I recently had an essay I wrote about Fallout New Vegas’s Honest Hearts DLC published on First Person Scholar. Here’s the first paragraph: As a Western set in a post-apocalyptic Mohave, Fallout: New Vegas demonstrates that the big questions that drive Western history are durable and malleable enough to survive even the (fictional) nuclear demise …
I have an article in the latest edition of the Popular Culture Review about Mario Puzo’s views on capitalism and gambling: The Godfather made him a wealthy man, but Mario Puzo’s long years as a struggling writer and childhood in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen conditioned him to treat money—and those who made a great …
I’d like to share my Neon Museum Scholar in Residence Lecture: The lecture looks at the years 1967-1988, which are the “middle child” of Las Vegas Strip casino history. People usually focus on the “classic” or “Rat Pack” era or the Mirage/megaresort era, but don’t think too much about the early corporate period. Hope you …
Scholar in Residence: David G. Schwartz – YouTube Read More »
As the scholar in residence at the Neon Museum this spring, I’ve had the chance to look into an aspect of Las Vegas casino history that is usually neglected: But the two decades between 1967 and 1988 don’t fit neatly into either period and deserve further consideration in their own right. While some aspects of …
When asked repeatedly about how Las Vegas can come back from the coronavirus, I kept thinking about an earlier Las Vegas disaster–the 1980 MGM Grand fire and the subsequent Las Vegas Hilton blaze, which provoked a national conversation about highrise safety. I wrote something for KNPR’s DC Blog about how Las Vegas came back from …
It Took a Fire to Change Us | Nevada Public Radio Read More »
Earlier this week, I wrote a few thoughts on why the current focus on getting back to “normal” might not be for the best: The bigger question that everyone seems to be asking is, “How long until we get back to ‘normal’?” These two announcements, which hit the wires without hours of each other, are …
Last Friday, I gave the first ever virtual Rebel Recharge lecture for UNLV’s Office of Alumni Engagement. I was asked to talk a little about what might be ahead in the future. Here is the conversation: The description for the talk was: Las Vegas has never witnessed a crisis like the one brought by COVID-19. …
Rebel Recharge Lecture: How Las Vegas Can Come Back Read More »
I’ve got a new academic paper published as a chapter in the conference proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Language and Literary studies: Language, Literature, Play and Games. It’s about what we learn when we read Sid Meier’s Civilization V as a text. The game makes some very interesting judgments and assumptions about history. …
New paper on reading Sid Meier’s Civilization V as text Read More »
I was asked to pen some reflections about what the shutdown/lockdown means to Las Vegas, so I waxed somewhat more philosophical than usual and drew on some history: However, our city and state have historically offered service on a higher level. We’ve always prided ourselves on contributing to the national mission, whether it be winning …
My latest for Comped Travel is a deeper look at a Twin River Holdings, which just bought three casinos: The move boosts the Providence-based company’s holdings and gives it a presence in three major casino markets. From Eldorado TRWH bought the MontBleu Resort, Casino, and Spa in Lake Tahoe and the Eldorado Resort Casino in …
Twin River Worldwide Stepping It Up – Comped Travel Read More »