As an Atlantic City native and an observer of the casino scene, I’ve gotten asked my opinion on what’s happening there. I’m glad to have the chance to write a column that summarizes how I feel. It’s a bit of a history lesson and a cautionary tale: Atlantic City casinos prospered in those years because
What Atlantic City Needs to Learn From Las Vegas | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenI’m really excited to be a part of this. Tomorrow night I get to present a live commentary track for the movie Casino along with Oscar Goodman: This Wednesday, September 10, at Inspire, DTLV.com and Vegas Seven are bringing some of your favorite Las Vegas films together with some of those deep thinkers. The Seven Essential Vegas
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life in vegasHere is this week’s Green Felt Journal, on the opening of SLS–and what it means: The Sahara’s closing on May 16, 2011, was significant in more ways than one: It was not only the demise of one of the Strip’s few remaining classic casinos, but it essentially marked the depth of the Great Recession. So
The Strip’s New Monkey Business | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenHere I am posing with the book at the Caesars store in the Forum Shops.
The store is directly off the casino exit to the Forum Shops. Walk out of the casino, turn right, and you can’t miss it.
Grandissimo and the author at the Forum Shops Read More »
UncategorizedJay Sarno revolutionized Las Vegas with Caesars Palace, so it’s only fitting that Grandissimo is now on sale there. There is some symbolism in the fact that it went on sale yesterday, August 5, which was the 48th anniversary of Caesars’ wild opening—a day that Grandissimo talks about in great detail.
Right now, you can get the book in two locations. The first is the Caesars store in the Forum Shops, just to the right as you exit the casino.
Here is a shot of a few books in their natural setting:
if you’re strolling down the Appian Way, you can pick up a copy at Emperor’s Essentials:
The book is just inside the front door.
I’d like to thank Sherell Bartley at Caesars Entertainment retail and the staff of both stores for making the book available.
Buy Grandissimo at Caesars Palace Read More »
UncategorizedFor those waiting to buy Grandissimo as an audiobook, you don’t have to wait any longer. Narrated by Eric Martin, the unabridged version of Grandissimo is now available as an 11.5 hour audiobook.
You can listen to a sample and buy it here:
I’d like to thank Eric for helping me realize my dream of offering Grandissimo as an audiobook, and to all of the friends and readers who have given me encouragement. I hope that you enjoy the audiobook.
Grandissimo Audiobook Now Available Read More »
authorForty-eight years ago today, Caesars Palace opened, and Las Vegas never was the same again.
August 5, 1966, was the start of the three-day celebration that introduced the world to Jay Sarno’s vision of Las Vegas. Though there were plenty of skeptics, the opening was a smash and the property never looked back.
Here’s Jay Sarno, in a photo taken the night Caesars opened.
And here’s Nate Jacobson, Jay’s partner and the president of Caesars Palace, with the guest of honor, Jimmy Hoffa.
If you’d like to learn more about that night (and the day that preceded it, here is an excerpt from Grandissimo detailing Jay’s life on August 5, 1966.
And if you like that, you might want to read a copy of the whole book.
Happy 48th Birthday, Caesars Palace Read More »
authorI’ve gotten many questions over the past few months about whether Grandissimo will be available as an audiobook. Earlier, I didn’t have an answer. Now, I can definitively answer “yes.”
I’m working with voiceover maven Eric Martin, You can read more about him (and hear him) on his website. Part of the reason that I agreed to work with Eric is the high quality of his work. He’s done this many times before, and will deliver a high-quality audio version of my words. I think the readers (or, in this case, listeners) deserve nothing less.
I don’t have a firm release date yet, but Eric has finished through chapter 8, so things look good for sometime late in August.
It’s very gratifying to see the support and interest that the book has gotten thus far, and I’m grateful to Eric for his belief that this will make a compelling audiobook.
Stay posted for updates!
