A while ago, I got a Twitter request for my thoughts on the Hard Rock lawsuit. Here they are, in the digital pages of the Las Vegas Business Press: There are several issues here. First is whether the “drunken debauchery” that the HRC folks accuse the HRH of allowing to take place somehow diminishes the […]
HRH, HRC thoughts in the LVBP Read More »
news about gambling, writingMaryland’s first slots parlor has just opened. From the Philly Inquirer: Tim Wilmott, chief operating officer and president of Wyomissing, Pa.-based Penn National Gaming Inc., joined Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley in a ribbon-cutting for the $97.5 million casino, whose doors first opened to the public Monday after trial test days last weekend.O'Malley praised Penn National
Slots in MD offer more competition Read More »
news about gamblingIt’s Green Felt Journal time again. This week, I talk about the impact of football on Las Vegas in Vegas Seven: Even though Las Vegas doesn’t have an NFL team, football is a popular pastime in the city, and one that has a huge economic impact on the area.Yes, there are the Locomotives of the
Football’s local impact in Vegas Seven, and an award Read More »
news about gambling, writingRoll the Bones has made another list…CasinoOnline.co.uk’s list of the top 50 gambling books of all time. At #13, it’s near enough the top to be respectable: In Roll the Bones, David Schwartz has compiled one of the most thorough historical accounts of gambling available. Schwartz manages to include gambling’s development in different areas of
Lucky 13 for Roll the Bones Read More »
writingPaul Goldberger has something to say about CityCenter in the latest New Yorker: But it’s been clear for a while that Las Vegas has been running out of themes. The trouble is that its effects rely entirely on dazzlement, an over-the-top gigantism that gets old fast. By this point, you could do a hotel that
My thoughts on the NYer CC piece Read More »
news about gamblingHey everyone, I’ve just posted a new occasional paper over at http://gaming.unlv.edu. It’s part of a bigger study of locals sports books by recent UNLV sociology Ph.D. Fred Krauss: Fred Krauss. “Taking the Points: The Socialization Process of a Sports Book Regular.” Patrons of a casino sports book use the environment for much more than
New Occasional Paper at UNLV Read More »
gambling & cultureIt’s Thursday, so my long-awaited piece on Cosmo, 90 days out, is out in Vegas Seven: It hasn’t been easy for the Cosmopolitan. When ground was broken in October 2005, it was one of a crop of planned casinos that were going to re-make Las Vegas. The Palazzo, Encore and Aria opened, but Boyd Gaming
Countdown to the Cosmo in V7 Read More »
news about gambling, writingI’ve got a new article in the latest issue of Gaming Law Review and Economics, about the Wire Act: For a Camelot-era piece of legislation, the Wire Act has a long and unintended shadow. Used haltingly in the 1960s, when the Wire Act failed to deliver the death blow to organized crime, 1970’s Racketeer-Influenced and
Wire Act article in GLRE Read More »
news about gambling, writingChuck Darrow of the Philadelphia Inquirer offers a preview of the soon-to-open SugarHouse casino: At 45,000-and-change square feet, SugarHouse is by far the region's smallest betting parlor. This is a function of casino officials' sensitivity to the surrounding Fishtown neighborhood, residents of which did not want a supersized facility. Its surprisingly low ceilings add to
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news about gamblingIs it Thursday already? Then I’ve got something for you to read from Vegas Seven. This week, I talk about people leaving their kids in casino parking lots, which has reached crisis proportions in Pennsylvania: Take, for example, the recent flap in Bensalem, Pa. A whopping seven times this summer, parents or grandparents left minors
Tots in lots in Vegas Seven Read More »
news about gambling, writingI’ve been absent from blogging for a few days because of a few projects I’ve been working on. One of them is complete, and available for your perusal: the Casino Twitter Adoption study. Here’s the executive summary: Like other businesses, casinos have begun using the social network/information sharing service Twitter. The pattern of Twitter adoption
Vegas casino Twitter adoption Read More »
news about gambling, what's newGraeme Donald. The Man Who Shot the Man Who Shot Lincoln, and 46 other stories of unknown players from history. Long Island City, New York: Osprey, 2010. 288 pages. Most people have an inkling of the major players in history: they know the name of John Wilkes Booth, the man who shot Lincoln. But how
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book reviewsIt’s a busy week, but I still had time for a Vegas Seven column about G2E moving: Over the course of a week, Las Vegas hosts conventions and trade expos for industries from baking to sheet metal. So it’s not surprising that the world’s premier casino industry trade show, the Global Gaming Expo, is held
G2E on the move in V7 Read More »
news about gambling, writingI’ve got another LVBP column up, in which I discuss whether looking at Nevada’s gaming numbers by quarters can yield any insights: The financial quarter is a handy time measure for evaluating the Nevada gaming industry’s recessionary progress. Three months is long enough to absorb monthly volatilities, but not as long as a year. Looking
Look at quarterlies in LVBP Read More »
news about gambling, writingBeth Raymer. Lay the Favorite: A Gambling Memoir. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 201. 240 pages. Sports betting might be the clubbiest form of gambling. Every game has its own lingo, but sports betting, maybe because it’s rooted in real physical competition, just seems a little more insular. There are plenty of books out there
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book reviewsThis week’s Green Felt Journal is out–I talk a bit about marketing luxury properties during a recession. From Vegas Seven, as usual: The laws of supply and demand aren’t sentimental, particularly when it comes to hotel rooms. No matter what kind of rate a suite might have gotten in the past, when there are more
Recession luxe in Vegas Seven Read More »
news about gambling, writingThere’s another article about casino carpet available today–this is a little piece in Wired magazine: “The carpets definitely play a big part in keeping the town as surreal as it is,” said Maluszynski by e-mail. “Thought has been given to the carpeting by people who want to create this special atmosphere, [one] that defines Vegas
Vegas carpet in Wired Read More »
gambling & cultureSince starting the Occasional Paper Series over at the Center for Gaming Research, I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity of getting to learn more about the topics that scholars choose to write about. So it’s a good day when I can announce that another one is ready for your reading pleasure: Paper 06: August 2010 Laura
New paper up @UNLV CGR Read More »
what's newLeo Tolstoy and Ben H. Winters. Android Karenina. Philadelphia: Quirk Books, 2010. 541 pages. I don’t review too much fiction, but I thought I’d give this one a shot. Quirk Books has put out a few “mash-up” books–combinations of classic (and public domain) works of literature with genre fiction. The titles alone–like Price and Prejudice
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book reviewsAt last I’m able to update my blog–it’s been a very busy day. I wanted to do a win/slot analysis to address the “fewer slot machines, but they have more games so it’s OK” idea, but that’s going to have to wait. Instead, read about my latest Vegas Seven column, which covers casinos breaking into
Casino Facebook games in Vegas Seven Read More »
news about gambling, writing