For a while, the Big Story was how hot Las Vegas was. Then it was Macau: The Next Generation. Now that Vegas has cooled off a bit and Macau’s hitting a plateau, we’ve got a new story: Macau is in dire straits. Even Time has picked it up: But in the wake of the faltering […]
Macau gloom bandwagon Read More »
news about gamblingAs Atlantic City continues its own Year of the Four Emperors, its fourth mayor in a year has just been sworn in. New mayor Lorenzo Langford used his swearing in not to talk about the effect of the weakened economy on the city’s biggest industry or other weighty issues, but instead took a hard line
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atlantic cityThis story from the LA Times sums up what I’ve been saying about the prospects for Internet gaming in the new administration, and raises another possibility that I think is more realistic: At a time of war and economic troubles, legislation on Internet gambling may not be high on President-elect Barack Obama’s to-do list. But
States take the lead? Read More »
news about gamblingDo I lose my status as a mature, reputable scholar (if I ever had such a status) if I admit that this headline made me snicker? Lone Butte casino will open Nov. 20. I know that they are supposed to appeal to adults, but I would think that a casino wouldn’t want a name that
Binon’s casino in downtown Las Vegas has been through a rough few years. It’s been sold twice and along the way has lost the “Horseshoe” name and the World Series of Poker (which crowned its 2008 champion last night, btw). With new owner Terry Caudill at the helm, however, a turnaround is in progress, starting
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news about gamblingMachine gambling used to be quite common in urban America, as this column from the Pasadena Star-News shows: Pasadena in 1937 was a gambling den of sorts. Slot machines and pinball machines that made cash payoffs were common in the business areas of town. But change was coming. The Pasadena Post wrote on March 13,
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gambling & cultureWe had a big kidnapping case here in Las Vegas a few weeks ago that had nothing to do with casinos and everything to do with the standard “drug deal gone wrong.” So I found this story from the Sun Daily quite interesting: A Chinese man faked his own kidnapping as well as that of
Fake kidnapping, real slots Read More »
gambling & cultureI like to educate the public, so here’s my message for today: the weather has changed in Las Vegas. It’s cold now. Not Edmonton cold, but Las Vegas cold. That means, for now, nighttime temps in the 40s and a high of maybe 70 in the afternoon. So if you’re coming to Vegas, pack appropriately.
Because I was emailed this story three times and I’m too busy to look for something else to post today, you are going to hear about Antigua getting whitelisted. From the Antigua Sun: After months of hard work, negotiations and amendments, Antigua and Barbuda has successfully attained white list certification from the UK Department of
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news about gamblingTilar J. Mazzeo. The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It. New York: Collins, 2008. Champagne is an interesting luxury product. Originally, wine-makers were vexed by the bubbles that showed up in some of their bottles after a cold snap. But in the 17th century, a taste for
Book Review: The Widow Clicquot Read More »
book reviewsIf you are interested in gambling in Atlantic City, Pennsylvania, Marlyland, check out this new blog;Gaming Atlantic – A Casino Blog by James Karmel.
I consider it my duty to send my best wishes for Nevada Day cheer to all of my fellow Silver Staters, and to educate all non-Nevadans about this glorious celebration of…Nevada. Here’s a quote from James W. Hulse’s The Nevada Adventure: A History: We who live in Nevada are likely to forget what a strange
There has been plenty of gambling art: Huntington Press even has a book filled with it. Here’s a story about a Northern California artist’s arm’s length approach to the subject. From the Oakland Tribune: LISA ESHERICK is a Berkeley artist who currently has an exhibit of her casino paintings on display in San Francisco. But
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gambling & cultureArne K. Lang. Prize-Fighting: An American History. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, 2008. 266 pages. In my all-too-brief, but then again way-too-long career in casino security, I always looked forward to fight weekends. Boxing fans, I discovered, were among the most interesting, intelligent, and historically-engaged casino patrons I had the pleasure of meeting. Folks
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book reviewsAfter what seems like months, I see that I’ve got another Business Press article available online: Once, casinos threw huge parties to remind the community that they were a year older. Large cakes in the shape of the hotel were common, with showgirls gamely framing the desert in well-circulated publicity photographs. Casinos bought advertisements that
Today’s Sun has an interesting piece about how different corporate cultures work on the Strip: As it turns out, the industry’s giants, MGM Mirage and Harrah’s Entertainment, have evolved into different animals at the top of their respective food chains. Customers will be familiar with some of these differences. While most MGM Mirage resorts are
Diff’rent strokes for casino folks Read More »
news about gamblingWe’ve all heard the doom and gloom about casino stocks. I’m not sure I get all the fuss. Either they’ll be going up or they’ll be going down. It’s a 50/50 prop, right? So we shouldn’t be surprised when they decline in value for a while. Small comfort, I’m sure, to those who’ve substantially invested
An uncertain future Read More »
news about gamblingThere’s still time to register for the Winter Getaway, so I figured I let you know a little more about it. Here’s an excerpt from a Frommer’s article that gives you the flavor of the event: When one of Peter Murphy’s poems got “slaughtered” at a famous writer’s conference a few year’s back, he vowed
Just to give you an idea of what I’m working with, I wanted to post this letter from my Homeowners’ Association. It’s probably no better and no worse than most HOAs, but they went a little “nuts” with the “quotation marks” and capitalizing Common Nouns. You’ve really got to click and read the whole thing–it
A very quotable newsletter Read More »
life in vegasMatt Weiland and Sean Wilsey, eds. State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America. New York: HarperCollins, 2008. 569 pp. This collection of original essays is an attempt to duplicate–in concentrated form–the classic WPA 1930s state guides. The editors solicited pieces about each of the 50 states, and conclude with a conversation about Washington, DC.
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book reviews