writing

Craftily arranged nouns, verbs, and more.

New Bookseller Partner

Roll the Bones • Roll the Bones, a gambling history • October 25, 2013 • retail

There is now another place to get Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling (Casino Edition).

The Gamblers Book Club, probably the biggest seller of books about gambling in the world, is now stocking signed copies of the book.

You can buy them in person at the store (5473 S Eastern Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89119) or purchase them online.

Each copy that is for sale through the Gamblers Book Club is signed by me, so if you’ve wanted a signed copy, this could be your chance to get one.

New Bookseller Partner Read More »

Forward to the Future at G2E | Vegas Seven

Vegas Seven • Dave • October 16, 2013 • aga, g2e, green felt journal, vegas seven, victor rocha

In this week’s Green Felt Journal, I consider the real significance of this year’s Global Gaming Expo: The casino industry isn’t known for being introspective; the focus is usually strictly on the bottom line and the here and now. But the annual Global Gaming Expo, held late last month at the Sands Expo Center, is

Forward to the Future at G2E | Vegas Seven Read More »

Grandissimo on the cover of Vegas Seven

Vegas Seven • Grandissimo • October 10, 2013 • grandissimo, media

That’s right, this week’s Vegas Seven magazine is the official Grandissimo launch issue. The book even made the cover:

There are three book-related stories in the magazine this week:

A contributor’s note where I share a little background on the book
An excerpt from the book called “The Rise of Caesar”
An original essay, “A Kingdom of Darker Magic,” exploring the theory that Jay Sarno was the Walt Disney of Las Vegas

I am thrilled to have this chance to introduce the book to people. And that cover is just beautiful. Thank you to my editor Greg Blake Miller and everyone at Seven who made this happen.

Grandissimo on the cover of Vegas Seven Read More »

In Monte Carlo, Back to the Past | Vegas Seven

Vegas Seven • Dave • September 25, 2013 • life in vegas, monaco, monte carlo, vegas seven

If you have heard the most recent Vegas Gang podcast, you heard my thoughts on Monte Carlo. In this week’s Green Felt Journal, I elaborate: If you were born in a gambling city back when that meant you were a little different from everyone else, you grew up vaguely holding Monte Carlo as the platonic

In Monte Carlo, Back to the Past | Vegas Seven Read More »

For Linq’s Future, Image Is Everything | Vegas Seven

Vegas Seven • Dave • September 11, 2013 • Caesars entertainment, fotobar, linq, vegas seven, warren struhl

In this week’s Green Felt Journal, I take a closer look at how one of Linq’s new tenants fits in: That’s where Linq comes in. As with most Caesars decisions, each element of the development has been meticulously analyzed. The observation wheel, for example, was chosen over other attractions because, in survey and focus groups,

For Linq’s Future, Image Is Everything | Vegas Seven Read More »

The Book That Tried to End Las Vegas | Vegas Seven

Vegas Seven • Dave • September 5, 2013 • cover, feature, green felt jungle, organized crime, vegas seven

There is no Green Felt Journal in this week’s Vegas Seven. But I did write the cover story, a historical dissection of the notorious Green Felt Jungle: When Trident Press released The Green Felt Jungle on December 13, 1963, it promised to tell the real story of Las Vegas. Most residents winced; this could only be bad

The Book That Tried to End Las Vegas | Vegas Seven Read More »

Crime and Perception | Vegas Seven

Vegas Seven • Dave • August 28, 2013 • casinos, crime, las vegas strip, vegas seven

In today’s Green Felt Journal, I take on a subject that some in the industry don’t like discussing–whether high-profile crimes mean the Strip is less safe than it should be: When tragedy strikes, police and tourism officials are usually quick to stress that these are random events in an otherwise safe city. They point to

Crime and Perception | Vegas Seven Read More »

The Other Convention Business | Vegas Seven

Vegas Seven • Dave • August 14, 2013 • convention, family reunions, vegas seven

In today’s Green Felt Journal, I look at the growth of Las Vegas as a family reunion destination. It all really fits: Family-friendly Las Vegas never went away—it just doesn’t get the same press as nightclub Las Vegas or tech-startup Las Vegas. For proof, look no further than the burgeoning business the city does in

The Other Convention Business | Vegas Seven Read More »

Poker Pioneers | Vegas Seven

Vegas Seven • Dave • July 25, 2013 • online poker, ultimate poker, vegas seven

In today’s Green Felt Journal, I look at a few of the personalities behind Ultimate Poker: Online poker seems so … unearthly. Hands are dealt on a glowing screen. Cards are made out of pixels, not pasteboard. And yet it’s here, and it’s very real. For now, there’s one company that offers online poker in

Poker Pioneers | Vegas Seven Read More »

Smokeless on the Strip? | Vegas Seven

Vegas Seven • Dave • July 11, 2013 • las vegas strip, smoking, vegas seven

In this week’s Green Felt Journal, I tackle the issue of smoking in casinos on the Las Vegas Strip: The implicit question raised in those cheeky billboards is this: Smoking is banned in restaurants, movie theaters and indoor arenas. Why is it still permitted in Nevada casinos? The short answer: because casinos were exempted from

