I’ve got the Nevada gaming revenue comparison and analysis for February up. Here’s the executive summary: For Nevada’s gaming revenues, February 2011 had little to celebrate, though in some ways the numbers aren’t as dire as they seem at first glance. Comparatively, the Strip continues to outperform much of the state, but it is still […]
Feb. Nevada number comparison Read More »
Center for Gaming Research, news about gamblingI got an email a few weeks ago from Gena Marler, co-owner of the Vegas Box, asking me if I’d like to share news about her company on this blog. I thought it was an interesting idea, and I’m always in favor of giving start-ups some attention, so I decided to write a Green Felt
Vegas Box in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenEveryone’s been talking about the “Dotty’s issue” here in Vegas, so I thought I’d focus on an aspect that hasn’t received as much press–the moratorium that was in effect from December to April on new taverns. Here’s my Vegas Seven article: The debate over the “Dotty’s model” of a gaming tavern—an establishment with no kitchen,
Caught in the Crossfire in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenI’ve got a new occasional paper up. This one is a print distillation of RJ Rowley’s excellent Colloquium talk: Rex J. Rowley. “Where the Locals Play: Neighborhood Casino Landscapes in Las Vegas” ABSTRACT: Neighborhood casinos—gaming properties that target a primarily local market—are an influential feature on the Las Vegas cultural landscape. Such institutions reveal a
RJ Rowley paper posted at CGR Read More »
Center for Gaming ResearchI’ve got a new piece up in the Las Vegas Business Press about how the current debate over legalizing online gaming in Nevada is really informed by the past development of gaming in relation to technology. But I don’t think it’s as boring as it sounds: With the current debate over Assembly Bill 258, which
Gaming evolving to web/mobile in LVBP Read More »
Las Vegas Business PressHere’s a Vegas Seven story I had a lot of fun writing, about Downtown’s analog to the Cosmopolitan’s “hidden” pizzeria: a hidden casino: By now, everyone’s heard about the Cosmopolitan’s secret pizzeria. There’s no sign, and it’s down a hallway decorated with LPs, but they do serve a tasty slice. Apparently, a lot of people
Find DT’s hidden casino in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIt’s Thursday, so there’s a new Vegas Seven out. I’ve got two pieces in this one. Here’s the first, about betting on the Final Four: March might be mad, but it’s also pretty lucrative for Las Vegas sports books. Most of the big casinos make betting on the NCAA men’s basketball tournament the centerpiece of
The Big Finish in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenI’ve got a new piece up on Two Way Hard Three, about the Riviera’s recently-released annual report and what it says about the North Strip: Riviera Holdings Corp, the company that owns the bankrupt Riviera casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, recently released its annual report. The company had a rough year, and a
Riviera & North Strip’s plight in Two Way Hard Three Read More »
Two Way Hard ThreeMy final bit of writing for this week’s Vegas Seven is a Green Felt Journal column about the impact of a potential NFL work stoppage, exclusive of any lost gaming revenue. Here, I’m looking at how the locals would be impacted: That a work stoppage will hurt the casinos of Las Vegas—particularly on the Strip—is
Pondering life after football in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas Seven, writingA few weeks ago, I visited the Las Vegas Mob Experience at the Tropicana. I shared some of my thoughts here, and then thought about it some more. The result is a feature piece Vegas Seven magazine: With fedora-wearing ticket-takers and an almost-Technicolor presentation, it’s clear that the Mob Experience isn’t a dry, academic colloquium
Vegas Mob Scrubbed Clean in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas Seven, writingThis week I’ve got three separate pieces in Vegas Seven. The first is a short news item comparing and contrasting two Strip casinos with similar origins and dissimilar fates: The Tropicana and the Sahara are a study in contrasts despite some shared history; at opposite ends of the Strip, both holdovers from the 1950s managed
Sahara Vs. Trop in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas Seven, writingI’ve just posted the 30th UNLV Gaming Podcast–Benjamin Min Han’s excellent Gaming Research Colloquium talk that I recorded earlier today. Here’s the description: 30-March 24, 2011 Benjamin Min Han “We’re Right Next Door’: Televisual Las Vegas in Cold War America” Han, currently a graduate student in cinema studies at New York University, is looking at
New UNLV podcast up: Benjamin Min Han Read More »
Center for Gaming ResearchI’ve got a new column in the Las Vegas Business Press, in which I consider the meaning of the Sahara’s impending closure. Even in flush times, running a Las Vegas casino was never a license to print money. Casinos have changed hands, declared bankruptcy and even closed their doors. But the recently announced closing of
Sahara signals Strip woes in LVBP Read More »
Las Vegas Business Press, writingI’ve got another post up on Two Way Hard Three, breaking down AB 258, which would legalize online poker in Nevada: A bill currently on the floor of the Nevada legislature’s getting a lot of attention. AB 258 would legalize online poker in the state of Nevada and, with the consent of partner states, outside
Summary & thoughts about AB 258 on TWHT Read More »
Two Way Hard Three, writingMy first post at Two Way Hard Three is up–it’s a few thoughts where Nevada gaming’s headed right now (as opposed to six months ago): Last week, one of the local dailies ran a story reporting on the latest trend: baccarat and penny slots are big revenue producers for casinos, particularly on the Las Vegas
Bacc and penny thoughts on TWHT Read More »
Two Way Hard Three, writingAs you might have read over on Two Way Hard Three, I’m going to be blogging over there from now on. I’m really excited to be joining the TWHT team–I’ve admired Hunter’s work for years, and I really like the depth and analysis that Jeff Simpson brings to his pieces over there. I think that
The new Vegas Seven is available online now, and I’ve got an interesting piece about some happenings Downtown: The folks running downtown’s Las Vegas Club hotel-casino think the slot players are right. PlayLV, which operates the club for the multinational investment group Tamares, has embarked on an ambitious course of slot-loosening—and a pull-no-punches campaign to
Loosening Up Downtown in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIt’s pretty rare for a Strip casino to get knocked out. Sure, more than a few have taken the standing eight count of bankruptcy, but usually, no matter how far in debt a casino gets, it produces enough cash flow that the lenders would rather see it open than closed. The Sahara’s scheduled May closure,
Requiem for (a Vegas) Methuselah Read More »
writingTim Wu. The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 2010. 336 pages. This is a hard book to review because it’s really two book ideas melded into one: a history of the empire-building and empire-busting that characterized the first century of information industries, and a policy piece
Book Review: The Master Switch Read More »
book reviewsA profile piece that was a lot of fun to write is out today in Vegas Seven‘s Green Felt Journal. It’s the result of a long talk with Skylofts concierge Sherman James, who has quite a story: Sherman James might not be onstage when he arrives for work at 6 each morning at MGM Grand’s
Sherman James in Vegas Seven Read More »
life in vegas