Vegas Seven is back on its weekly schedule after its end-of-year double issue, which means that today you have a brand new Green Felt Journal to read. It’s about how smaller casinos competing with the New Year’s parties on the Strip: The lion’s share of that haul goes to the big Strip resorts, which host
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life in vegas, news about gamblingThis month, I have a milestone Atlantic City history column in Casino Connection that celebrates one of the real personalities of Atlantic City, Tony “Mr. Wonderful” Grant: Today, most of the entertainment in Atlantic City comes courtesy of seasoned veterans and nationally known recording artists. Once, however, the city was a mecca for amateur performers
Tony Grant, Star Maker in Casino Connection AC Read More »
atlantic city, writingGB Tran. Vietnamerica: A Family’s Journey. New York: Villard, 2011. 192 pages. Graphic novels can be an extremely effective medium for memoir–Art Speigelman’s Maus and Marjane Satrapi’ Persepolis have proven. GB Tran’s Vietnamerica is very much in the mold of these two classics, and it tells a story that similarly mingles memoir with history. Tran’s
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book reviewsInteresting column in The Economist that I don’t necessarily agree with: More important, few residents of Las Vegas would any longer agree that their city is either great or happy. Nevada has America’s highest unemployment rate. In Las Vegas, unemployment has risen more this year even as it has flattened in the rest of the
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life in vegas, news about gamblingThis week in the Las Vegas Business Press, I finally get a chance to discuss the October Nevada gaming numbers: For both the state and the Strip, it was the third consecutive month of positive year-over-year revenue growth — as good a sign as any that, for now at least, the bleeding has stopped. At
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Las Vegas Business Press, news about gambling, writingNo Green Felt Journal this week because it’s a special Double Issue, but I did get a quick write-up of Co*, the Cosmopolitan’s not-a-cafeteria employee eatery in the Latest section in Vegas Seven: At the Cosmopolitan’s ribbon-cutting ceremony Dec. 15, property CEO John Unwin paid tribute to the 5,000 employees—the Cosmo term is “co-stars”—delivering “spirited
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life in vegasHere’s the info for RJ Rowley’s Gaming Research Colloquium talk: January 25, 2011 12:15 PM RJ Rowley, Gaming Research Colloquium "Neon Beyond the Neon: The Geography of Locals Casinos" Rowley, an assistant professor of geography at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, will discuss his research into the origins of the locals casino phenomenon in Las Vegas.
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what's newI’ve posted an occasional paper from a former fellow, Nicholas Tosney, over at gaming.unlv.edu. Here’s the summary: Paper 08: December 2010 Nicholas Tosney. “Gaming in Britain and America: Some Historical Comparisons” Abstract: This paper compares the development of gambling in Britain during the late 17th and 18th centuries with the emergence of gambling in Nevada
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what's newI missed this yesterday, but my latest Green Felt Journal column is out in Vegas Seven. It’s about some of the unusual events taking place at the Silverton: Santa is floating inside the 117,000-gallon aquarium at the Silverton Casino and Lodge, his white beard billowing as the parrot fish and stingrays glide by. He’s taking
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life in vegas, news about gambling, Vegas Seven, writingCharles Elton. Mr Toppit. New York: Other Books, 2010. 400 pages. With MR TOPPIT, Charles Elton gives the reader a look into the life, not of an author, but of his family. The Hayseed Chronicles are a mashup of A.A. Milne’s Pooh books and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, with Luke Hayward, the book’s chief
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book reviewsIn my latest Las Vegas Business Press column, I talk about how the Cosmopolitan marks the beginning of an era on the Strip: With the opening of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, some observers believe we’;re seeing the end of an era. Unless the economy improves remarkably, it’;s likely the last new hotel-casino that will
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news about gambling, Vegas Seven, writingThe latest Casino Connection Atlantic City is out, and my AC History piece is about a real Atlantic City institution, White House Subs: Mention the White House to longtime Atlantic City residents, and their first thought isn’t the building with the Oval Office, but the local landmark at Arctic and Mississippi avenues. Now part of
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atlantic city, writingGraham Moore. The Sherlockian. New York: TWELVE, 2010. 350 pages. Book Review Friday is back with a bang. After a little bit of a layoff, I’ve recharged myself with some excellent fiction. I really, really liked this book. There’s only so many places a mystery can go. Someone has to get murdered, and someone has
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book reviewsI’m thrilled that two-thirds of my Cosmopolitan pre-opening trifecta are out. In today’s Vegas Seven, I’ve got two pieces about the soon-to-open casino. The first is a profile of John Unwin, the Cosmopolitan’s CEO: John Unwin’s not quite moved into his new office—the artwork’s still waiting to be hung and the shelves are mostly bare—but
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news about gambling, Vegas Seven, writingA while back, some folks asked me what I thought the near-future held for Las Vegas gaming and tourism. After mulling over some of the LVCVA data for the past 40 years, I gave them six different scenarios. This might be nice for a wider audience, I thought. But, since I had a lot on
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life in vegas, news about gamblingWent looking for my Green Felt Journal column in the Local section of Vegas Seven’s newsroom this morning. I didn’t find it. “Well that’s not a good sign,” I thought. Then I took another look at the mouseover menu for News and saw that the Green Felt Journal now has its own dedicated section. Cool.
Five diamond party in Vegas Seven Read More »
news about gambling, Vegas Seven, writingFiring open the digital Las Vegas Sun today, I saw a breaking new story: New Years Eve packages for Cosmopolitan will be available for $5,600. Except that I first saw that story on vegastripping.com back on Sunday. It’s another sign to me of how the nature of news is changing: you’re just as likely to
Something for everyone Read More »
life in vegas, news about gamblingWell, three, actually, if you want to count the group nomination for the Vegas Gang Podcast. Since I’m one-quarter of the panel, I’ll give myself .25 of a nomination. And it’s not really me who’s nominated, but my work. This very website, www.dieiscast.com, is up for the always-competitive “Best Blog” award. The podcast I host
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what's newIn this week’s Las Vegas Business Press, I offer a long view of the Global Gaming Expo: The conference panels are finished though they have been recorded for posterity, and the last of the exhibit booths have been disassembled at the Las Vegas Convention Center. It is an appropriate time to consider how the industry
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Las Vegas Business Press, news about gambling, writingIt may be Thanksgiving, but it’s still Thursday, so a new Vegas Seven has hit the streets with its usual Green Felt Journal adorning the local news section. This week, I look at the mayhem that was the Global Gaming Expo, with a focus on a smaller exhibitor: The exhibitors are a diverse lot, as
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news about gambling, writing