How games of chance reflect and influence the world around us.
The last of my trilogy of Tropicana birthday/anniversary pieces is this blog post from UNLV Special Collections that looks at a different era of the Strip mainstay that is celebrating its 60th: For research into the Tropicana, one of the best resources is the Tropicana Promotional and Publicity Material Collection, nine boxes of press clippings, […]
Visiting the Island at UNLV Special Collections Read More »
gambling & cultureThe first London (semi-private) club devoted mostly to gambling, White’s, opened in 1697. These clubs were an outgrowth of earlier coffee and chocolate houses, where like-minded Londoners gathered to get refreshed, gossip, and do business. It was only a matter of time before some of them agreed that cards and dice were the best business going and formed their own club.
You can read more about London gambling clubs in Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling.
Go here to read an excerpt from the book, or learn where to buy your copy.
First London gambling club Read More »
fromthebook, gambling & cultureFor the first 20 or so years, Las Vegas Strip casino restaurants were strictly loss leaders, with the fare passable but nothing to write home about.
Chester Simms, general manager of the Flamingo, changed that when he opened the Candlelight Room, the Strip’s first real gourmet restaurants, in 1961. Today we’re used to casinos sourcing seafood from all over the world, but flying in fresh Maine lobsters daily was innovative fifty years ago.
You can read much more about the Flamingo and other casinos, in Las Vegas and around the world, in Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling.
Go here to read an excerpt from the book, or learn where to buy your copy.
LV Strip’s 1st Gourmet Casino Dining Read More »
fromthebook, gambling & culture
Today I’ve added three excerpts from Roll the Bones to the site to give you a little flavor of the book if you haven’t picked up a copy already. Enjoy!
This is the introductory overview to the book, giving an idea of its scope—and the changes in the Casino Edition.
This excerpt, from chapter 10, “A Place in the Sun,” explains how the Mob carved out influence on the Las Vegas Strip in the 1950s and 1960s, and why it was so dominant.
The opening pages of chapter 12, “America’s Playground…Again” discuss the rebirth and rise to (brief) dominance of Atlantic City’s casinos in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
To learn where you can buy Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling, please visit here.
Three excerpts from Roll the Bones Read More »
atlantic city, author, gambling & culture, life in vegasThe author talks about what Roll the Bones covers, and gives a little of the publishing backstory.
The author talks about what Roll the Bones covers, and gives a… Read More »
book, gambling & culture, interviewIn today’s Green Felt Journal in Vegas Seven, I’ve got a piece about Chinese New Year’s impact on Las Vegas: Some people might consider the massive New Year’s Eve celebration—“America’s Party”—the ultimate night for Las Vegas casinos. True, that bash attracts more than 300,000 people each year. But ask the people charged with making money
The Rise of Chinese New Year in Vegas Seven Read More »
gambling & culture, Vegas SevenI’m pretty excited about the upcoming Gaming Research Colloquium talk that we’re hosting at UNLV: Please join us at 12:15 PM, Thursday, Feb. 24, as February Gaming Research Fellow Darryl A. Smith delivers a Gaming Research Colloquium talk titled “’Dark with Excessive Bright:’ Gambling Tells and the Gaming Taboo.” Smith, an assistant professor of religious
2/24 UNLV Gaming Research Colloquium: Professor Darryl A. Smith Read More »
gambling & cultureThis story’s only tangentially about gambling, but it’s interesting in a quirky sort of way. From the Malaysian Star: A Malaysian maid working in Hong Kong has reportedly won over HK$30mil RM12mil in a local lottery, China Press reported.The middle-aged woman is a helper at the mansion of Angela Leong, the fourth wife of casino
Ho’s wife’s maid wins the lottery Read More »
gambling & cultureI have just been sent a series of haiku that summarize articles about various aspects of casino gambling. I thought I would share a few with you. When the Chips are Down Gambling took a hit; Gambling’s more than Nevada And vice versa. Source: A special report on gambling “When the chips are down” THE
