Tim Wu. The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 2010. 336 pages. This is a hard book to review because it’s really two book ideas melded into one: a history of the empire-building and empire-busting that characterized the first century of information industries, and a policy piece […]
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book reviewsA profile piece that was a lot of fun to write is out today in Vegas Seven‘s Green Felt Journal. It’s the result of a long talk with Skylofts concierge Sherman James, who has quite a story: Sherman James might not be onstage when he arrives for work at 6 each morning at MGM Grand’s
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life in vegasIn my analysis of the January Nevada gaming numbers, I made reference to slot win from December being rolled over into January, something I dubbed the “Friday Effect” because I couldn’t think of a better description. I got a few emails asking for more details about it, so here’s the explanation that GCB Senior Research
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news about gamblingThe January numbers are out, and while they appear to be merely ho-hum (a 0.67% Statewide revenue decrease), they are actually quite troubling. Here’s the executive summary of the report: January 2011 continued what has been a trend: a persistent, moderate decline in the state’s gaming revenues. This is the third consecutive month in which
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news about gamblingLike I admitted on Twitter, I take lousy photos, so I promised that I’d share some of the PR stills of the Cosmopolitan’s new sports book. I’m also throwing in the press release–if you read any media accounts that sounds suspiciously like this, it just means someone’s taking it easy on the word-smithing front: Las
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news about gamblingIn this week’s Las Vegas Business Press, I look a little more closely at what the two-incident “epidemic” of strong-arm casino chip robberies means” Strong-arm robberies aren’t exactly rare in the United States. According to Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics, there were almost 409,000 robberies in 2009, the last year for which data is available.
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news about gamblingI while ago, I thought it would be neat to see how some of the biggest casino gaming markets in the world have fared over the last decade. Of course we all know that Macau’s gotten huge while everyone else has looked on enviously, but I figured that pulling as much data as I could
Latest report–comparing and contrasting Read More »
news about gamblingI can finally announce the specifics about this month’s Gaming Research Colloquium talk. Here’s the official announcement: Please join us on Thursday, March 24, at 12:15 PM, as March Gaming Research Fellow Benjamin Min Han delivers a Gaming Research Colloquium talk entitled “We’re Right Next Door’: Televisual Las Vegas in Cold War America.” Han, currently
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life in vegas, what's newYesterday I checked out the Las Vegas Mob Experience, the new attraction at the Tropicana. I had profoundly mixed feelings about it. We start out in a line, waiting to get in for about 20 minutes. There’s a big fake ship, with what is apparently bootlegged booze being off-loaded. As I tweeted, it reminded me
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life in vegasDavid Orr. Beautiful and Pointless: A Guide to Modern Poetry. New York, Harper Collins, 2011. 256 pages. Poetry is in a curious place. There’s undoubtedly many poets writing great poetry out there, but the art form seems to be in crisis–even accomplished poets have a sneaking suspicion poetry isn’t getting the respect it deserves. For
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book reviewsThis is in today’s Vegas Seven. Again, since it’s a short piece, there’s no online link, but here’s the text: Last spring, Harrah’s Entertainment (now Caesars Entertainment) rolled out an offer that, for those who like to stretch their waistband without stretching their dollars, sounded almost too good to be true: the Buffet of Buffets,
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Vegas Seven, writingAbout 2 weeks ago, I interviewed Marilyn Spiegel for a profile piece in Vegas Seven. There are always space constraints, so I thought it would be a good idea to record the interview and post at at UNLV Gaming Podcasts, mostly so she can share her story in her own words. I”m having some issues
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news about gambling, writingPage 18 of Vegas Seven has a brief profile of our last Gaming Research Fellow, Dr. Darryl A. Smith. Don’t tell Darryl A. Smith that Las Vegas isn’t a thought-provoking town. The Bonanza High School graduate has long been fascinated by the tensions just underneath the city’s surface. He channeled his wanderlust into academics, pursuing
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Vegas Seven, writingNeve Maslakovic. Regarding Ducks and Universes. Las Vegas: Amazon Encore, 2011. 340 pages. I’m back with a fiction review. REGARDING DUCKS AND UNIVERSES is a clever novel that mashes together science fiction and mystery. Some backstory: in 1986, a scientist duplicated the universe, with Earth A and Earth B gradually diverging because of random chance:
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book reviewsIt’s two podcasts in two days at the Center for Gaming Research–when it rains it pours, in a good way. Today, I posted the Gaming Research Colloquium talk given this afternoon by Darryl A. Smith: Darryl A. Smith, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Pomona College “’Dark with Excessive Bright’”: Gambling Tells and the Naming Taboo”
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what's newFinally, another Green Felt Journal in Vegas Seven. And this is a good one, too: It’s not often that a CEO becomes a hero by jumping off a building, but most CEOs aren’t like Frank Riolo. And most companies don’t operate observation towers attached to a Las Vegas casino. Since May 2008—just about the start
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news about gambling, Vegas Seven, writingAt the opening of the Tropicana’s new Cantor Gaming-run sports book, I had a very interesting conversation with Cantor Gaming President and CEO Lee Amaitis. It was so interesting that I thought I should share it with everyone. So we made an appointment for a sit-down interview, and here it is. UNLV Gaming Podcast #27
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news about gamblingThis week in the Las Vegas Business Press, I take a look back at a year that raises more questions than it answered: From the start of last year, Nevadans had no illusions. The recession showed no concrete signs of letting up, and within the gaming industry hope, particularly about the newly opened CityCenter, was
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news about gamblingLin Zhe. George A. Fowler, trans. Old Town. Amazon Crossing, 2011. 704 pages. A really good novel, even more than a film, can get the reader inside the minds of its characters. OLD TOWN is a novel that lets the reader vicariously experience three generations of life in China. Spanning much of the 20th century,
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book reviewsAnyone else catch this Notice to Licensees from the Nevada Gaming Control Board last week? DATE: February 8, 2011 TO: All Gaming Licensees and Other Interested Persons FROM: Mark A. Lipparelli, Chairman SUBJECT: Merging of the Board’s Investigations and Corporate Securities Divisions Effective Monday, February 14, 2011, the Investigations and Corporate Securities Divisions of the
NV regulation’s just changed Read More »
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