Before setting off to Vegas with his wad of traveler's checks, Andrés Martinez, a native of Mexico, had once been a sober journalist and attorney. He studied history at Yale University, obtained a master's degree from Stanford, and then earned a law degree from Columbia, where he made Law Review. After a judicial clerkship and a brief stint at a law firm, Martinez joined the editorial board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He has also been a staff reporter for The Wall Street Journal. He lives in New York City with his wife, Kathy, and their cat, Trotsky. He is currently writing a novel.