Casinos in Atlantic City continue to post revenue declines, as the July number prove. From the AC Press: Casino revenue sank to its lowest level in 12 years in July, another ominous sign that there will be no summer turnaround for the troubled gaming industry. In what is ordinarily the biggest money-making month on the […]
The Las Vegas UFL team finally has a name that draws on the city’ history. Check out the press release: At a press conference today, United Football League Commissioner Michael Huyghue announced the Las Vegas franchise will be named the Locomotives and unveiled innovative team uniforms showcasing the Locomotives’ “Premiere” season colors of silver, blue
Howard J. Morris and Jenny Lee. Women Are Crazy, Men Are Stupid: The Simple Truth to a Complicated Relationship. New York: Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 2009. 240 pages. Relationship books are always popular, and since a flood of books by purported experts hasn’t stopped couples from breaking up, why not a book by a boyfriend/girlfriend pair
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book reviewsEarlier this week over at gaming.unlv.edu we rolled out our latest project: the 2009 Las Vegas Casino/Hotel Impact Survey. It’s a new start for the center but also a return to the past. Let me explain… In 1980, accounting firm Laventhal and Horwath conducted a “Recession Impact Study” that polled executives at Las Vegas casinos
The 2009 Recession Impact Study is underway Read More »
what's newNot much time to write because of a big project I’m working on, but I’ve posted the latest UNLV Gaming Podcast: it’s an interview done at the Casino Marketing Conference with Nichole Barker and Hetty Fore, who share their expertise about casinos using the “new media” to talk to patrons and potential customers. You can
New UNLV Gaming Podcast: Casinos and New Media Read More »
what's newThe gaming industry lost another pioneer this week, Jeanne Hood, who led downtown Las Vegas’ Four Queens for many years. From the LVRJ: Hood took over as president and chief executive officer of the Four Queens upon the death of her husband, David Hood, in 1977. In 1985, she became president and chief executive officer
Another pioneer passes Read More »
news about gamblingA story in the Las Vegas Sun on Friday gives me a jumping-off point for a somewhat-extended discussion of slot hold: Longtime gamblers have been saying it for months: If you want people to play in your casino during the recession, reduce the hold on your slot machines. A panel of marketing experts validated that
Lower your slot hold, get more players? Read More »
news about gamblingDonald McRae. The Last Trials of Clarence Darrow. New York: William Morrow, 2009. 422 pages. Clarence Darrow was one of the most polarizing figures of the early 20th century. He was at the forefront of several of the era’s most widely publicized trials, including the McNamara brothers’ 1912 trial for allegedly bombing the LA Times
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book reviewsFollowing up on yesterday’s post about Nevada regulation, here’s a story that demonstrates the need for strict internal controls in Florida, from the Miami New Times: For some employees, Gulfstream Park was a hell of a place to work, full of cocaine and free gambling. When the scheme was finally discovered in 2007, hundreds of
Cocaine and free gambling in Florida Read More »
news about gamblingThere’s a great article by Liz Benston in the LV Sun today about the investigation that ultimately deprived a nightclub of its license: Managing a Las Vegas nightclub requires the deft and daring skill of operating a party environment that almost crosses the line into illegal activity. Anything less would be considered too tame to
Prive investigation and gaming regulation Read More »
news about gamblingInteresting editorial piece about the hypocrisy of the major US sports leagues when it comes to gambling from the KC Star: Late last week, the four major professional sports leagues NBA, MLB, NFL and the NHL, along with the NCAA, filed a complaint against the state of Delaware in federal court in Wilmington, seeking to
Here’s something to remind us that an oceanfront view can be great, but an oceanfront smell isn’t always the best. From the AC Press: Local beach patrols reported spotting mussels along area beaches Sunday, but so far there have been no problems. Atlantic City Beach Patrol Chief Rod Aluise said there were some mussels on
Here’s more evidence that Las Vegas never was recession-proof. This is taken from Parry Thomas’ biography, Quiet Kingmaker. As the most important banker to the gaming industry from 1955 to the 1980s, he knows what he’s talking about: In my first twelve years here in Nevada [1955-1967] we went through at least three depressions locally
Never. Recession. Proof. Read More »
news about gamblingJack Sheehan. Quiet Kingmaker of Las Vegas: E. Parry Thomas. Las Vegas: Stephens Press, 2009. 346 pages. Wow. That was my reaction to finding out that a biography of Parry Thomas was coming out. Thomas, the man who it said said “flipped the switch that turned on the lights in Las Vegas,” is easily one
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book reviewsI saw this back on Sunday in the LVRJ and thought I’d share it: The Vegas Club has introduced a new low-limit “Fetish Pit” beginning at 7 p.m. every Thursday through Saturday. Dealers are dressed as “naughty nurses,” “sexy school girls,” “risqué female cops” or “leather-clad biker chicks” while pole dancers perform on a raised
Interesting story on the M resort a few days ago in the LV Sun. My eyes lit up when I saw this bit, because it answered a crucial question: what’s been going on with the Boulder Strip’s roulette hold percentage since March? Marnell says he doesn’t shy away from volatility because he knows the casino
Volatility in practice Read More »
news about gamblingInspired by Gerald Davis’ Managed by the Markets, I wrote an LVBP column about similarities between gaming companies and other ones. My bold suggestion is that the gaming industry is more like than unalike others: As big as the companies that run Las Vegas casinos seem in this town, they're really on the small side
It’s never too early to start planning your next writing workshop, particularly if you’re planning to be in Cape May, New Jersey next January 15-18. If you’re inclined towards brief non-fiction (and who isn’t…except for those of us who like lengthy fiction?) you may want to consider beating the crowd and registering now for one
Getting to the point Read More »
writingJohn Buntin. L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America’s Most Seductive City. New York: Harmony Books, 2009. 409 pages. In this lengthy exposition of Los Angeles police and corruption, John Buntin examines the career of two Angelenos: Bill Parker, who became one of the LAPD’s most important–and controversial–chiefs, and Mickey Cohen, who occupied
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book reviewsAlong with word that business in Las Vegas is “bouncing along the bottom,” the big news today is the latest in celebrity bad marker cases, former NBA star Antoine Walker. From the LVRJ: Walker faces three felony counts related to writing bad checks at Las Vegas casinos between July 2008 and January 2009. According to
Another day, another bad marker case Read More »
news about gambling