Smokeless on the Strip? | Vegas Seven Read More »

GRANDISSIMO is coming

writing • Dave • July 7, 2013 • grandissimo, jay sarno

With Roll the Bones out now, I’ve dove back into GRANDISSIMO. In the past few weeks I’ve given the manuscript its hopefully final major edit and have started to flesh out GrandissimoBook.com. You can now read Who is Jay Sarno to get a sense of the man GRANDISSIMO is about, and see the Cast of Characters. My next step is

GRANDISSIMO is coming Read More »

JFK in Las Vegas | Vegas Seven

Vegas Seven • Dave • July 3, 2013 • frank sinatra, john f kennedy, life in vegas, vegasseven

In this week’s Vegas Seven, I’ve got the cover story: a look back on John F. Kennedy’s visits to Las Vegas: It was a meeting for the ages: the midcentury King of Cool getting together with one of the nation’s fastest-rising political stars. The star of From Here to Eternity and the hero of PT

JFK in Las Vegas | Vegas Seven Read More »

Pin Interest | Vegas Seven

Vegas Seven • Dave • June 26, 2013 • bowling, station casinos, vegas seven

In this week’s Green Felt Journal, I take up bowling, which seems to be heading towards a renaissance in Las Vegas. Las Vegas’ first casino bowling alley opened in 1959 when the off-Strip Showboat added lanes as part of its successful effort to refocus on locals, driving growth at the property for the next 20

Pin Interest | Vegas Seven Read More »

Casino Concentration and the Logic of Empire | Vegas Seven

Vegas Seven • Dave • June 12, 2013 • las vegas strip, vegas seven

For this week’s Green Felt Journal, I offer you an 800-word version of the 10,000-word paper I presented at the International Conference on Gambling and Risk-Taking. It’s my attempt to assess whether the mid-decade spate of mergers was good for anyone…and from what I’ve discovered, it looks like the answer is “not really.” From Vegas

Casino Concentration and the Logic of Empire | Vegas Seven Read More »

Investing in America | Vegas Seven

Vegas Seven • Dave • May 31, 2013 • eb-5, life in vegas, vegas seven, visa

Busy week, so I’m just posting this week’s Green Felt Journal about the EB-5 program, which is changing Las Vegas: “Invest In Your American Dream,” reads the text next to a photo of the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign. The words are quickly replaced by “LAS VEGAS EB5 IMMIGRATION CENTER IS YOUR BEST CHOICE,”

Investing in America | Vegas Seven Read More »

The History of Our Future | Vegas Seven

Vegas Seven • Dave • May 16, 2013 • casinos, life in vegas, macau, vegas seven

I’ve been wanting to write more about Macau, which is such a huge gambling story, for a while, and when given a feature slot for Vegas Seven, jumped on the chance to talk about Macau’s impact on Las Vegas. The result is this week’s cover story: Back in the early days—2006 or so—American executives signing

The History of Our Future | Vegas Seven Read More »

One Game’s Wild Ride | Vegas Seven

Vegas Seven • Dave • May 9, 2013 • caribbean stud poker, table games, vegas seven

Last Sunday, on a short deadline for my Green Felt Journal, I suddenly got inspired. I recalled that Caribbean Stud Poker no longer had a separate line item in the monthly Gaming Revenue Report (these things apparently stick in my head), and figured, that’s got to be worth a column. Some digging for numbers and

One Game’s Wild Ride | Vegas Seven Read More »

MGM’s Park Will Be Good in Vegas Seven

Vegas Seven • Dave • April 26, 2013 • caesars, las vegas strip, linq, mgm, park, vegas seven

In addition to the two features (Light and space) in this week’s Vegas Seven, I have a Green Felt Journal, which talks about the probably impact of MGM’s proposed Park development: How about getting back to urban basics and creating a worthwhile street-level experience? That’s what MGM did on April 18 with the formal announcement

MGM’s Park Will Be Good in Vegas Seven Read More »

Anatomy of a Nightclub | Vegas Seven

Vegas Seven • Dave • April 26, 2013 • light, nightclubs, nightlife, vegas seven

I already shared one feature I had in this week’s Vegas Seven: my piece on space tourism and Vegas with a sidebar on Zero-G, which currently flies out of McCarran. I also wrote a feature on the evolution of nightclubs, as seen in the soon-to-open Light at Mandalay Bay: With all that success, it’s no

Anatomy of a Nightclub | Vegas Seven Read More »

Vegas to the Moon! in Vegas Seven

Vegas Seven • Dave • April 24, 2013 • life in vegas, space, space tourism, vegas seven, virgin

A few weeks back I got an email about an event connected to the launch of Virgin America’s thrice-daily LAX-LAS flights. I usually don’t go to those kinds of events–there’s not too much to “cover” outside of photo ops. But I got thinking…wouldn’t it be fun to ask Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson how Vegas

Vegas to the Moon! in Vegas Seven Read More »