few will experience, and perhaps, survive. Frankie Santos started gambling at the age of 10 years by pitching pennies and shooting marbles for money with the older kids in the neighborhood. He learned the games of poker and horse racing at the age of 11 years. At 12 he shared his new devotion with his fellow classmates by getting them involved in poker games on the school grounds. In high school, he continued to live in the envioronment of trying to make a fast buck playing the horses. As a young man in his 20s, he enters into a journey of big money, greed, drugs, and becoming the target of the Mexican Mafia. He is on the run and in hiding, and discovers another hard fast-paced journey. By nature, he is a compassionate man, and a protector of family and friends that maybe in harms way. From the age of innocence to manhood and the commencement of rise to power, Frankie Santos did not know what was in his destiny.