Jeff Haney over at the LV Sun’s had a bad run with Vegas sports books recently. In his latest column, he comes just short of calling for an immediate ban on all sports betting. Here’s the apex of the piece: My opinion of elected public officials places them slightly below Saturday morning scamdicapper slime on
Sporrts betting rampage Read More »
news about gamblingRight now, Missouri won’t let you lose more than $500 in its casinos in any single two-hour period, and you’ve got to swipe your player card to get “on board.” But that might change this election year, according to Forbes: Supporters say it doesn’t matter that the gambling industry wrote and bankrolled the promotion of
MO to lose loss limits? Read More »
news about gamblingI really think that they get Las Vegas street names by randomly picking words out of a dictionary without checking to read the definition. Why else is there really a “Bombastic Court” on the west side? View Larger Map Would you want to live at an address that proclaimed you to be “marked by or
When the Trop AC first went on sale (it seems like a decade ago), a newspaper reporter asked me how much I thought it would get. I considered the Sands’ recent selling price and made a quick mental tally of the Trop’s relative size. “$650 million, ” I replied. “Maybe $700 million. The next day,
What’s Trop worth? Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingInteresting piece in the LA Times today about yet another one-day casino: Las Vegas casino openings typically demand red carpets, cocktail parties, celebrity guest lists and fireworks. But not so at the Queen of Hearts — it's a one-day casino. This spartan, eight-hour event is everything the Strip is not: small, unpretentious and quiet, with
With the on-going economic tough times, some casinos have tightened up their slot machines. Some have clamped down on comps. Others have fired people, while even more have just plain gotten cheap. But they still lead their customers to believe that their stays will be grandiose: patrons are promised world class dining, service, and entertainment.
Low expectations are funny Read More »
news about gamblingI signed up for a Total Rewards card a while ago to get on the mailing list. Theoretically, I should be collecting promotional materials from all casinos down at the Center for Gaming Research. But because most casino people I talk to consider preserving their history only marginally less important than alphabetizing their recyclables, I’m
Harrah’s total email fun Read More »
writingSome folks down in Cape May, NJ (home of the Winter Getaway) thought it would be a good idea to relocate a colony of feral cats. Now, they are beset by skunks. From the AC Press: McGlade has run the oceanfront eatery next to Cape May Convention Hall for 28 years, and never before had
Why you should leave cats alone Read More »
atlantic city, haphazard worldHey, maybe the Atlantic City Council reads this blog. It looks like they’re suddenly saying the same thing I was two weeks ago about Pinnacle. From the AC Press: In November 2006, the Sands Casino Hotel closed its doors to make way for incoming Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. At the time, Pinnacle Chairman Dan Lee said
Pinnacle deadlines? Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingThe state of Nevada gives you a pretty wide berth when it comes to where you put your slot machines. Mostly they are in age-restricted places like casinos and bars, but you can also find them in family-friendly supermarkets and airports. At the Reno-Tahoe Airport, you can literally buy a Happy Meal just feet away
Slotless bars in topless clubs Read More »
news about gamblingIt’s not every day that you read an editorial bashing the place you work, and your colleague’s mental acumen and productivity. Well, if you work at UNLV it might be. First, a social work professor throws his peers under the bus by complaining that their work isn’t being published in enough indexed journals. Then he
I’ve got two new articles elsewhere on the web, including a piece in the LVBP where I ponder the strangely-bifurcated marketing strategy at Paris Las Vegas: While browsing a popular online travel Web site recently, I noticed something strange: There are two major resort hotels at 3655 Las Vegas Boulevard South. The listing for Paris
…but I see a silver lining. In fact, you could argue that things are getting a whole lot better. It’s just a matter of perspective. Specifically, we’re talking about July’s Nevada gaming revenues being down. From the LV Sun: For the seventh straight month, casino winnings on the Strip slumped, falling 14.6 percent in July
Things are getting worse… Read More »
news about gamblingAtlantic City’s got a new website: Your trusted source for all things Atlantic City just got better! The new look and easy navigation will make using the site a cinch. In addition to new features such as Google searches and RSS feeds, all of the great things you love, like our calendar of events, room
Since I’ve been downtown on other business lately, I’ve had the opportunity to update, at last, the Downtown Las Vegas Casino Carpet Gallery. There are some neat things happening down there, and some not-so-neat things. My favorite “new” carpet (since the last time I’d taken pictures) has to be the California’s: it puts a new,
Downtown revisited Read More »
news about gamblingAs far as I’m concerned, Pinnacle has just about used up any residual goodwill it had in Atlantic City. Not content with trashing 2,000 jobs and blowing up a major casino on the 50/50 chance that they’ll actually build something, the company is now trying to use eminent domain to seize private businesses located across
After a long and grueling slog, I’ve finally finished the Gaming Hall of Fame exhibit over at gaming.unlv.edu. That means that each of the 68 inductees has his/her (mostly his) own entry. Many of them have photos as well. What’s so great about the Hall of Fame? Read up: Induction into the Gaming Hall of
Gaming Hall of Fame updated, completed Read More »
what's newEveryone knows that Las Vegas has changed in the past 30 years. It’s hard to come it with a good, descriptive name for the process, though. “Disneyfication” gets thrown around a lot, and it comes close, but it’s not perfect. “Corporatization” sounds bland enough to describe it, but it’s almost too bland to use. But
Vegas bribery evolved Read More »
life in vegasAfter surviving in Atlantic City, “electronic poker” is finally in Vegas. From the LVRJ: A Las Vegas poker dealer, who for obvious reasons did not want to give his name, had conflicting reactions while trying out the new electronic poker tables at the Excalibur. As a dealer, he hated the 10-player tables which are fully
Robo-poker at the Excal Read More »
news about gamblingThe RGJ quoted me extensively in a piece on, what else, casino carpets last week. Here’s a sample: Casino carpeting is a hobby for Schwartz. He has posted shots of casino carpets throughout the nation on his Web site www.dieiscast.com. They’re wild and bright and follow a Nevada tradition that at least dates back to
RGJ on casino carpet Read More »
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