In this week’s Green Felt Journal, I consider what I found on the G2E expo floor: It was clear that the big question asked last year at the expo—how to appeal to a new generation of gamblers—has not been fully answered, but we got several tantalizing glimpses of the future. Old-School Is New Again at […]
Old-School Is New Again at the Global Gaming Expo – Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn this week’s Green Felt Journal, I talk about the latest inductees into the Gaming Hall of Fame: The American Gaming Association recently announced three new inductees entering the Gaming Hall of Fame this fall: bookmaking pioneer Victor Salerno, tribal gaming advocate Lynn Valbuena and longtime industry executive Larry Woolf. Let’s get to know the
Gaming Hall’s Class of ’15 in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn this week’s Green Felt Journal, I look at the comeback of history in Downtown Las Vegas: On the heels of the Las Vegas Club’s closing comes news that a revived interest in casino history is spreading on Fremont Street. Read More: The Revival of Casino History – Vegas Seven I like this development–Las Vegas
The Revival of Casino History in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn this week’s Green Felt Journal, I consider the last hours and legacy of the just-closed Las Vegas Club, which is likely destined for better things. It is a name—a generic one, but a name nonetheless—that has been part of Nevada history even before the 1931 relegalization of commercial gaming. In early April of that
Las Vegas Club’s End Marks a New Beginning – Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn this week’s Vegas Seven, the Green Felt Journal is about the continuing menace of illegal gambling and why it matters to Las Vegas: With the proliferation of legal casino gaming throughout the country, it’s tempting to think of illegal play as something from a bygone time. But if you’ve been keeping up with the
What the Nation’s Illegal Gambling Problem Means for Las Vegas – Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn this week’s Vegas Seven, I have a cover story on the frustrating summer of 1955–a year that has plenty to teach Las Vegas 2015: Lanza’s no-show aside, opening night at the New Frontier was regarded as a success. One of the Strip’s first resorts had reinvented itself for the Atomic Age, bigger and
The Long, Hot Summer of ’55 | Vegas Seven Read More »
life in vegas, Vegas Seven, writingIn my latest Green Felt Journal, I look at the importance of the new Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee: Las Vegas may be breaking tourism records—May was the city’s busiest month ever, with more than 3.7 million visitors—but that doesn’t mean it’s time to get complacent. Governor Brian Sandoval must understand this, since he’s assembled a
How to Keep Las Vegas’ Forward Momentum Rolling – Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn this week’s Vegas Seven, I look back at the legacy of Kirk Kerkorian: When Kirk Kerkorian died June 15 at the age of 98, Las Vegas didn’t just lose a visionary whose fingerprints are all over the city’s most recognizable chunk of real estate. It lost a man whose accomplishments will almost certainly never again
Kirk Kerkorian, 1917-2015 | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn this week’s Green Felt Journal, I consider the somewhat-unlikely rise of sports betting in Nevada gaming: Why did Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, on the eve of the close to the legislative session, sign bills that will expand the reach of sportsbooks? Why is New Jersey Governor Chris Christie suing the federal government to allow
Sports Betting Hits It Big in the Casino Industry | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn this week’s Vegas Seven, I consider whether the current good times in Las Vegas are here to stay: Your odds would be much the same without a system, but there’s something to be said for the comfort of a system. You’re not at the mercy of blind fate; you are following a game plan
How Long Will Las Vegas’ Hot Streak Last? | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn this week’s Green Felt Journal, I consider the importance of the recent sale of the Tropicana Las Vegas: But lost in the Riviera/Resorts World news cycle was the announcement of another Strip milestone—one that may have more significance for Las Vegas’ short-term future: The Tropicana has a new owner, national casino operator Penn National
A New Era for the Tropicana? | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn this week’s Green Felt Journal, I share some insights from the latest Las Vegas Visitor Profile: Increasing international visitation has long been a goal of the LVCVA, and the numerous investments the agency has made toward that end continue to bear fruit. In 2007, 12 percent of visitors came from abroad; in real numbers,
Gambling Is No Longer Las Vegas’ Main Attraction | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenWhat makes a Vegas icon? That’s the question I asked and answered in this week’s Green Felt Journal: Late last month, the Clark County Commission awarded Caesars Entertainment’s High Roller observation wheel the inaugural Las Vegas Icon Award. The County Commission’s best intentions aside, Vegas icon-hood can’t be bestowed, like a key to the city.
The Making of a Vegas Icon | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn this week’s Green Felt Journal, I talk about why the fall in gaming revenue doesn’t matter as much as it would have a few years back: Once upon a time, an annual drop in Nevada’s gaming revenue was greeted with the same reaction of denial, fear and panic that might accompany the diagnosis of
Why Las Vegas’ Gaming Revenue Decrease Is Not a Bad Thing | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenThis week, I’ve also got a Vegas Seven feature on the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Hard Rock Hotel: Twenty years later, it appears Morton saw into the future: You don’t see too many Nile rides in casinos today, but you do see quite a few Center Bars. This is the story of
The Rock Star: Peter Morton and the Birth of the Hard Rock | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn this week’s Green Felt Journal, I take a look at what the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is actually going to do with the Riviera site: Construction on the Global Business District is expected to begin in the next couple of years and unfold over the next decade. If executed along the lines
LVCVA’s Unconventional Approach to Global Business | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn my latest Green Felt Journal, I take a look at the Riviera’s place in history: If there were one property you could point to that has represented the evolution of our city’s casinos over the past 60 years, it would be the Riviera. So it’s only fitting that, in its final days, the hotel-casino
Riviera Going Out as It Came In: A Symbol of the Strip’s Future | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenThis week’s feature in Vegas Seven is a lot of fun. A bunch of Seven writers contributed brief thoughts on what might have happened in things had turned out a little differently at various points in Las Vegas history. It’s alt-history for Vegas: So, in the interest of preserving our own sanity, we’re taking the
Stories Never Told, of a City That Never Was | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenThis week’s Green Felt Journal dissects the reality behind the numbers in the Gaming Abstract: Each year, the Gaming Control Board releases a massive document that charts the performance of the state’s casinos for the previous fiscal year, broken down by geographic area and income. The release of the 2014 Nevada Gaming Abstract crystallizes the
Nongaming Activities Continue to Pay the Bills for Strip Casinos | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenThis week’s Green Felt Journal, partially written in my head while hanging out at the Discovery Children’s Museum last week, is about the tug of war between locals and visitors in Las Vegas: Sometimes, it can seem that life in Southern Nevada is a big zero-sum game. With limited money to spend in both the
The Locals vs. Tourists Balancing Act | Vegas Seven Read More »
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