This week in Vegas Seven, I contribute to the cover coverage of EDC with a feature on how EDC has paved the way for the festivalization of Las Vegas: It takes one thing to go from outsider to establishment in Las Vegas: success. When Pasquale Rotella’s Insomniac Events first brought the Electric Daisy Carnival to […]
The Festivalization of Las Vegas | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn this week’s Green Felt Journal, I look back at the legacy of Bob Faiss, who immeasurably shaped gaming in Nevada and many other places: Faiss shaped the evolution of Nevada’s gaming regulation as an attorney who represented some of the state’s largest casinos, but never lost sight of what he considered truly important: what
The Man Who Gave Regulation a Good Name | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn this week’s Green Felt Journal, I explore how the World Series of Poker has changed during the past decade at the Rio: When Harrah’s Entertainment—now Caesars Entertainment—bought Binion’s Horseshoe in January 2004, it also acquired the World Series of Poker. Harrah’s more or less sold the Downtown hotel-casino to West Virginia-based MTR Gaming three
Putting the ‘World’ in the World Series of Poker | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenI have a little piece on UNLV’s Newscenter about why it’s important to preserve the past: Since my latest book, Grandissimo, came out, people have asked me why I wrote it. The simple answer is that Jay Sarno was the most interesting person in Las Vegas history not to have a book already written about him.
On Writing Grandissimo | UNLV News Center Read More »
writingIn this month’s Global Gaming Business, I take a look at what impact the expansion of casino gaming has had on mature jurisdictions: But since then, further expansion has put pressure on “mature” gaming markets like Atlantic City, Mississippi and Delaware, which have seen revenues decline. This raises the question of whether further expansion will
Will Expansion Mean Contraction? | Global Gaming Business Magazine Read More »
news about gamblingHere is this week’s Green Felt Journal, a tribute (in mostly his own words) to Burton Cohen: Cohen grew up in the hotel business in Florida, and his 16 years of practicing law made him a perfect chief executive, able to read contracts and grasp their subtleties but also aware of operational realities on the
Burton Cohen: The Man You Wanted Running Your Hotel | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn my latest Green Felt Journal, I riff on remarks MGM chairman Jim Murren made about his company’s Park development and the future of the Strip by imagining what the Strip will look like in 2019: An interesting way to ponder the Strip’s trajectory is to follow Murren’s lead, play the long game, and imagine
MGM’s Park and the Future of the Strip | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenLast Thursday, I did a quick interview with Lorrin Bond of 97.1 about my Vegas Seven cover story on The Mirage’s design and construction. You can listen to it here if you like: David G. Schwartz talks about how the Mirage came to be by Vegas Seven on SoundCloud – Hear the world’s sounds. Fun
Talking how the Mirage came to be on 97.1 Read More »
Vegas SevenOne of my favorite things about writing for Vegas Seven is the chance to write extended feature pieces that give me a chance to do original research and learn a great deal about Las Vegas, present and past. In this week’s issue, I take a look back at the event which, 25 years ago, changed
The Conjuring of The Mirage in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn this week’s Green Felt Journal, I take a look at what changes might be afoot on casino floors across the country: Since the recession, however, slot machines have lost ground to tables. Last year, tables statewide earned 35 percent of total gaming win. That doesn’t sound like a big shift—5 percentage points over just
The Coming Social Gaming Revolution | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn this week’s Green Felt Journal, I propose a possible solution to the current schism between pro- and anti-online gaming forces in Congress (and the gaming industry): With both sides ratcheting up their lobbying, though, it seems that Congress is painting itself into a corner without a way forward or compromise that will satisfy everyone.
The Online Gaming Debate: Not So Fast, Congress | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn this week’s Green Felt Journal, I take a look at FinCEN, the federal bureau that, I think is going to make a big impact on Las Vegas in the near future: Would-be high-rollers, take note: If you ever have a transaction of more than $10,000 at a casino, the staff there will gather information
Needs of High Rollers, Government Leave Casinos in a Bind | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenHere is my latest in Vegas Seven, about two Caesars transactions that, I think, augur the future: It’s no secret that both online and social gaming are growing; millions of people play “for free” each day, and at least 10 states—including California and Texas—are mulling the legalization of straight-up online gambling. The two transactions show
Caesars’ Changing Empire | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenWhen Derek Stevens started accepting Bitcoin at The D and Golden Gate, I became curious: How did he make the decision to do this, and why? The result of my curiosity is this week’s Green Felt Journal: Sometimes a story about newfangled technology doubles as one about old-fashioned neighborhood gumption. When The D and the
What Does Bitcoin’s Downtown Presence Say About Las Vegas—and the Future? | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenThis morning, the Las Vegas Review-Journal published an op-ed piece I wrote about the ultimate futility of online gaming prohibition: The nation faces a dangerously seductive form of gambling, as cross-border, high tech telecommunications networks threaten to siphon money out of homes across the country. The problem is getting worse, and the states, with the
Prohibition not the right answer for online gaming in Las Vegas Review-Journal Read More »
news about gamblingIn this week’s Green Felt Journal, I take a look at the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement’s decision to release less information about gaming win. I think it’s a bad thing: The industry is often misunderstood, partially because many people don’t grasp the nature of casino math. Some confuse the amount of money gambled
Numbers, Transparency, and the Health of Gaming | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn this week’s Green Felt Journal, I take a look at the resurgent American Gaming Association and what it means for Las Vegas: In the past few months, the American Gaming Association has almost completely regenerated itself. Even though the gaming industry’s chief lobbying group has the same name and offices, it has a renewed
The American Gaming Association Takes a Smart New Direction | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenHere is my final Green Felt Journal of 2013. It’s perhaps appropriate that it looks ahead to 2014: While 2013 was mostly a year of building and transition, Las Vegas should definitively enter the post-recession era in 2014. That won’t mean a return to pre-recession prosperity, but rather a shift in how casinos approach visitors.
The Action, for Resorts, Is on the Street | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn this week’s Green Felt Journal, I take a look at one of the entrepreneurs who is shaking things up on the Strip: Jonathan Fine is a case in point. Fine—who operates some of the Strip’s hottest midmarket nightspots—comes from one of the most illustrious families in Las Vegas: His grandfather, Hank Greenspun, founder of
Rockhouse, PBR Rock Bar Owner Just a Local Kid on the Strip | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn this week’s Vegas Seven, I have a feature article considering the ways that the spirit of 1993 is still with us: In the fall of 1993, the wrapping came off three new resorts that promised to change the way people visited Las Vegas. The opening of The Mirage four years earlier is rightfully credited
From the Emerald City to Pharaoh’s Tomb | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas Seven