After 28 days, my Kickstarter campaign to publish Boardwalk Playground has wrapped up. Thanks to the generosity and support of 58 backers, I raised the funds I needed to cover the production costs of my next book. What’s next? I have had the book proofread, and have laid out the photos. Right now it is […]
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book, writingIn 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
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Vegas SevenI have launched my latest Kickstarter campaign, Publish Boardwalk Playground. I am seeking funding to help me publish my new book, called Boardwalk Playground: The Making, Unmaking, & Remaking of Atlantic City. It’s the culmination of a long dream for me. You can visit the Kickstarter page to see the project video (mostly me
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bookIn 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 SevenI have some exciting news to share: I have a new book coming out, and you can be a part of it. If you’re familiar with my work, you may have seen my articles about Atlantic City history in Casino Connection magazine. Each month (for about 8 years), I wrote about an aspect of that
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atlantic city, what's newIn 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
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Vegas SevenIn this week’s Green Felt Journal, I look at the resurgence of locals casinos in Las Vegas: Since the recession, the locals casino market has endured some tough times, but the 2015 numbers so far suggest those tough times might be over. In particular, North Las Vegas and Boulder Strip properties, after several rough years,
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authorIn 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 SevenI have the cover story in this week’s Vegas Seven. It’s a look at the final days of the Riviera: But the Riviera, unlike the Fontainebleau, won’t go down in Las Vegas history as a failure. It was, after all, a Strip hotel that kept its doors open for 60 years. And in Las Vegas, that’s
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authorIn 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.
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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 SevenMy latest Green Felt Journal talks about the history behind the federal tax on sports betting: Like so much else in the history of Nevada gaming, the tax is linked to the Kefauver Committee, the early 1950s U.S. Senate body that investigated organized crime throughout America. Chaired by maverick Tennessee Democrat Estes Kefauver, the committee
Why Congress Should Repeal a Federal Tax on Sports Betting | Vegas Seven Read More »
authorThis 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 »
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