A few casino haiku Read More »
gambling & cultureHey everyone, I’ve just posted a new occasional paper over at http://gaming.unlv.edu. It’s part of a bigger study of locals sports books by recent UNLV sociology Ph.D. Fred Krauss: Fred Krauss. “Taking the Points: The Socialization Process of a Sports Book Regular.” Patrons of a casino sports book use the environment for much more than
New Occasional Paper at UNLV Read More »
gambling & cultureThere’s another article about casino carpet available today–this is a little piece in Wired magazine: “The carpets definitely play a big part in keeping the town as surreal as it is,” said Maluszynski by e-mail. “Thought has been given to the carpeting by people who want to create this special atmosphere, [one] that defines Vegas
Vegas carpet in Wired Read More »
gambling & cultureIt’s Thursday, and if you like my writing for Vegas Seven, it’s a lucky Thursday, since I’ve got my usual Green Felt Journal column and a more in-depth Latest Word. The Latest Word piece takes a philosophical and even theological look at poker, winning, and losing: In other words, poker isn’t always fair. Of course,
Vegas Seven double shot Read More »
gambling & culture, news about gambling, writingBased on a discussion in my Gambling and the Media class, I wrote a little essay about how gambling’s depicted in film and literature. Now it’s a Las Vegas Business Press column: Looking at how gambling is depicted in books, films, and television says a lot about how people perceive the pastime, but it often
Writing about gambling Read More »
gambling & cultureThis might be the nuttiest gambling story of the year. You’ve got to read it to believe it. From the Independent Online: Traditional beliefs about the clairvoyant powers of vultures could spell trouble for the birds as gamblers look for a sure bet during the World Cup. According to muti tradition, eating the brains of
Gamblers & vulture brains Read More »
gambling & cultureI’ve posted the latest in the Occasional Paper Series over at the Center for Gaming Research. It’s a great read: Paper 03: May 2010 Theodore Whiting. “The History of Baccarat,” Occasional Paper Series 3. Las Vegas: Center for Gaming Research, University Libraries, University of Nevada Las Vegas, 2010. Abstract: The true origins of modern Baccarat
New paper on Baccarat Read More »
gambling & culture, what's newPart-time economist and full-time curmudgeon Andy Rooney trashed the gambling business in a recent 60 Minutes piece: The thing that bothers me most about gambling is that people fritter away money so they don’t get to spend it on things that someone else has been paid to produce. Gambling produces nothing. There’s only so much
Andy Rooney takes on gambling Read More »
gambling & cultureI think someone’s got their semantics wrong in this Card Player article about legalizing at-home poker in South Carolina: This week, after a hearing that included testimony from the Poker Players Alliance, a local businessman and poker player, and a number of elected officials, a South Carolina House sub-committee voted 4-1 to change the state’s
“Socialized poker” coming to South Carolina Read More »
gambling & culture, news about gamblingIn addition to my regular Green Felt Journal column this week, I’ve got a “Latest Thought” for your perusal in Vegas Seven: There hasn’t been much written about locals casinos on the scholarly front, so Nedelec, a geographer, shared a conclusion from a chapter in 1999’s The Real Las Vegas: Life Beyond the Strip edited
Hitting the jackpot in Clark County Read More »
gambling & culture, life in vegas, writingFrom an interview recorded last week comes this week’s UNLV Gaming Podcast: This podcast features an interview with the Executive Director of the National Council on Problem Gambling recorded March 25, 2010 at the Nevada State Conference on Problem Gambling, held at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.. Whyte talks about how he become
New UNLV Podcast: Keith Whyte Read More »
gambling & culture, what's newIf you like casino capers, here’s one from Switzerland, via the New Zealand Herald News: A masked gang armed with machine guns and pistols staged a spectacular robbery at a Swiss casino dubbed “Las Vegas in Europe” last night and escaped with hundreds of thousands of euros after terrifying gamblers by firing shots into the