Michael Shackleford, author of Gambling 102, graduated from the University of California-Santa Barbara and landed a job as an actuary for the Social Security Administration. In 1997, he introduced his Web site on gambling, www.wizardofodds.com. In 2000 he left his job to devote full time to the Web site and a consulting business for the gaming industry. Today, he analyzes new casino games for game inventors, designs slot machines, teaches a casino math class at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, and serves as a consultant to land-based and Internet casinos around the world.