In addition to the cover feature, I’ve got a Green Felt Journal in this week’s Vegas Seven that takes us behind the scenes, into William Hill’s sports betting war room: It’s 8:30 on a Sunday morning in October, but for the crew of bookmakers at William Hill headquarters on Grier Drive, just south of McCarran,
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Vegas Seven, writingThis week, I’m privileged to have a cover story in Vegas Seven. It’s about the mostly-unsung hotelier who, I think, is the real discoverer of the Las Vegas Strip, Thomas Hull: The natural advantages of Las Vegas, Fisher said, would make it “the metropolis of Nevada,” but only if properly pushed: “If a good hotel
The Columbus of Highway 91 in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas Seven, writingPeter Heller. The Dog Stars: A Novel. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012. 336 pages. You know post-apocalyptic fiction has come a long way when it goes from sci-fi and horror to literary fiction. The Dog Stars is, without a doubt, the most introspective piece of post-apocalyptic writing I’ve read yet. There’s not much plot–it’s mostly the
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book reviewsChan Koonchung. Michael S. Duke, translator. The Fat Years. New York: Nan A. Talese, 2012. 336 pages. This novel, written by a veteran Chinese journalist/writer, gives Westerners a glimpse of sorts into Chinese social psychology. Lots of people in the U.S. are fretting about the rise of China, and the possibility that the 21st century
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book reviewsLast week, Mike Colbert’s arrest was big news. I commented about it pretty extensively in a few places, but I didn’t have time until yesterday to pull my thoughts together and put them down in one place. The result is a Vegas Seven blog post: The arrest last week of 25 people—including Cantor Gaming’s sports
Colbert Arrest Highlights Hypocrisy of Prohibition in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenThe rare Celine Dion headline title drop for a Vegas Seven piece this week. It’s about Professional Bull Riding: We’re used to early December being rodeo time in Las Vegas; that’s when the National Finals Rodeo takes over the town. But NFR’s not-so-little cousin, Professional Bull Riders’ Built Ford Tough World Finals, shakes the ground
With PBR, Rodeo’s Heart Will Go On in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenThis week, Vegas Seven published its Storytelling Issue. The theme is “I Fought the Law, ” and in the Latest Thought, I discuss who and what the real Moe Daltiz was…and wasn’t: In the CBS version of Las Vegas in the 1960s, it’s pretty easy to know who the bad guy is: Michael Chiklis’ mobbed-up
The Organization Man | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas Seven, writingThis is probably the last literary spinoff from G2E: a piece in today’s Vegas Seven about the man behind the music in many Las Vegas casinos: Here’s the funny thing about music in public places: If it’s working the way it should, you don’t even notice it on a conscious level. There’s just an extra
Music to Your Ears in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas Seven, writingScott Stratten. The Book of Business Awesome: How Engaging Your Customers and Employees Can Make Your Business Thrive. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, 2012. 250 pages. This is actually two books rolled into one, and issued with double covers: You can either start on the “Awesome” side or flip the book over and
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book reviewsIn this week’s Vegas Seven, I have a Latest Thought about a Downtown preservation effort that, I think, says a lot about what the city is becoming: Which is why it’s interesting to see what new arrivals to Las Vegas notice the most. Slots in convenience stores? Franchise pawnshops? Tap water that’s somewhere north of
Signs of the (Disappearing) Times in Vegas Seven Read More »
life in vegas, Vegas SevenIn this week’s Green Felt Journal, I take a look at the origin of the Fremont Street Experience: Fremont Street and the downtown casinos might be on the verge of a renaissance. Several casinos have reinvented themselves with renovations and expansions that try to blend nostalgia, modern comforts and value. But this isn’t the first
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life in vegas, Vegas Seven, writingIn this week’s Green Felt Journal, I take a look at where poker stands in September 2012. On one hand, live poker’s been on the decline for a few years. On the other, online poker is, some feel, going to transform the state’s economy. Here’s where we are: Nevada poker is in an odd place.
Poker’s Perilous Perch in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas Seven, writingWhen I heard that South Point Poker,, LLC, had been awarded the first license as an online poker provider in Nevada, I was immediately curious about the company: who were the people making this historic step? Everyone knows Michael Gaughan, but I had a feeling he wasn’t coding the site in his spare time. So
South Point Puts It On (the) Line in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenThis week, I’ve got a “Latest Thought” in Vegas Seven where I finally weigh in on whether we should rename McCarran International Airport. I say, why stop there? There’s been plenty of talk this summer of renaming McCarran International Airport. At first, it seemed like a lot of talk from people who hadn’t thought much
Name Games in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenShirzad Chamine. Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential. Austin, Texas: Greenleaf Books, 2012. 227 pages. Positive Intelligence falls into an interesting intersection between self-help books and business strategy books. That’s certainly no accident; for most people, work is one the primary ways they express themselves. And, as we all
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book reviewsIn response to this photo and Bat-Signal request for more info, I wanted to post a link to an Atlantic City history column I’d written for Casino Connection a few (nine) years back. Turns out that it’s one of the 10 or so AC history pieces not in the Casino Connection archives. Looking at the
World War One and Atlantic City Read More »
atlantic cityI’ve got something besides today’s Green Felt Journal in today’s Vegas Seven: a look at Revel, Atlantic City’s latest casino: Revel, Atlantic City’s first new casino in nearly a decade, has been called “Cosmopolitan East,” for its similarities, real and supposed to the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Like the Cosmo, it’s put a great deal
Atlantic City’s Last Great Hope? in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas Seven, writingIn today’s Green Felt Journal, I take a look at what the more restrained growth of the gaming industry will mean for Las Vegas: The American gaming scene is changing. Call it maturation, or an adaptation to the post-recession, long-recovery economy, but the industry is shifting. For the past generation, expansion has been the rule,
The End of Empire-Building? in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas Seven, writingI’ve got a very special Green Felt Journal out in today’s Vegas Seven. No, it’s not like a “very special episode” of Diff’rent Strokes or The Fact of Life that’s going to pontificate on a current social issue. Instead, I’m talking about the usual stuff I talk about in that space–gambling, casinos, and tourism–but in a
My Boardwalk Homecoming in Vegas Seven Read More »
atlantic city, Vegas Seven, writingArne K. Lang. The Nelson-Wolgast Fight and the San Francisco Boxing Scene, 1900-1914. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, 2012. 187 pages. Boxing today is nothing like it was a century ago. On one hand, it was a nearly-outlaw sport–many states had restrictions against professional fights or outright bans on public bouts, while others tolerated them.
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book reviews