It’s a happy day in UNLV gaming-land. An article I wrote a while back about how Las Vegas bounced back from the 1980s recession is out in Gaming Law Review and Economics:
MOST WHO HAVE CONSIDERED Las Vegas history have concluded that not much happened in
Las Vegas gaming between the openings of the original MGM Grand (1973) and Mirage (1989). In fact, several structural changes during the 1980s had already reversed a declining appeal. Responding to three crises—competition from Atlantic City, a national economic downturn, and the MGM Grand fire—Las Vegas casino operators began to draw more extensively on a middle-class mass market. Capitalizing on the “Burger King Revolution,” Strip casinos drew more gamblers who, on average, played less, and slot machines displaced table games as the industry’s leading revenue producer. This successful strategy broadened the city’s visitor pool and created a base for later expansion.
The Burger King Revolution: How Las Vegas Bounced Back, 1983–1989
Enjoy reading it while you can–I think that the article’s only available to non-subscribers for 2 weeks. If you’re a casino professional, you should definitely consider a subscription to GLRE, since it’s packed with informative articles.
I didn’t do too many interviews for this article–I mostly used documents–but I’ve got to say that Jeffery Silver was great to talk to. He was not only an expert on the subject, but has a keen sense of humor and was remarkably generous with his time.