Susan Casey. The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean. New York: Doubleday, 2010. 336 pages. In THE WAVE, Susan Casey looks at the science behind giant waves (towering over 100 ft), which were once thought impossible. Turns out, they’re crashing around the middle of the ocean all the time. […]
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book reviewsIn this week’s Green Felt Journal I look at how technology is changing the convention biz in Vegas: Getting conventions to come back isn’t going to be easy, though both the Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Authority and several casinos are reporting more robust bookings next year. The challenge will be keeping these guests happy
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life in vegas, news about gambling, writingIt’s not every day that venting about the frustrating aspects of your job leads you to a column. But if you read my piece in the Las Vegas Business Press, you’ll see how I use some misconceptions about Las Vegas as an opportunity to set the record somewhat straight: Recently, for example, I received an
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life in vegas, news about gamblingWell, son, when a mommy casino and a daddy casino love each other very much…oh, that’s not it. Basically, they come from gamblers, who graciously leave more than they take in bill validators and drop boxes in casinos across Nevada. But where exactly does most of this gambling take place? It seems obvious that a
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news about gamblingI’m teaching a new class in Spring Semester here at UNLV: GAM 395, The History of Casinos. Here’s the course summary from the flyer: Get three credits to learn about the exciting history of casinos in Las Vegas and around the world. Topics include: – Gambling before casinos – Organized crime and casinos – How
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what's newAlyn Shipton. Hi-De-Ho: The Life of Cab Calloway. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. 283 pages. Cab Calloway was an important figure in American popular music history: over his career, which spanned decades, he sold millions of records and blurred several musical genres. His big band was one of the crucibles of bop. In this studiously
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book reviewsIt’s Thursday, so it’s time for another Green Felt Journal in Vegas Seven. This week I look at the innovation of bilingual blackjack tables at Buffalo Bill’s in Primm: Richey has found that it’s a market loyal to casinos that offer good values for food and entertainment, something for which the Primm casinos are well
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news about gambling, writingInteresting article in today’s Las Vegas Sun by Richard Velotta about how undue concern over carbon emissions may seriously impact travel. This has tremendous implications for Las Vegas: Seventy-two government agencies have cut their travel budgets because of environmental concerns, a top travel executive said, leading him to conclude that overzealous environmental policy could be
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life in vegasI have just been sent a series of haiku that summarize articles about various aspects of casino gambling. I thought I would share a few with you. When the Chips are Down Gambling took a hit; Gambling’s more than Nevada And vice versa. Source: A special report on gambling “When the chips are down” THE
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gambling & cultureErik Sass, with Will Pearson and Mandesh Hattikudur. The Mental Floss History of the United States. New York: Harper, 2010. 448 pages. Book review Friday is back! Again! There are plenty of statistics out there that demonstrate just how little most Americans know about their history. This is doubtless a bad thing, and not just
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book reviewsMy latest Green Felt Journal is up in Vegas Seven. This week I talk about a brand new attraction at Circus Circus that’s a little spooky: About this time every year, theme parks around the country get a monthlong reprieve from the off-season as they re-theme themselves for Halloween. No one wants to float down
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life in vegas, writingInteresting opinion piece from a Malaysian paper about the Singapore casinos: Since the opening of the two casinos in Singapore, some billionaires were reported to have lost a great amount of money while the two casinos were reported to have made impressive performances. Some suffered great losses while some made great gains. It is the
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news about gamblingIn my latest Las Vegas Business Press column, I dissect the August 2010 Nevada gaming numbers: And if your casino doesn't offer baccarat or high-end play, you might be out of luck. With only 22 out of the 329 casinos with nonrestricted licenses in the state 6.7 percent offering the game, only a few are
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Las Vegas Business Press, news about gambling, writingEran Katz. Where Did Noah Park the Ark? Ancient Memory Techniques for Remembering Practically Anything. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2010. 237 pages. Book Review Friday is back! With a vengeance! And since I’ve read this book, and I can’t cite forgetfulness as an excuse for not posting book reviews here each Friday. Everyone would
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book reviewsThursday once again brings a new Green Felt Journal in Vegas Seven. This week I talk about an event that I’m privileged to be a part of, Vegas Podcast-a-palooza: The event is called Vegas Podcast-a-palooza, and it brings together three prominent Las Vegas podcasts: the Vegas Gang, a roundtable discussion among several Vegas aficionados (including
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life in vegas, news about gambling, writingOne of the revelations from yesterday’s 3Q results announcement was that MGM has received an offer of about $250 million for the 50% share of the Borgata that the company is obliged to sell thanks to the Pansy Ho/Casino Control Commission imbroglio. The bigger isn’t named, but since it is mentioned that Boyd has the
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atlantic city, news about gamblingI response to a few questions, I put together some gaming revenue data and came up with Nevada Gaming Statistics: Year-to-Date Comparison, a look at how this year’s results stack up against last year’s. Found some interesting things. Statewide, in 2009 the January-August total revenue was $6,944,221,000. In 2010, it was $6,937,680,000. A decrease of
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news about gamblingIt’s another Thursday, which means another Green Felt Journal in Vegas Seven. This one is about a remarkable woman who works at the El Cortez, Liz Butler: If you want a lesson in Las Vegas history, you don’t have to go much farther than Liz Butler, who’s still serving drinks at the El Cortez. With
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life in vegas, writingThis month in Casino Connection, I take a look back at one of Atlantic City’s most honest public officials, and its first noteworthy historian, Alfred Heston: Atlantic City has seen generations of public officials and interested citizens, but few residents have left a legacy as monumental as Alfred Miller Heston, a newspaper publisher, historian and
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atlantic city, writingWhat is it about Las Vegas that brings out the worst in some writers? The latest victim shares his thoughts on Las Vegas in Smithsonian Magazine, though I cant imagine why an editor would solicit this kind of superficial “analysis,” much less publish it: I knew, going in, that I’d feel out of place. The
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life in vegas, writing