Everything about casinos, lotteries, racetracks, and other gambling businesses: news, design, and corporate intrigue.
We’re having a great talk next Thursday night down at the library. It’s been on the gaming.unlv.edu schedule for a while, but I thought it would be nice to offer a friendly reminder: "There Were Few Solid Facts to Get in the Way": Popular Perceptions of Bugsy Siegel as Founding Father of Las Vegas A […]
Bugsy unearthed at UNLV! Read More »
life in vegas, news about gamblingI’ve been watching reruns of Classic Trek lately (that’s Star Trek: The Original Series for purists, or The One With Kirk and Spock for those with a non-geek awareness of the show), and it gave me an idea: what if the new wave of Las Vegas casinos and condos is Star Trek: The Next Generation
To boldly go where no analogy has gone before Read More »
news about gamblingIt’s hard to believe, but the Bellagio is a decade old. Ten years ago today, Steve Wynn taught the fountains to play…metaphorically, I guess. That’s right, on October 15, 1998, the Bellagio opened its doors. Here’s a reminder from the October 15, 1998 LV Sun: And so it begins: the latest, the greatest — and
Happy birthday Bellagio Read More »
news about gamblingThis stuff just writes itself. The Atlantic City one-week smoking ban-ban, which I derided as a hallmark of small-town politics, is going to get longer–because a councilman is on vacation. From the http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/186/story/284950.html: A City Council member's vacation cruise will extend a casino smoking ban for an extra five days to at least 12 days.
More small-town fun Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingI found this draft that I forgot to post last week, and thought it might be topical. Enjoy. Trop wants to make a comeback in Atlantic City. It’s kind of like asking the girl who dumped you at homecoming to go to the prom. From Newsday: Tropicana Entertainment LLC, whose corporate affiliates were stripped of
Like me, you’ve probably got town hall fatigue from this grueling election season. But here is a town hall-type meeting you might want to attend: A panel discussion on the ins and outs of the gambling industry will be held October 14, from 10 a.m. to noon, at UNLVs Paradise Campus. Admission is free. Mark
State of the state of gambling Read More »
news about gamblingHere is a classic “only in Atlantic City” story: the city’s casinos must ban smoking for a week because it will take that long for the city council to vote on delaying the ban for a year. Huh? From the AC Press: On Wednesday, Atlantic City is supposed to become the largest casino market in
The official investigation might have given the Donaghy affair the all-clear, but the numbers seem to tell another story. From Jeff Haney at the LV Sun: Throughout the saga of disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy, Las Vegas sports betting analyst R.J. Bell has done a thorough job of examining the scandal from a point-spread perspective.
Stats tell a different story Read More »
news about gamblingJeff Haney over at the LV Sun’s had a bad run with Vegas sports books recently. In his latest column, he comes just short of calling for an immediate ban on all sports betting. Here’s the apex of the piece: My opinion of elected public officials places them slightly below Saturday morning scamdicapper slime on
Sporrts betting rampage Read More »
news about gamblingRight now, Missouri won’t let you lose more than $500 in its casinos in any single two-hour period, and you’ve got to swipe your player card to get “on board.” But that might change this election year, according to Forbes: Supporters say it doesn’t matter that the gambling industry wrote and bankrolled the promotion of
MO to lose loss limits? Read More »
news about gamblingWhen the Trop AC first went on sale (it seems like a decade ago), a newspaper reporter asked me how much I thought it would get. I considered the Sands’ recent selling price and made a quick mental tally of the Trop’s relative size. “$650 million, ” I replied. “Maybe $700 million. The next day,
What’s Trop worth? Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingInteresting piece in the LA Times today about yet another one-day casino: Las Vegas casino openings typically demand red carpets, cocktail parties, celebrity guest lists and fireworks. But not so at the Queen of Hearts — it's a one-day casino. This spartan, eight-hour event is everything the Strip is not: small, unpretentious and quiet, with
With the on-going economic tough times, some casinos have tightened up their slot machines. Some have clamped down on comps. Others have fired people, while even more have just plain gotten cheap. But they still lead their customers to believe that their stays will be grandiose: patrons are promised world class dining, service, and entertainment.
Low expectations are funny Read More »
news about gamblingHey, maybe the Atlantic City Council reads this blog. It looks like they’re suddenly saying the same thing I was two weeks ago about Pinnacle. From the AC Press: In November 2006, the Sands Casino Hotel closed its doors to make way for incoming Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. At the time, Pinnacle Chairman Dan Lee said
Pinnacle deadlines? Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingThe state of Nevada gives you a pretty wide berth when it comes to where you put your slot machines. Mostly they are in age-restricted places like casinos and bars, but you can also find them in family-friendly supermarkets and airports. At the Reno-Tahoe Airport, you can literally buy a Happy Meal just feet away
Slotless bars in topless clubs Read More »
news about gamblingI’ve got two new articles elsewhere on the web, including a piece in the LVBP where I ponder the strangely-bifurcated marketing strategy at Paris Las Vegas: While browsing a popular online travel Web site recently, I noticed something strange: There are two major resort hotels at 3655 Las Vegas Boulevard South. The listing for Paris
…but I see a silver lining. In fact, you could argue that things are getting a whole lot better. It’s just a matter of perspective. Specifically, we’re talking about July’s Nevada gaming revenues being down. From the LV Sun: For the seventh straight month, casino winnings on the Strip slumped, falling 14.6 percent in July
Things are getting worse… Read More »
news about gamblingSince I’ve been downtown on other business lately, I’ve had the opportunity to update, at last, the Downtown Las Vegas Casino Carpet Gallery. There are some neat things happening down there, and some not-so-neat things. My favorite “new” carpet (since the last time I’d taken pictures) has to be the California’s: it puts a new,
Downtown revisited Read More »
news about gamblingAfter surviving in Atlantic City, “electronic poker” is finally in Vegas. From the LVRJ: A Las Vegas poker dealer, who for obvious reasons did not want to give his name, had conflicting reactions while trying out the new electronic poker tables at the Excalibur. As a dealer, he hated the 10-player tables which are fully
Robo-poker at the Excal Read More »
news about gamblingThis probably isn’t new, but it’s the first time I’ve seen it, and I thought it was interesting. Apparently, there are two hotels at 3655 LV Blvd South. Sure, Paris Las Vegas is there, but according to Orbitz so is this place, which gets its own entry: Gay Paris Las Vegas 3655 Las Vegas Boulevard