Grandissimo Audiobook is coming! Read More »
authorIn this weeks’ Green Felt Journal, I consider whether a “slow” rollout of online gaming in the U.S. is such a bad thing: Beyond the neon of Nevada and Atlantic City, gaming used to be something the nation spoke about in either whispers like that cousin who never made good or screams like that cousin
For Online Gaming, Slow and Steady’s Just Right | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenThis week, I’ve got a cover story in Vegas Seven that traces the development of the precursor of today’s Strip retail boom, Hawaiian Marketplace: You’re walking south down las Vegas Boulevard, past a nondescript strip mall promising beer, wine and four-for-$9.99 T-shirts when you see it: the carved head of a bronze-helmeted warrior poking serenely
How the Sidewalk Took Over the Strip | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn this week’s Green Felt Journal, I look at how the Vegas visitor is changing–and what that means: The big question is, Why do people come to Las Vegas in the first place? Naturally, there are many reasons, so GLS Research, which compiles the profile, asks subjects for the primary purpose of their most recent
A Fresh Study Sheds Light on the Habits of the Vegas Visitor | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn this week’s Vegas Seven, I take a look at what the addition of a bilingual game at a North Las Vegas casino means: The Lucky Club’s move speaks to the growing presence of Spanish-speaking players in and around Las Vegas. And it’s not without precedent. In 2010, Buffalo Bill’s casino in Primm started offering
The Languages of Gaming | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenThis week in Vegas Seven, I contribute to the cover coverage of EDC with a feature on how EDC has paved the way for the festivalization of Las Vegas: It takes one thing to go from outsider to establishment in Las Vegas: success. When Pasquale Rotella’s Insomniac Events first brought the Electric Daisy Carnival to
The Festivalization of Las Vegas | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn this week’s Green Felt Journal, I look back at the legacy of Bob Faiss, who immeasurably shaped gaming in Nevada and many other places: Faiss shaped the evolution of Nevada’s gaming regulation as an attorney who represented some of the state’s largest casinos, but never lost sight of what he considered truly important: what
The Man Who Gave Regulation a Good Name | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn this week’s Green Felt Journal, I explore how the World Series of Poker has changed during the past decade at the Rio: When Harrah’s Entertainment—now Caesars Entertainment—bought Binion’s Horseshoe in January 2004, it also acquired the World Series of Poker. Harrah’s more or less sold the Downtown hotel-casino to West Virginia-based MTR Gaming three
Putting the ‘World’ in the World Series of Poker | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenI have a little piece on UNLV’s Newscenter about why it’s important to preserve the past: Since my latest book, Grandissimo, came out, people have asked me why I wrote it. The simple answer is that Jay Sarno was the most interesting person in Las Vegas history not to have a book already written about him.
On Writing Grandissimo | UNLV News Center Read More »
writingIn this month’s Global Gaming Business, I take a look at what impact the expansion of casino gaming has had on mature jurisdictions: But since then, further expansion has put pressure on “mature” gaming markets like Atlantic City, Mississippi and Delaware, which have seen revenues decline. This raises the question of whether further expansion will
Will Expansion Mean Contraction? | Global Gaming Business Magazine Read More »
news about gamblingHere is this week’s Green Felt Journal, a tribute (in mostly his own words) to Burton Cohen: Cohen grew up in the hotel business in Florida, and his 16 years of practicing law made him a perfect chief executive, able to read contracts and grasp their subtleties but also aware of operational realities on the
Burton Cohen: The Man You Wanted Running Your Hotel | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenIn my latest Green Felt Journal, I riff on remarks MGM chairman Jim Murren made about his company’s Park development and the future of the Strip by imagining what the Strip will look like in 2019: An interesting way to ponder the Strip’s trajectory is to follow Murren’s lead, play the long game, and imagine
MGM’s Park and the Future of the Strip | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenLast Thursday, I did a quick interview with Lorrin Bond of 97.1 about my Vegas Seven cover story on The Mirage’s design and construction. You can listen to it here if you like: David G. Schwartz talks about how the Mirage came to be by Vegas Seven on SoundCloud – Hear the world’s sounds. Fun
Talking how the Mirage came to be on 97.1 Read More »
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