In this week’s Vegas Seven, I have a Latest Thought about a Downtown preservation effort that, I think, says a lot about what the city is becoming: Which is why it’s interesting to see what new arrivals to Las Vegas notice the most. Slots in convenience stores? Franchise pawnshops? Tap water that’s somewhere north of […]
Signs of the (Disappearing) Times in Vegas Seven Read More »
life in vegas, Vegas SevenIn this week’s Green Felt Journal, I take a look at the origin of the Fremont Street Experience: Fremont Street and the downtown casinos might be on the verge of a renaissance. Several casinos have reinvented themselves with renovations and expansions that try to blend nostalgia, modern comforts and value. But this isn’t the first
The Experience of Fremont in Vegas Seven Read More »
life in vegas, Vegas Seven, writingIn this week’s Green Felt Journal, I take a look at where poker stands in September 2012. On one hand, live poker’s been on the decline for a few years. On the other, online poker is, some feel, going to transform the state’s economy. Here’s where we are: Nevada poker is in an odd place.
Poker’s Perilous Perch in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas Seven, writingWhen I heard that South Point Poker,, LLC, had been awarded the first license as an online poker provider in Nevada, I was immediately curious about the company: who were the people making this historic step? Everyone knows Michael Gaughan, but I had a feeling he wasn’t coding the site in his spare time. So
South Point Puts It On (the) Line in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenThis week, I’ve got a “Latest Thought” in Vegas Seven where I finally weigh in on whether we should rename McCarran International Airport. I say, why stop there? There’s been plenty of talk this summer of renaming McCarran International Airport. At first, it seemed like a lot of talk from people who hadn’t thought much
Name Games in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenShirzad Chamine. Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential. Austin, Texas: Greenleaf Books, 2012. 227 pages. Positive Intelligence falls into an interesting intersection between self-help books and business strategy books. That’s certainly no accident; for most people, work is one the primary ways they express themselves. And, as we all
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book reviewsIn response to this photo and Bat-Signal request for more info, I wanted to post a link to an Atlantic City history column I’d written for Casino Connection a few (nine) years back. Turns out that it’s one of the 10 or so AC history pieces not in the Casino Connection archives. Looking at the
World War One and Atlantic City Read More »
atlantic cityI’ve got something besides today’s Green Felt Journal in today’s Vegas Seven: a look at Revel, Atlantic City’s latest casino: Revel, Atlantic City’s first new casino in nearly a decade, has been called “Cosmopolitan East,” for its similarities, real and supposed to the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Like the Cosmo, it’s put a great deal
Atlantic City’s Last Great Hope? in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas Seven, writingIn today’s Green Felt Journal, I take a look at what the more restrained growth of the gaming industry will mean for Las Vegas: The American gaming scene is changing. Call it maturation, or an adaptation to the post-recession, long-recovery economy, but the industry is shifting. For the past generation, expansion has been the rule,
The End of Empire-Building? in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas Seven, writingI’ve got a very special Green Felt Journal out in today’s Vegas Seven. No, it’s not like a “very special episode” of Diff’rent Strokes or The Fact of Life that’s going to pontificate on a current social issue. Instead, I’m talking about the usual stuff I talk about in that space–gambling, casinos, and tourism–but in a
My Boardwalk Homecoming in Vegas Seven Read More »
atlantic city, Vegas Seven, writingArne K. Lang. The Nelson-Wolgast Fight and the San Francisco Boxing Scene, 1900-1914. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, 2012. 187 pages. Boxing today is nothing like it was a century ago. On one hand, it was a nearly-outlaw sport–many states had restrictions against professional fights or outright bans on public bouts, while others tolerated them.
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book reviewsThis week in the Green Felt Journal I wanted to revisit an issue that continue to be relevant: casino debt loads” It’s the dark matter of the Las Vegas casino business: there, but not readily apparent to the naked eye. You can spy reflections of it in deferred maintenance and longer check-in lines on the
Debt Matters in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas Seven, writingMy next Vegas Seven contribution is a short piece about the strange mixing of the past and present that’s coming to define Downtown Las Vegas: Downtown continues to mine a balanced—and, so far, successful—strategy of mixing Old Vegas nostalgia with modernized amenities. Nowhere is the Janus-faced approach that’s come to define downtown as apparent as
Time Travel on Fremont Street in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas Seven, writingToday’s a big day for me in Vegas Seven. I’ve got four different pieces in the magazine. Let’s start with the cover, which is some VT-inspired musings on Hunter S. Thompson, influence on Vegas literati: July 18 would have been Hunter S. Thompson’s 75th birthday. His name is linked with Las Vegas; more specifically, with
Vegas in the Gonzo Mirror in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas Seven, writingAndrew Blum. Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet. New York: Harper Collins, 2012. 304 pages. I have a hunch that you know a thing or two about the Internet. After all, you’re reading this review on it, so at the very least you use it every one in a while. But most
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book reviewsToday, I can offer you a double-shot of prose pieces featuring a game called Double Action Roulette. First, this week’s Green Felt Journal takes a look at the odds against new table games, focusing on Double Action Roulette: Sometimes it seems like there are more people with ideas for new casino games than gamblers. From
Double Double Action in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas Seven, writingToday’s Vegas Seven includes a short piece I wrote about a Las Vegas start-up that’s worth looking at: Walls 360, a local wall-graphics producer, has just announced a partnership with Moshi Monsters, an online virtual pet community think Neopets meets Pokémon with 65 million registered pre-teen users. And the company, which is based just south
Wall-Spocks Are the Future in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas Seven, writingRichard D. “Skip” Bronson with Andrew Meisler and A. M. Silver. The War at the Shore: Donald Trump, Steve Wynn, and the Epic War to Save Atlantic City. New York: Overland Press, 2012. 220 pages. Many people are fascinated by the high-stakes world of casino development. Deals get announced that create thousands of jobs and
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atlantic city, book reviewsA few weeks ago I got to sit down and talk with a UNLV grad who’s gone pretty far in the Vegas hotel business and is poised to go further. The results of that talk? Today’s Vegas Seven cover story, a profile of Jon Gray: For one, the $550 million shopping and entertainment district between
Jon Gray and Linq in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas Seven, writingYesterday I wrote a blog piece for Vegas Seven about the significance of Fertitta Interactive launching Ultimate Gaming: The story here isn’t so much the debut of a new online gaming platform. It’s the way that Ultimate will be branded and marketed. The Fertittas will align their betting platform with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the
Fertittas, UFC, and Online Gaming in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas Seven, writing