I got this is my email the other day–if you are thinking about running the RnR LV Marathon this December, this might be the time to sign up: ROCKIN’ Summer Deal Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon enthusiasts unite Join us for the Inaugural Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon & Half Marathon – the REAL DEAL […]
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life in vegasJohn Katsilometes at the LV Sun has a good piece on the failure of Star Trek: The Experience to beam down into Neonopolis in time for this week’s Trek movie mayhem: The once-optimistic plans to open phases of Star Trek Experience at Neonopolis in concert with the new “Star Trek” movie on a single date
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life in vegasAs promised, I’m continuing the podcast even while the Colloquium series goes on hiatus for the summer. Yesterday I did an interview with John Blink, who co-wrote a book about the California Hotel and Casino. Last week I reviewed the book, so take a look if you want a preview. This is a quick (about
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what's newIn Steve Cyr’s talk last week, he made more than one reference to Mister Falcon, a legendary high roller who’s apparently been seen in town with Bruce Willis. I don’t know what you thought you heard, but that’s what the work-safe version should sound like. I was thinking about Mister Falcon today when I got
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what's newMichael Franzese. I’ll Make You an Offer You Can’t Refuse: Insider Tips from a Former Mob Boss. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009. 152 pages. Books on how to success in business are plentiful and, I suspect, not that helpful. Most businesses probably don’t fail because of lack of motivation, but because they are undercapitalized. Time management
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book reviewsDennis Ogawa and John M. Blink, with Mike Gordon. California Hotel and Casino: Hawai’i’s Home Away from Home. Honolulu: Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai’i, 2008. 135 pages. Some casinos get all of the hype, while others fly below the radar but are consistently good performers. The California, in downtown Las Vegas, is definitely one of
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book reviewsWe’ve got an outstanding new podcast up over at the UNLV Center for Gaming Research. You’ve really got to hear it to believe it: 07-April 30, 2009 Steve Cyr, "From Hotel School to the Celebrity Suite: My Career in the Casino Industry” Cyr, a legendary Las Vegas casino host, shoots from the hip as only
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what's newThe Press reports that the Tropicana Atlantic City is almost ready to go on the block: After a 16-month saga, Tropicana Casino and Resort is one step closer to being sold. New Jersey gaming regulators today authorized the property to be auctioned off in bankruptcy. Gary S. Stein, the state-appointed conservator overseeing the sale, said
Trop sale soon…really Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingYes, we’ve got another hugely interesting talk tomorrow at UNLV: casino superhost Steve Cyr, currently of the Hard Rock, who is the subject of Deke Castleman’s Whale Hunt in the Desert. The talk begins at 2. You can find more information here. Cyr is a UNLV alum and always has something interesting to say. Other
As a former casino security officer, I take a greater concern than some with people keeping themselves safe while on vacation at a casino resort. Often, carelessness and lack of vigilance can lead to burglaries or worse. Since most crimes committed in casinos are crimes of opportunity, you can be proactive and prevent most, but
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life in vegasAlan Jay Zaremba. The Madness of March: Bonding and Betting with the Boys in Las Vegas. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2009. 228 pages. Sports betting is one of the most popular, yet least studied, forms of gambling. Researchers have been trying to get inside the heads of slot players for years, and there’s been
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book reviewsShaun Priest. Decisions. Lakeland, Florida: Small Dogma Publishing, 2008. 233 pages. Often, fiction does a better job of capturing reality than statistics and figures. Sometimes, there are no reliable numbers out there. Sports betting is a perfect example. There are not even solid estimates of the total amount bet illegally on sports each year because,
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book reviewsWe were lucky to host an outstanding Gaming Research Colloquium talk today: Dr. Nicholas Tosney spoke about some parallels between early modern British gambling and 20th century Las Vegas gambling. Great stuff that I highly recommend. Nick Tosney: Commercialization, Crime, and Casinos – Center for Gaming Research. Subscribe to the UNLV Gaming Podcast in iTunes,
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what's newProblem gambling is classified as an impulse control disorder, and it looks like it may have company. An Iowa State study says that many children suffer from addictive video gaming. From USA Today: Nearly one in 10 children and teens who play video games show behavioral signs that may indicate addiction, a new study reports.
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gambling & cultureLauren Goldstein Crowe and Sagra Maceira De Rosen. The Towering World of Jimmy Choo: A Glamorous Story of Power, Profits, and the Pursuit of the Perfect Shoe. New York: Bloomsbury, 2009. 215 pages. This is probably not the best book to read after American Rust. The transition from the gritty, downbeat novel to this superficial
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book reviewsCops in Royal Oak, Michigan, have gotten their digs renovated–thanks to bookies. From the Chicago Tribune: The second floor of the citys police station has a new look thanks to money seized a decade ago from a sports gambling operation. The department put up almost $34,000 for the $52,000 renovation completed Wednesday, most of it
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gambling & culturePhilipp Meyer. American Rust. New York: Spiegel and Grau, 2009. 343. This powerful novel is a case study in character development. Each chapter focuses on a single character. While the narrative remains in the 3rd person, the reader primarily sees the world through that character’s eyes for a few pages. This is an effective technique
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book reviewsI did a short radio interview with 94.9 in San Diego about, of all things, casinos and smells. Here’s a description and a link to the audio: After reading an article in the Union-Tribune about new scents (that’s right, smells) being installed in a local casino to entice gamblers to stay and play longer, Hansen
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what's newI’ve got a new Las Vegas Business Press article up. I got the idea after coming across the quotation that I mention in Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom: In the past 10 years, the national casino industry has become progressively more concentrated. Through buyouts, mergers, and acquisitions, effective control of the gambling business has been
LVBP column on the Strip and monopoly Read More »
news about gamblingI’m in the middle of the website update, and in answering a question about the Flamingo I found out that they have a restaurant named “Voga.” It’s the ultimate evolution of taste, according to the folks who wrote the copy for the website. It’s apparently the name of an Italian wine, but it makes me