Events listing updated for spring

events • • •

With a busy spring ahead of me, I have updated the events page. Click through for the entire list. I’m excited to be featured in a number of events at Clark County, Henderson, and UNLV libraries, as well as UNLV’s University Forum lecture series. 

And of course, I’m happy to take any chance I get to talk to people about Grandissimo in particular and all the other things I find fascinating about Las Vegas in general. I hope to see you at one or more events this spring!

And if you would like me to speak to your group, please get in touch. 

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events

The Action, for Resorts, Is on the Street | Vegas Seven

Vegas Seven • • • , ,

Here is my final Green Felt Journal of 2013. It’s perhaps appropriate that it looks ahead to 2014: While 2013 was mostly a year of building and transition, Las Vegas should definitively enter the post-recession era in 2014. That won’t mean a return to pre-recession prosperity, but rather a shift in how casinos approach visitors.

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Vegas Seven

John L. Smith talks Grandissimo in the LVRJ

reviews • • • ,

Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist John L. Smith recently wrote a column discussing several books that would make great stocking stuffers. Grandissimo was prominent on that list:

In a casino industry bursting with praise for its current ringmasters, Steve Wynn, Sheldon Adelson, Gary Loveman, and Jim Murren among them, it’s possible to forget that it was Sarno who dreamed biggest of all at a time the gambling racket wasn’t exactly for the weak-kneed….Thanks to Schwartz’s efforts, the grand casino ringmaster Jay Sarno will long be remembered.

Tales about Las Vegas make good stocking stuffers

Click through to read the entire list—there are some good ones on it!

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reviews

Rockhouse, PBR Rock Bar Owner Just a Local Kid on the Strip | Vegas Seven

Vegas Seven • • • , , , ,

In this week’s Green Felt Journal, I take a look at one of the entrepreneurs who is shaking things up on the Strip: Jonathan Fine is a case in point. Fine—who operates some of the Strip’s hottest midmarket nightspots—comes from one of the most illustrious families in Las Vegas: His grandfather, Hank Greenspun, founder of

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Vegas Seven

Tipping the Odds with Grandissimo

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The Grandissimo media tour continues with a guest appearance on the Tipping the Odds podcast. I enjoyed talking about the book with Mitch and Dr. Kev:

Tipping the Odds #91: Interview with Dr. David Schwartz

Direct link to show

Listen in—it was a lot of fun recording it. I’m still trying to think of an appropriate Vegas story for their book prohect. 

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From the Emerald City to Pharaoh’s Tomb | Vegas Seven

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In this week’s Vegas Seven, I have a feature article considering the ways that the spirit of 1993 is still with us: In the fall of 1993, the wrapping came off three new resorts that promised to change the way people visited Las Vegas. The opening of The Mirage four years earlier is rightfully credited

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Vegas Seven

Grandissimo on Gambling with an Edge

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Yesterday the Grandissimo media tour reached critical mass, with several interview tapings. The first of these to be posted is my interview with Bob Dancer and Richard Munchkin on the Gambling with an Edge Radio Show:

The show is available here: http://www.slot-machine-resource.com/podcasts/dschwartz.mp3

I really enjoyed talking with Bob and Richard about the book. With their own long careers in gambling, they added a real perspective to the discussion.

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Real Estate Rebel: How the Late David Atwell Set the Standard for Megadeals on the Strip | Vegas Seven

Vegas Seven • • • , , ,

This week’s Green Felt Journal was a difficult one for me to write. A few months back, I struck up a friendship with a long-time Las Vegan, David Atwell, who I learned was involved with some of the biggest real estate deals in the city’s history. We had conversation after conversation about the development of

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Vegas Seven

Multiple Trippie nominations for Grandissimo

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The 2014 Trippie nominations have been posted, and Grandissimo (or its author) has been nominated for no less than four Trippies. Here they are, with my commentary

Podcast: The Vegas Gang, of which I am  one-third, has been nominated. This is a tough field to run against.

New Thing: Nomination for Grandissimo here. It’s up against Downtown Grand, Life is Beautiful, Project Linq, and Slotzilla. 

Here’s what I have to say about the competition. Linq and Slotzilla aren’t open to the public yet, while Grandissimo has been delighting readers since early October. Downtown Grand is nice, but I can guarantee that the paytables on Grandissimo aren’t going to be changing. And unlike Life is Beautiful, Grandissimo isn’t a once-a-year thing. Once you get the book, you can cherish it forever.

News of the Year: More tough competition for Grandissimo here, with some very compelling stories. The book is up against Britney Spears, the Downtown resurgence, the Downtown Grand opening, and the announcement of Resorts World Las Vegas. But if a Kickstarter campaign culminating in a successful book launch isn’t newsworthy, I don’t know what really is.

Person of the Year: This one was a real shock for me. To be nominated alongside a legend like Steve Wynn, an innovator like Derek Stevens, my fellow Emerging Leader Seth Schorr, and Downtown regenerator Tony Hsieh, well, that’s just incredible. Each of those Las Vegans was in the news quite a bit over the year, so just to be up there is a true honor.

Having already won a Trippie back in 2006 when “best book” was a category, I can say that it’s a great honor and a thrill. I’m amazed that I got to peek inside the “Person of the Year” suite with the real high rollers, and I’m hopeful that voters will put Grandissimo on top of the “New Thing” category. Thanks to everyone who nominated me, and of course to Chuck and the Trippers for undertaking what is truly a labor of love.

To vote for the Trippies, go here. Please respect the rules and 1) vote only once and 2) vote for at least 2/3 of the categories—otherwise your vote won’t count.

