Cosmopolitan commentaries

I was tied up with jury duty Monday and Tuesday so I didn’t get the chance to share my Las Vegas Business Press column about the possible implications of The Cosmopolitan’s charging for wifi: When The Cosmopolitan opened last December, its managers consciously positioned it as an in-the-moment alternative to the traditional Las Vegas casino.

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Two Way Hard Three, Vegas Seven

Interview with a chairman

I’ve got a big story in today’s Vegas Seven–an up-close-and-personal interview with Palms founder and chairman George Maloof: George Maloof isn’t where he was four years ago. Back then, he was riding an epic winning streak. He had just opened the Fantasy Tower at his Palms Hotel, complete with such only-in-Vegas accommodations as the Hardwood

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Vegas Seven

New paper at the CGR: Online sports betting

Busy week at the Center for Gaming Research. I just uploaded the latest in our Occasional Paper Series, a look at U.S. sports gambling businesses. Legal or not? Read the paper and find out: Paper 12: November 2011 Glenn Light, Karl Rutledge, and Quinton Singleton. “Betting on the U.S. Market: A Discussion of the Legality

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Center for Gaming Research

New podcast: Bill Eadington

This morning I had the great pleasure of having a nice conversation with a long-time friend, the University of Nevada Reno’s Dr. Bill Eadington. Luckily for all of us, I recorded it and released it a few hours later as the thirty-third UNLV Gaming Podcast: 33-November 2, 2011 William R. Eadington In this November 2,

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Center for Gaming Research

Pros, cons of increased casino tech in the LVBP

This week, my Las Vegas Business Press column takes a look not at what technology is being introduced into casinos, but how it’s being used–and should be used: The technology used on casino floors has evolved considerably in the past two decades. And, as showcased at the recent Global Gaming Expo, it continues to do

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Las Vegas Business Press

Book Review: The Art of Roughhousing

Anthony DeBenedet and Lawrence J. Cohen. The Art of Roughhousing: Good Old-Fashioned Horseplay and Why Every Kind Needs It. Philadelphia: Quirk Books, 2010. 192 pages. Parents get mixed messages about physicality and child-rearing. On one hand, they remember running around, pushing, and just plain having fun as kids. On the other, there’s an endless list

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book reviews

Island Sushi rundown plus social media talk in Vegas Seven

This week in my Green Felt Journal column I talk a little about the role of food in marketing a casino, the future of Downtown, and how the Plaza’s going to fare by looking at Terence Fong’s Island Sushi. From Vegas Seven: In that light, recruiting chef Terence Fong, owner of Henderson’s Island Sushi and

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Two Way Hard Three

Book Review: A More Perfect Heaven

Dava Sobel. A More Perfect Heaven: How Copernicus Revolutionized the Cosmos. New York: Walker and Company, 2011. 288 pages. We take much of our worldview for granted. Most of us, if asked to relate where the Earth is, would without blinking respond that it’s the third planet from the sun. Its daily rotation is responsible

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book reviews

Heavyweight Hospitality at Caesars in Vegas Seven

In the past few weeks, I’ve been lucky enough to have some very good conversations with people in the casino business that, I hope, have translated into good writing about the business. Here’s the first, a Green Felt Journal column about the challenges that Ramesh Sadhwani is taking on at Caesars Palace. From Vegas Seven:

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Vegas Seven

G2E convergence in the LVBP

I wrote up some of my thoughts on the new tech stuff at G2E for the Las Vegas Business Press. Take a look: The official theme of the Global Gaming Expo, held Oct. 3-6 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, was “innovation,”; but it could have been, more specifically, “convergence.” As always, there were

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Las Vegas Business Press

Book Review: Signing Their Rights Away

Denise Kiernan and Joseph D’Agnese. Signing Their Rights Away: The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the United States Constitution. Philadelphia: Quirk Books, 2011. 256 pages. As one of the foundation documents of the American Republic, the Constitution is an object of respect bordering on reverence. For the past 222 years it’s formed

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book reviews

Occasional Paper 11: Nevada Licensing

After last week’s G2E-packed schedule, I’m glad to have a little time to post the Center for Gaming Research’s latest Occasional Paper: Paper 11: October 2011 Robert D. Faiss and Gregory R. Gemignani. “Nevada Gaming Licensing: Qualifications, Standards, and Procedures.” ABSTRACT: The process of acquiring a Nevada gaming license is long and consists of several

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Center for Gaming Research

UNLV Gaming Podcast 32: Me

As usual, I’m posting a link to the latest UNLV Gaming Podcast. But, for the first time, I’m the one who’s featured. After getting several requests for video or audio footage of the talks I give around down, I figured that this talk would be a good one to share. A few weeks ago my

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Center for Gaming Research

Tectonic shift for gaming in the Business Press

Mulling over two seemingly contradictory bits of news–that the Justice Department had labeled Full Tilt Poker a “global Ponzi scheme” and that the AGA was launching a renewed push for the legalization of online poker–I got to thinking. It’s a dangerous pastime, I know, but in this case it led me to my latest column

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Las Vegas Business Press

Book Review: The Digital Mom Handbook

Audrey McClelland and Colleen Padilla. The Digital Mom Handbook: How to Blog, Vlog, Tweet, and Facebook Your Way to a dream Career at Home. New York: Harper Business, 2011. 256 pages. I’m not a mom, but the idea of mommyblogging intrigues me. It seems like most infant and toddler commerce is sold primarily to women,

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book reviews

Hiding Vices in Vegas Seven

Inspired by a conversation with September Gaming Research Fellow Kah-Wee Lee, I wrote a Green Felt Journal for Vegas Seven about Singapore and Las Vegas: Imagine a casino-resort complex built by a world-renowned architect responsible for iconic buildings on multiple continents. From the start, it’s designed to be more than a mere gambling hall: It

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Vegas Seven