Vegas Seven

The Stardust Hotel debuted 60 years ago  | The Mob Museum

I wrote a little something to commemorate the Stardust’s 60th birthday for the Mob Museum: The Stardust opened in a blaze of fireworks on July 2, 1958. With its 1,000 guest rooms, it was bigger than any hotel previously opened in Las Vegas. Size, rather than style, was the hotel’s most prominent feature. Its 16,000-square-foot […]

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Vegas Seven

What Richard Branson Means for Las Vegas and the Next Generation | Vegas Seven

It took some time to see the light of day, but I hope this lengthy consideration of Hard Rock, Virgin, and Las Vegas is a worthy read: Richard Branson made a splash on March 30 when he announced that he and a group of investors had bought the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, with plans

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Vegas Seven

Replicated History in the Community – Vegas Seven

My latest for Vegas Seven is about “fake” history in a real community: There’s a lot of talk about how quick Las Vegas is to throw out its history. (“Las Vegas” being used as shorthand for the resort operators who make many important decisions about the region’s most prominently built environments.) What’s missing is how

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Vegas Seven

Talking with Dalton Castle & Kelly Klein in Vegas Seven

I was lucky enough to interview two of the wrestlers who will be competing in this weekend’s Ring of Honor 16th Anniversary show at Sam’s Town Live and on PPV. First, I asked current ROH champ a few questions. Here’s the first one: Can you tell me about Dalton Castle’s road from Catalina Island (his

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Vegas Seven

The Past Is Still With Us: A Look Behind and Forward at Las Vegas’ history

In my latest at Vegas Seven, I muse about the shame of the recent past, which seems to be a perpetual thing in Las Vegas: There’s always been the perception in Las Vegas that the old days weren’t good, but the older days were great. Of course, here, the past is all relative. When I

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Vegas Seven

Understanding the Wynn Legacy and its Impact on Las Vegas

Since last night, I’ve had many, many questions about Steve Wynn. I decided to write up some of my thoughts, and Vegas Seven published them: The news of Steve Wynn’s resignation from the company he founded, Wynn Resorts, has brought more questions than answers in Las Vegas. Most of those questions won’t be answered for

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Vegas Seven

AI Could Change More Than the Game(s) in Las Vegas

I first wrote this about a month ago. I was just thinking about the potential impact of AI and automation on Las Vegas. And now you can read it: Since the invention of the slot machine over 100 years ago, automation has been a part of gambling, generally for the better. And yet recent developments

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Vegas Seven

National Finals Rodeo More Necessary Than Ever in Vegas Seven

My latest for Vegas Seven is some thoughts on what NFR returning to Las Vegas means this December: It might have initially been a marriage of convenience, but over the years Las Vegas and the cowboys (and cowgirls) have struck up a genuine romance. The annual year-end boots and belts makeover has become an anticipated

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Vegas Seven

U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Case Influencing Legal Sports Betting in Vegas Seven

Today in Vegas Seven I talk a little bit about what might come after the broader legalization of sports betting in the United States: The case stems from New Jersey’s attempts to legalize sports betting, in contravention of PASPA, a 1992 law that banned new states from legalizing sports betting. Although New Jersey had a

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Vegas Seven

Pennsylvania gambling expands and other states will follow

My latest for Vegas Seven–some thoughts on the meaning of Pennsylvania’s expansion of gambling: There are two areas of interest for Las Vegans. The first is the expansion itself. In a sense, Pennsylvania’s push may be the final phase of the expansion of American gambling, which started with Nevada’s re-legalization of wide-open commercial gaming in

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Vegas Seven

A Small Town Cools Down, A Big League City Heats Up – Vegas Seven

When the weather changed a few weeks back, I started thinking about the end of summer. I ended with some meditations on what makes Las Vegas different and how it is no longer quite as special: Until now, Las Vegas has been many things, but a big league town was not one of them. As

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Bully Ray Reflects on His Wrestling Legacy – Vegas Seven

My second ROH interview is with Bully Ray, who needs no introduction, but got one anyway: There, the Dudley Boyz (as he and D-Von were known) helped to redefine tag-team wrestling. In 2005, the pair jumped ship to rival Total Nonstop Action, where they were known as Team 3D. Renaming himself Bully Ray after splitting

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Hometown Hero Kenny King Preps for the Fight of His Career – Vegas Seven

My latest for Vegas Seven is a pair of interview with ROH wrestlers. The first I’m sharing today is with Kenny King: Kenny King has shown the world many faces: aspiring sports entertainer, reality show contestant, multiple-time wrestling champion. A participant on the WWE-produced Tough Enough and cast member of the most recent season of

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Vegas Seven

Second Chances on the North Strip – Vegas Seven

The sale of the Fontainebleau finally happening got me thinking about the history of that property, which made for a decent Green Felt Journal: The Fontainebleau’s construction began in 2007 and stopped amid the recession in 2009. As with the Marc Antony and Countryland USA projects, lack of financing was the culprit. But the scale

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Jon Gray Is Ready for Round Two – Vegas Seven

It’s always fun to profile interesting people. That’s definitely the case in my second look at Jon Gray: “I called George [Maloof, founder of Palms] right away. He said, ‘You’re the right guy for the job. If anyone can bring Palms back, it’s you and the Fertittas [brothers Frank and Lorenzo are the chairman and

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Vegas Seven

Parq to the Future – Vegas Seven

As part of that Vegas Seven future issue, I looked at a Vancouver development that reflects the future of casino design in Las Vegas and elsewhere: Traditionally, Las Vegas has set the bar for casino innovations. In the past decade, however, that has changed because of the proliferation of gaming. There have been tremendous strides

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Vegas Seven

The Las Vegas Strip of the Future – Vegas Seven

I have a big feature in this week’s Vegas Seven: The Las Vegas Strip of the Future. Fittingly, I approached the future by taking in the past: Looking at how the Las Vegas Strip has evolved over the past 60 years can give us an idea of where it is headed. We’ll survey what’s popular

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Vegas Seven

Esports Draw an Audience – Vegas Seven

In this week’s Green Felt Journal, I reflect back on EVO 2017, which I attended a while back: Which brings us to EVO 2017, which took place at the Mandalay Bay last month. EVO is short for the Evolution Championship Series, an annual tournament that seeks to crown the best players in several fighting video

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