If you’ve called the office, I’ve been out, and for good reason. I gave a guest lecture in Bill Eadington’s econ class up at University of Nevada Reno. It was a great opportunity to talk about some of my new research in world gambling history. I think that Roll the Bones will benefit from my test-driving this stuff before good audiences.
I’ve also gotten a chance to explore Reno’s casinos (but I didn’t play keno) a little more. I’ve been lucky to have astute and helpful local guidance, and I’ve gotten to see some really incredible things. One word: Peppermill. This is the coolest casino I’ve ever seen. I took some photos, but I don’t think they’ll do it justice.
I’m also looking at the papers of Russell Barnhart, an enigmatic gambling historian, at UN Reno’s Special Collections. I guess that’s typical for me–“Hey, Dave, you get a chance to get out of the office. I bet you’re going skiing, or snowboarding, or doing something really fun.” “No, I’m looking at more gambling-related archival resources.”
If you’re a professor somewhere and want to have someone guest lecture on the history of gaming, contact me. If your university has some kind of unique resources on the history of gambling, that’s a plus, but I’ll travel just about anywhere to spread the word about the real history of gambling.