This is kind of strange–Starwood, who just flushed their plans for a W on Harmon down the toilet, will be opening an “aloft,” which is apparently a hotel that’s being debuted on Second Life, an online world. From the LV Sun: Aloft, the latest “lifestyle” hotel brand from Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc., is […]
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life in vegasClark County’s latest health report is out, and it could be worse. From the LVRJ: More people smoke, binge drink and use hard drugs in Southern Nevada than elsewhere in America. But we’re not as fat. The first report on the overall health of Clark County residents by the Southern Nevada Health District was far
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life in vegasThis is a big day for me–I get to announce a program that I’ve been looking forward to for a long time: at last, the Center for Gaming Research can offer research fellowships. That means that, if you are a qualified graduate student or professor, you can get $4,000 to spend a month studying in
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gambling & culture, what's newYou might remember that a while ago I recommended Burt Dragin’s reading/signing event that we hosted at UNLV. The LVRJ attended, and gave it a great write-up: Burt Dragin spent considerable time in Las Vegas during the 1950s but never lived in the gambling resort town. An 8-year-old Dragin started taking frequent “family vacations” from
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life in vegasI woke up at quarter of four this morning to get down to Caesars Palace to do a radio interview that aired live in Manchester. It was for the lunchtime (12-2) show, with host Allan Beswick, and was a lot of fun. As you might have heard, Manchester is slated to get the UK’s “supercasino,”
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what's newChannel 8 KLAS-TV has an exclusive look inside slot machines: Las Vegas has more than 207,500 slot machines. Anyone living here or visiting has seen the outside of them, but few people actually see the inside… until now. Reporter Edward Lawrence gives us an exclusive inside look at how slot machines are built and what
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news about gamblingAccording to an Australian judge, casinos should be sure where the customers’ money comes from. From NineMSN: Crown Casino should either ensure money from big spenders is legitimate or be forced to compensate victims of crime for ill-gotten gains gambled by criminals, a Victorian judge says. County Court Judge Frank Dyett made the remarks as
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news about gamblingBoyd Gaming broke ground on Echelon Place today. Here’s the AP story, but I’ll cut and paste some stuff from two press releases I go this morning. First up: the Delano and Mondrian: Morgans Hotel Group Co. and Boyd Gaming Corporation today announced their development and design plans for the new Mondrian and Delano hotels
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news about gamblingInteresting piece in the LV Sun about casinos for sale: You might not think there are any casinos for sale in town, but for the right price – think Bellagio – just about any joint might be in play, especially downtown. But watch out. Like with buying a house, you need to do your homework
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life in vegasBecause I like the finance side so much, here’s a pretty bit story about a major gaming operator going private, from Bloomberg: Penn National Gaming Inc., the owner of 18 casinos and horse-racing tracks, agreed to be taken private by buyout firms Fortress Investment Group LLC and Centerbridge Partners LP for $6.1 billion. Penn National’s
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news about gamblingBreaking news out of the NY Times: casinos like Asian high rollers: Casino operators have long recognized that a large number of Asians, especially Chinese and Chinese-Americans, are avid gamblers. For years, casinos have dispatched special buses to any Chinatown within a day’s drive. Recently, though, casinos have become much more aggressive in wooing Asians
Asian high rollers: the new thing? Read More »
atlantic city, gambling & culture, life in vegasThe LVCVA is looking to step up its work in Canada, hoping to lure more visitors from the Great White North to Vegas. From the LVRJ: After 26 years as a Las Vegas visitor, Canadian James Dixon is familiar with Sin City’s hard-sell recruiting tactics. The 55-year-old Toronto-area resident gets monthly mailers from Las Vegas
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life in vegasWhat’s the Atlantic City of the future going to look like? I think we have an inkling of an answer with this story from the Press: Atlantic City casinos may be opposed to competition at Bader Field, but the director of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority told a Senate Committee on Thursday that the property
I stopped by the Sands garage sale yesterday, and it was about what you’d expect the latter stages of a casino garage sale to be: depressing. There really wasn’t anything good left, and the former casino floor, without all the blinking slot machines, just looked cavernous and even gloomy. There were still a few matresses
Online gamblers can breathe easy: Congress is now on the case. This Friday, a panel will discuss whether or not it is possible to regulate online gaming. From ABC: A U.S. House of Representatives panel said on Monday it will hold a hearing on Friday to look at Internet gambling, which is effectively banned in
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news about gamblingI just saw this great article from The Age about the latest Vegas trend: electric wheelchairs for the able-bodied but lazy: There’s lazy, and then there’s Las Vegas lazy. In increasing numbers, Las Vegas tourists exhausted by the four miles of gluttony laid out before them are getting around on electric “mobility scooters.” Don’t think
If you’ve got $1400 burning a hole in your pocket, want to know more about casino real estate, and don’t mind hanging out at the Venetian June 28 & 29, check out the Casino Real Estate conference. I’m on a panel at 8:40 in the morning: 8:40 THE CASINO REAL ESTATE MACRO DISCUSSION: IS IT
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life in vegas, news about gamblingShocking news: I’m publicizing a book signing and for once it’s not one of my own. I’ve helped to bring in a very astute author on gaming, Burt Dragin, to read from his book Six to Five Against (which I’ve reviewed here) and talk about it. Here’s the press release: WHAT: Burt Dragin, author of
6 to 5 Against signing Read More »
what's newThis fall Microsoft is going to apparently release a new device called Surface that will change computing. Interesting, but there’s a casino angle too. From MSNBC: The radical new approach starts with the guts of the device itself. Under the impact-resistant plastic top skin on an otherwise nondescript table hide five infrared scanners, a projector
There’s a nice interview in the LV Sun with Gamal Aziz of MGM Mirage: The latest annual report for MGM Mirage forgoes descriptions of casino floors in favor of haute cuisine, stage performances and museum pieces. And lest there be any remaining doubt about a new direction of the company, “Transformation” is printed boldly on
Non-gaming at MGM Mirage Read More »
news about gambling