Craftily arranged nouns, verbs, and more.
The latest Green Felt Journal is out in Vegas Seven. I take a look at a few vendors at this year’s Global Gaming Expo and then talk about the bigger significance of the show: Purveyors to the gaming industry have three chances a year to show off their wares: the two Global Gaming Expos and […]
G2E smells sweet in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenMulling over two seemingly contradictory bits of news–that the Justice Department had labeled Full Tilt Poker a “global Ponzi scheme” and that the AGA was launching a renewed push for the legalization of online poker–I got to thinking. It’s a dangerous pastime, I know, but in this case it led me to my latest column
Tectonic shift for gaming in the Business Press Read More »
Las Vegas Business PressInspired by a conversation with September Gaming Research Fellow Kah-Wee Lee, I wrote a Green Felt Journal for Vegas Seven about Singapore and Las Vegas: Imagine a casino-resort complex built by a world-renowned architect responsible for iconic buildings on multiple continents. From the start, it’s designed to be more than a mere gambling hall: It
Hiding Vices in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenMy column in this week’s Las Vegas Business Press takes a deeper look at July’s Nevada gaming revenue numbers. The more I thought about them, the more I thought that a good month might not be such bad news: On Sept. 12, the Nevada Gaming Control Board released its July gaming revenue report. In both
Good July might be great news in the LVBP Read More »
Las Vegas Business PressMy piece on the Riviera is out in Vegas Seven as of yesterday. Busy day, so I didn’t have time to post this. It’s this week’s Green Felt Journal: As destroy/erase/improve gives way to rework/repaint/recycle, older Las Vegas hotels that a few years ago might have been imploded have gotten new leases on life. Over
Riviera’s Rebirth in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenMy column in this week’s Las Vegas Business Press is out. It’s a meditation on what less ambitious Strip developments really mean for Las Vegas. With just about everyone in the industry mistaking the 2005-2007 boom for a new normal, it made tons of sense to trade in your sun-faded casino for a newer, bigger
Dreamer’s paradise reality check in the LVBP Read More »
Las Vegas Business Press, life in vegasWhen I was at the Linq-announcing press conference, I had many questions about how building this project would impact the casinos it will linq together. So I asked them. The result is this week’s Green Felt Journal in Vegas Seven: With all due respect to artists’ renderings, the recent unveiling of plans for Caesars Entertainment’s
Linq’s stirring up the Strip in Vegas Seven Read More »
life in vegas, Vegas SevenLast week when I first tweeted news that O’Sheas was being closed as part of the great Linq construction, I got a lot of questions, testimonials, and eulogies about beer pong. So I asked Rick Mazer (I’m too tired to retype his entire title, but he’s in charge of CZR’s Center Strip properties) what was
Beer Pong Forever! in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenThis week’s Las Vegas Business Press column looks at a travel operator I met in the vendors’ room at Creation Entertainment’s Las Vegas Star Trek convention: We all know that its getting harder and harder to bring visitors and their money to Las Vegas. But a small startup that specializes in connecting people with the
Geek niche in the Las Vegas Business Press Read More »
Las Vegas Business PressAt long last, an article that I wrote during the recent Creation Entertainment Star Trek convention is out as this week’s Green Felt Journal in Vegas Seven: The first thing you see walking into McFadden’s at the Rio is William Shatner in his full late-1960s Technicolor glory on one of the wide-screens that’s usually devoted
Trekkie Nightlife in Vegas Seven Read More »
life in vegas, Vegas SevenMy Las Vegas Business Press column on the dubious benefits of cost-cutting in a hospitality company is out today: It goes without saying that there are several ways to cut costs. Shaving off some perks — first-class travel for jet-setting execs or caviar in the employee dining room — makes eminently good sense when revenues
Cut costs or invest? in the LVBP Read More »
Las Vegas Business Press, life in vegasGoing through my “My Documents” folder, I happened across something I wrote just after the Aria opening. It’s pointless little anecdote about my completely inconsequential run-in with Cesar Pelli. This was back when I still had the energy to write things on spec, which is broke writer-speak for “no one’s hired me to do this,
Something that never found a home Read More »
writingI didn’t post this here when it was first published, but this is a piece I wrote on eleven pioneers of Indian gaming for Tribal Government Gaming magazine: Indian gaming is a relatively new phenomenon. If someone had casually mentioned driving to an Indian reservation to play blackjack in 1978, they’d have been sent to
Indian gaming pioneers in Tribal Government Gaming Read More »
writingToday Vegas Seven‘s gigantic, double-wide “best of” issue hits news racks everywhere around Las Vegas. I contributed a few items (see if you can guess them), but I wrote more than made the final cut. So, for your reading pleasure, to spark discussion and stimulate debate, I’m sharing what I wrote here: Best Casino Memorabilia
In today’s Vegas Seven, you can read my brief profile of Joe Magliarditi: In his new job as president of the Palms, Joe Magliarditi sees some obvious reminders of his earlier experiences.The Rio, where he got his start in gaming in the 1990s, was the prototypical casino with a visitors/locals marketing split. The M Resort,
Joe Magliarditi profile in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIf you haven’t seen them already, I’d like to draw your attention to two recent items on Two Way Hard Three. First is my write-up of a serendipitous encounter with the Cosmopolitan street team: Late last week, the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas unveiled its latest secret weapon–a purple truck. Since its existence was confirmed on
In this week’s Las Vegas Business Press, I take a look at one aspect of Terry Lanni’s legacy: There’s already been a great deal written about his work at the helm of MGM Mirage, including his role in guiding the company through two mergers that created today’s MGM Resorts International, and his pioneering work with
Terry Lanni’s dignified diplomacy in the LVBP Read More »
Las Vegas Business PressIf you missed it, I had a short piece about what’s going on with the exterior of the Palazzo and Venetian in Vegas Seven: If you’ve been in the vicinity of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sands Avenue lately, you might have noticed some work being done on the Venetian/Palazzo megacomplex. Several weeks ago, the letters
Polishing the Palazzo in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIf you’ve missed it, I’ve got what I hope is a lighter look at today’s angry showgirl march up at Two Way Hard Three: If you love those Las Vegas Sun slideshow-riffic stories (15 intersections of certain death! click now!), you might like this quick, numbered list of potential future events that will likely never
Five Potential Strip Protest Marches at Two Way Hard Three Read More »
Two Way Hard ThreeToday I’ve got an extended feature piece in Vegas Seven that tries to lift the veil and see into the creative process that produces the ads that sells Vegas to the masses: Right now, R&R Partners, the company that’s been helping the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority sell the city since 1980, is producing
Behind ‘What Happens Here’ in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas Seven