NM bans cockfighting

New Mexico has outlawed cockfighting–from the ABQ Tribune: Gov. Bill Richardson signed a measure today that outlaws cockfighting in New Mexico, leaving Louisiana as the only state where the centuries-old bloodsport remains legal. State Sen. Mary Jane Garcia, a Doña Ana Democrat who has introduced legislation to ban cockfighting over the past 18 years, thanked

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gambling & culture

Implosion, and thoughts on a goat man

I’d be remiss if I didn’t let KLAS tell you about the Stardust implosion: The excitement of the implosion is over and now the massive clean-up effort begins bfore the old Stardust property is turned into the $4 billion Echelon resort. The legendary Stardust hotel tower on the Las Vegas Strip was brought down by

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haphazard world, life in vegas

It’s not TV, it’s AC on HBO

I just found out about this from Yahoo: Director Martin Scorsese has teamed with his “Departed” co-star Mark Wahlberg for an HBO drama series about the development of Atlantic City. The project will be developed in conjunction with the book, “Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City” by Nelson Johnson, which

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atlantic city

Sublibellous advertising

There are lots of things the media can get away with, but some things it can’t. You can’t impugn a strip steak if you’ve eaten a steak sandwich, for one. And you can’t claim that subliminal messages in slot machines affect player behavior. At least that what Konami hopes. Here’s the press release: An item

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gambling & culture

Talking Justice…and Casinos

An interview I recorded a few weeks back is airing on NPR’s Justice Talking this week: Casino gambling has undergone a boom in recent years as cash-strapped states and Native American tribes have opened casinos and entertainment complexes across the nation. In this edition of Justice Talking, we’ll take a look at who is profiting

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gambling & culture

Casinos into libraries

Coming on the heels of the anti-casino archive, this could be the coolest story ever. From Radio Free Europe: Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov has called on the city’s gambling halls to eventually be turned into libraries. “More than 2,000 gaming halls were opened in a short time in Moscow and we are now actively closing

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gambling & culture, haphazard world

Anti-casino archives

I’ve always hoped that, just as I spend most of my working (NOT waking) hours documenting and preserving the history of the gaming industry, there is someone, somewhere who is cataloging the decline and demise of gaming. My wish has come true. From the Evening Sun: The battle fought over a failed proposal to build

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gambling & culture, haphazard world

Sgt. Fritter’s Lonely Jackpot Banned?

Earlier this week, the CBC broke a disturbing story: three Konami video slots are briefly flashing winning combinations as players spin the virtual reels. Programming bug or subliminal ploy? You be the judge. From CBC: Ontario’s provincial gambling operator has pulled 87 video slot machines out of service or physically removed them from its casinos

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news about gambling

Illegal Turkish casinos

Even though it seems like casino legalization is a steady wave sweeping across the planet, some nations have chosen to outlaw casinos. Turkey is one of those, though it appears that gambling is still flourishing. From Sabah.com: It is forbidden to open casinos in Turkey; however, casinos are abundant in Turkey. Only in Istanbul are

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news about gambling

Down in the depths on the 80th floor

It’s a busy day for me, because this morning I was live on KNPR’s State of Nevada. You can click that link for a link directly to the show, and I think you can even listen. I’m part of the panel in the first segment. It was a lively talk about pro sports potentially coming

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atlantic city, life in vegas, what's new