There always seem to be a few lamentations when someone pulls down a Strip icon, but the protests are getting more and more muted. That’s mostly because Las Vegas resort architecture seems to be essentially disposable; it’s built for specific market conditions, and when they change, it is renovated beyond recognition or replaced. It’s just […]
Book review: The Leisure Architecture of Wayne McAllister Read More »
book reviewsThis is my 1000th post at the die is cast, and what better way to celebrate than a review of a 50 year-old book that has nothing to do with gambling or Las Vegas? Suffice it to say that I’m just not a centralist. You don’t know what that means yet, but if you go
Book Review: The Revelations of Dr. Modesto Read More »
book reviewsFor a long time now, I’ve been a total mark for anything written about con men, tricksters, and legerdemain specialists. Whether it’s fiction, memoir, or how-to, I’ll read it. It’s not that I want to cheat other people, or that I’m paranoid about falling victim to them–it’s my sheer fascination with guys who are masters
Book Review: 52 Ways to Cheat at Poker Read More »
book reviewsAnd it’s only seven months into the year, too the 2008 version of Winslow’s 11 Guide is out. Well, that’s the kind of devotion I show to something for which I receive faint but welcome praise and no cash. Seriously, I’ve had a lot going on, so getting this out is a real victory for
Winslow’s 11 2008 is out! Read More »
writingWhile shopping at a local outlet mall, I noticed this wonderful chapeau offered for sale: I’ve got a few problems with this. The chief one is that only a fool would advertise that they were part of a continuing criminal enterprise. The whole point of the mafia is that it’s supposed to be a shadowy
I assume that Rainawari is somewhere in the Kashmir, but from this story, I imagine that it’s quite different from Las Vegas. From Greater Kashmir Online Edition: The residents of Mirzabagh, Mughal Mohalla, Rainawari and other adjoining areas Tuesday alleged that the areas have become hub of gamblers. A delegation from the areas told Greater
A story you’ll never hear in Vegas Read More »
news about gamblingA couple has plead guilty to stealing a million bucks–then blowing it on slots in Atlantic City. From Newsday: A couple has admitted that they went on a million-dollar Atlantic City gambling spree with money the woman had stolen from her employer. New Jersey prosecutors say Jamine Alabre faces about six years in state prison,
Reviewing this one hasn’t been easy, mostly because it’s got some very difficult math and I haven’t taken a math class since my junior year in high school. Still, it’s a valuable addition to the literature, and I figured I give it a shot. Read on for more…
Book review: Optimal Play Read More »
book reviewsIt’s my last book review repost, and it’s one that I’ve regretted inflicting on the wrold. Sheesh, this one brings back memories that might have been better buried. Just look at the cover: Looking through the shelves of fiction in UNLV Special Collections for pulp crime/gambling novels to read, I stumbled across this gem. If
Book review: $50 a Night Read More »
book reviewsMy latest Business Press column is out, in which I turn an offhand comment by an LA Times movie reviewer into grist for 550 words about Fake Vegas. From the LVBP: Casinos, certainly, have taken their place as legitimate businesses, and a former Harvard business professor runs the world’s biggest gaming company. So it’s not
Fake Vegas explored Read More »
life in vegas, news about gamblingThe new issue of LAB magazine is out (its motto: A wunderkabinet of creative culture. With a cherry on top.), and I’ve got an article in it about my virtual collection of casino carpet. I knew that if I kept this up long enough, I’d end up in the avant garde of culture and design.
Casino carpet culture Read More »
writingIt’s two days old, but better late than never. This is a well-written article about how big-time poker players make outrageous proposition bets for more than most of us make in a year. From the NY Times: Over the years, so-called proposition betting — the sometimes absurd, usually spur-of-the-moment wagers that gamblers make among themselves
Poker prop betting in NYT Read More »
gambling & cultureIn a story that has only one obvious typo–nice work, editors!–we learn that, if you give people something besides warmed-over singers and comics in your showrooms, you can actually attract new people to Atlantic City casinos. Outstanding! From the AC Press: Casino shows used to feature aging crooners and old comics like Henny Youngman, who
‘Lifestyle celebs’ in AC Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingMost everyone knows that gaming revenues have dipped a bit, but it’s not every day that the Economist covers Las Vegas, so here it is: THE media had a field day recently when Charles Barkley, a retired basketball player, was forced to pay a gambling debt of $400,000 owed to Wynn Resorts, a Las Vegas
The Economist on Vegas Read More »
news about gamblingThere’s a great contest happening over at VegasTripping. Win, and you could get a very rare and obscenely valuable signed copy of Roll the Bones, plus and unsigned copy of the mostly-overlooked Rush CD, Roll the Bones. It’s a good deal, even if Alice in Chains’ Dirt is the real theme album for the book–at
Win RtB (and Rush) Read More »
what's newGuess what, it’s the 21st century, and one of the guys running for president collects good luck charms. From The Swamp: The Obama campaign plays Las Vegas today, staging another “Change That Works for You” rally. En route, the presidential candidate was asked what lucky charms work for him. Curious about items that Obama had
Lucky chips on campaign trail Read More »
gambling & cultureReading this article by Virginia Postrel, I started thinking about how “inconspicuous consumption” might translate on the Las Vegas Strip. Then I got back to work. But then I figured I should share some thoughts with the rest of you. Here’s just the most relevant part of the article, which you should read in its
Inconspicuous luxury? Read More »
haphazard worldUnder no circumstances am I encouraging anyone to see what seems, from the reviews, to be an abysmal attempt at a movie. But I’m perplexed by the throwaway reference to a Las Vegas Strip icon. From the LA Times: BEHOLD Mike Myers. As Guru Pitka, a self-styled Deepak Chopra wannabe whose every utterance has been
Hey, they’ve finally posted my latest piece in the Las Vegas Business Press. Here’s a taste: The economy, as the blurb that crawls across your television screen says, is bad. Really bad. And don’t you forget it. For those dealing in luxury goods and services, the perception of an economic decline is just as ruinous
The economy and room rates Read More »
news about gamblingThis is certainly one of the more unusual conversations I’ve had in a while. The setting? The world-famous Peppermill coffee shop on the Strip, about 8 this morning, as I had breakfast with Sheldon Smith of the Casino Chip and Gaming Token Collectors Club in preparation for my epic address to the CCGTCC convention tomorrow.
Accent on weirdness Read More »
life in vegas