James McCommons. Waiting on a Train: The Embattled Future of Passenger Rail Service. White River Junction, Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing Company, 285 pages. Transportation is a big part of the American national character. We’ve all learned how canals helped to tie the fledgling United States together in the ante-bellum period and railroads did the same […]
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book reviewsHere’s a holiday update on the status of Pinnacle’s much-ballyhooed Atlantic City project. Remember the billboards? From the AC Press: The site has become yet another vacant city lot, a prominent symbol of broken promises and the weak economy.Fences line the gravel lot dotted with weeds and a few scattered slabs of old concrete. Local
Post-Pinnacle AC=Post-war Berlin Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingYesterday while doing some unrelated research I found the Lewis Hotel Training Course, circa 1935, in the collections at UNLV. It seems to be a guide to working in hotels that explains the duties and obligations of every position. I’ve scanned in the first few pages of the “chambermaid” volume to give you an idea
Here’s some breaking news: things don’t look so hot for 2010, at least if you’re in the casino business. From the LVRJ: The impact the recession had on the casino industry in 2009 has not been completely accounted for, but by all measures the year will go down as the worst on record. Through October,
As I was driving out of Aria last Wednesday, I saw something unusual at the corner of Harmon and the Strip. This was the best picture I could get: You’ve got to click a twice to get the image big enough to see what’s going on, but it might be worth it.
I’ve been busy today getting the slot hold occasional paper finished up, so running the risk of CityCenter fatigue, here’s an excerpt from my last LVBP column about, you guessed it, CityCenter: This might be the most novel thing visitors notice about CityCenter, at first. And its hard to believe that its not by design.
CityCenter and traffic Read More »
news about gamblingI don’t have much time to write today, but I wanted to get this thought out there. I haven’t seen the new James Cameron movie Avatar yet, but from the commercials and the reviews, I think that it might be the best cinematic comparison to City Center. It’s worth noting that they’ve been “in production”
Ariavatar and Cirque du Spring Read More »
gambling & culture, news about gamblingBut you didn’t need me to tell you that, you’ve probably seen pictures and more at ariaopening.com. And here’s a few words from the Sun about the opening: The wait is over. After a two-minute fireworks display, the Aria Resort & Casino opened its doors to the public late Wednesday night, giving tourists and Las
Aria is open at last Read More »
life in vegas, news about gamblingI can’t think of a time that I’ve seen someone put in their place this brilliantly. From NORM: Donald Trump and MGM Mirage management won’t be exchanging Christmas cards. The controversial New York real estate developer is raining on CityCenter’s parade, calling it “an absolute catastrophe.” “The biggest problem is it costs so much,” Trump
On a sneak preview tour last week, I took a few photos of the carpet, with the promise that I’d hold them until the opening. Here’s what you’ll see if you look down in the Aria casino: I’ve also updated the carpet galleries to match the look of the rest of the site. Check out
I’ve got Aria covered Read More »
news about gambling, what's newI’ve been asked by more than one media outlet about City Center, and I thought that I’d just post some of my thoughts here for public consumption. My single-sentence response to “what does it all mean” is that City Center is a gamble in ways that previous Strip projects haven’t been. There’s been skepticism about
City Center in perspective Read More »
news about gamblingAtlantic City has some new competition, or at least a refurbished version of old competition. From the AC Press: While the atmosphere of the stylishly named Parx Casino may feature some European or Asian-inspired elegance, the crowd will have a distinctly Philly flavor. When this new $250 million slots parlor opens its doors Friday, it
Sunday afternoon in the Parx Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingWilliam R. Eadington and Meighan R. Doyle, editors. Integrated Resort Casinos: Implications for Economic Growth and Social Impacts. Reno: Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming, 2009. 309 pages. In November 2005, Harrah’s Entertainment announced plans to partner with Slovenia’s Hit group to build what was described as a $1.5 billion destination casino
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book reviewsThe Nevada gaming revenue figures for October have been released, and they don’t look promising. From the LVRJ: Nevada gaming revenues hit a new low in October. Statewide gaming revenues were $800.3 million, the lowest monthly figure in almost six years. The decline was 11.6 percent compared with $904.9 million reported a year ago. October
Thoughts on October Revenues Read More »
news about gamblingIf you missed my brief appearance on Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell last night, I’ll give you a quick recap. I was part of a panel that talked about the Terence Watanabe case, which was news because his attorney talked to Good Morning America. I’d prepared some factoids about a previous high-profile attempt to use “the
Stuff I didn’t say yesterday Read More »
news about gamblingI recently recorded an interview with the crew at the Gambling Tales podcast, and it is up. Here are the details: The Poker Hall of Fame episode: James “Wild Bill” Hickok, Dr. David Schwartz, and Hall of Fame chat. Gambling Tales Podcast Show 003. .Falstaff and Special K discuss the induction of Mike Sexton to
A gambling tale that’s been told Read More »
what's newAs some of you know, I participated in the Las Vegas Rock and Roll Marathon this year, and I had a ball. But I’d like to share something that happened before the race that, hopefully, can make a point about what not to do with a Strip casino. Parking at the race is always an
Not-so-smart decisions at the Trop Read More »
life in vegas, news about gamblingI don’t have much to post today–I’m just getting a few things taken care of before I head down to the Rock and Roll Las Vegas Marathon Expo to work the Las Vegas in Motion booth for a while. If you want to run the race but haven’t signed up yet, come on down! There’s
Concluding a really good run of podcasts in 2009, over at UNLV we’ve posted the Colloquium talk that Rob Bone, VP of Marketing for WMS Gaming, gave today. The UNLV alum talks about his career path, the behind-the-scenes of slot development and marketing, and the challenges ahead for slot manufacturers. Listen to the audio file
New podcast up: Rob Bone talks slots & innovation Read More »
news about gambling, what's newSide discussion to the Vdara opening: I heard one PR person reference it as “the Vdara,” and it sounded wrong. It’s funny how some casinos need the definite article in front of them, others don’t, and others sound OK either way. I know there’s a debate about “the Wynn/Wynn,” but you’d pretty much never say,
The definite article? Read More »
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