Thanks!

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UNLVs High Roller | UNLV News Center

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Thanks to the recent news that I’ve been named to the “40 under 40” list in Global Gaming Business, the UNLV News Center has posted an interview with me. Great questions: David Schwartz is the ultimate Vegas insider. On any given moment, he can talk about gaming trends locally and nationally, casino security, the history of

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what's new

Talking about Grandisismo on Talk about Las Vegas

life in vegas • • • , ,

For the latest stop on the Grandissimo global media tour, I had a wonderful conversation with Ira David Sternberg for his show Talk about Las Vegas with Ira, which is broadcast on KUNV and is available for online listening as well.

Although this has just been released, it’s one of the first interviews I did for the book, and it was a great chance to discuss the book with someone who knows and ins and outs of Las Vegas past and present. 

You can listen to the show here, or visit the episode page. 

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life in vegas

Bible-Themed Slot Machines, Flood Not Included | Vegas Seven

Vegas Seven • • • , ,

This week’s Green Felt Journal considers how mobile devices, slots, and the Bible converge: Yes, there really are Bible-themed virtual slots available on your mobile device. App-maker Top Free Games—whose library is split between gambling games like video poker and blackjack and public-domain works like Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the Kama Sutra and the

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Vegas Seven

Grandisismo on the Gamblers Book Club Podcast

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It was a real thrill, as always, to sit down with the legendary Howard Schwartz at the Gamblers Book Shop and talk about Grandissimo. 

Gamblers Book Club Podcast: EPISODE 129- Grandissimo: The First Emperor of Las Vegas: How Jay Sarno Inspired Modern Las Vegas by David G. Schwartz

Direct link to listen or download

As you’ll hear, I had a great time recording this one. I could easily have spent a few hours riffing with Howard. Two weeks ago, I sat and listened to Howard talking with Oscar Goodman (Oscar noticed me lurking towards the end and mentioned me), which was incredibly fun. 

This was my third or fourth time on Howard’s podcast, and it’s always something I look forward to. This time, you get to hear me in unabashedly book-selling mode. I figured that it was appropriate, because you can buy the book directly from the Gamblers Book Club after listening. 

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Talking Grandissimo on 360 Vegas Podcast

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This weekend, I guest-co-hosted the 360 Vegas Podcast and got the chance to talk about current Las Vegas news, the prizes and pitfalls of studying Las Vegas history, and, naturally, Grandissimo.

Link to listen or download

Too many highlights to mention, including a digression into my former career as a costumed character on the Atlantic City Boardwalk. Basically it’s a fun conversation between Mark and me about things we like and are fascinated by, centering on Las Vegas. 

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Grandissimo for sale at the Mob Museum

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If you want to buy a copy of Grandissimo next time you’re in Downtown Las Vegas, you don’t have go far. Signed copies of the book—along with my Roll the Bones and Cutting the Wire—are available for purchase in the Mob Museum’s gift shop.

While I think everyone should spend a few hours in the Mob Museum while they are in Las Vegas, you don’t have to enter the museum itself to visit the gift shop. Just walk inside, make a left, and walk on in. The staff is very knowledgeably (I had  a great chat with associate Erin while I was signing the books) and there are plenty of neat items that fit any budget.

The Mob Museum is on 300 Stewart Avenue, just behind the Downtown Grand. For complete directions and parking information, go here.

The coolest thing about delivering the books was that it felt vaguely like I was a rum runner dropping off a shipment of booze. Except I’m guessing most run runners didn’t turn their flashers on while they were doing the deed. 

So books are for sale now, and will be abundantly available for my December 13-14 signing event at the Mob Museum. I would love to see you there if you are in town—it’ll be a chance to say hi and get a personally signed book. 

And even if you can’t make the event, books will be available at the Mob Museum the next time you are in town.

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Grandissimo on Ralston Reports

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Last night, as part of the Grandissimo launch media tour, I did a half-hour interview with Jon Ralston on Ralston Reports:

[click here if the embedded video doesn’t play]

It was great fun to be able to discuss the book at such great length on TV. What’s fascinating to me is how different hosts approach the book in different ways. With Lorrin on 97.1, I talked more about the rock star elements of Jay Sarno’s persona. On KNPR. I talked about his career’s impact on the community. Here, we talked about his business and personal life but also got more into the political and legal aspects of the book than I ever have. Interesting stuff.

I’ve already recorded an interview with Ira David Sternberg for his show Talk About Las Vegas, and I have some exciting ones scheduled. It’s great to get the book out there.

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interview

Grandissimo Reviewed in the Review-Journal

life in vegas, reviews • • • ,

In this morning’s Las Vegas Review-Journal, columnist Jane Ann Morrison shared her thoughts on Grandissimo:

My view is that it’s a great read and a warts-and-all portrayal of Sarno, a dreamer (and a scoundrel) who was the visionary behind Caesars Palace, which reached out to high rollers, and Circus Circus, which went for the mass market, the yin and yang of Las Vegas gaming.

Sarno book reveals good, bad

There’s much more than that, and I encourage you to read the entire column. 

And you now have one more data point about Grandissimo—it is a good book to read on a flight to China. 

Seriously, it’s gratifying that the book has had such a positive critical reception. I worked very hard to write a book that did three things: accurately reflected Sarno’s life and career; recreated the feel of Las Vegas in the 1960s to 1980s; and was written in such a way that people actually enjoyed reading it. I love that several of the Amazon reviews have variations on the theme of “I couldn’t put it down.” I’m really glad that I was able to relate Sarno’s story in a way that is accessible and engaging.

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life in vegas, reviews