Here’s today’s Roll the Bones update: the long-anticipated East Coast book launch event has finally been announced: WHAT: Official East Coast launch event, Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling WHEN: Sunday, October 22, 2 pm WHERE: Foxwoods Resort Casino WHO: Author David G. Schwartz will be reading from his book, answering questions, and signing
Rolling in the East Read More »
what's new, writingThis was in Friday’s RJ, but I didn’t get to post it until today. It’s pretty big news (for the gambling book crowd, anyway), from John L. Smith‘s column: Gamblers Book Shop owner Howard Schwartz, a legend in the traditional gaming information business, says he’s ready to sell his amazing store after 27 years. Schwartz,
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gambling & culture, life in vegasAmerican Heritage has a great article on the Tiki fad. How sex, rum, World War II, and the brand-new state of Hawaii ignited a fad that has never quite ended. In December 1931 a somewhat adrift 24-year-old washed up in Southern California, looking for something to do. A native of New Orleans, he was named
Since I’m one of the 56% of Internet users who take pictures with a digital camera, I’ve decided to jazz up my professional speaking information page. Click the link to see how: Professional speaking by David G. Schwartz Basically, what I’ve done is distilled the mountains of material I have about gambling history into five
You Internet users are keeping yourselves busy. When you’re not playing video games, you’re scrounging for new friends on myspace and facebook or listening to podcasts. You’re also gambling and uploading videos. Don’t take my word for it–read the report from Parks Associates: Viewing and creating video have become significant activities for U.S. Internet users,
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gambling & cultureAs if you needed another thing to download, I’ve got a press release for my October 7 launch event now available: RTB_launch_release.pdf Remember, it starts at 2 at the Mandalay Bay’s Reading Room. Come down, support a local author, and meet people–you’ll be glad you did.
This is a huge story for Nevada gaming, but I haven’t heard much about it until today. Currently, Nevada casinos are basically self-regulating when it comes to reporting large financial transactions, but all of that is going to end. From the LVRJ: Something uniquely Nevadan and historic is about to end today. No, it’s not
Anyone remember back when 7-Up promoted itself as the Uncola? Wel, there could be marketing gold just waiting to be mined from an unfortunately mistaken casino site. Confused? Read on, from the Detroit News, and all will be clear: Since June, gamblers at the Kewadin Shores Casino and Hotel in the Upper Peninsula have enjoyed
The Island View casino, which is housed in the erstwhile Grand Casino Gulfport, has opened. For now, at least, it’s the only casino in Gulfport. From the Sun Herald: Gulfport is back in the casino business. The Island View opened Monday evening about an hour and a half earlier than planned, giving people time to
Here’s an interesting story about roulette cheating from the UPI: London casinos are bracing for a possible onslaught of gamblers equipped with a device that claims to provide a big edge to roulette players. The gadget uses software to calculate where the little white ball is most likely to land. However, it has not yet
It isn’t cheating…yet? Read More »
news about gamblingI didn’t post any updates last week because I had several projects to work on here and because I was in the process of switching hosts. Depending on when you read this, you should be getting the new version of the site (which looks much like the old one), hosted by Vegas Media Group. A
With the October 5 release date of Roll the Bones rapidly approaching, I’ve got an announcement to make: the official launch event will be a reading and signing at the Reading Room at Mandalay Place on Saturday, October 7, at 2 PM. I’m going to be publicly reading from the book for the first time
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life in vegasClosings were in the news yesterday, but there was a big opening in Macau as well. From the AP: Thousands of gamblers crowded into American billionaire Stephen Wynn’s new $1.2 billion casino resort on Wednesday in Macau — the Chinese territory that may soon unseat the Las Vegas Strip as the world’s most profitable gambling
I’m in Atlantic City, and the big news is the purchase and imminent closing of the Sands. You can read about it from the Inquirer: Las Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. will buy the Sands Hotel & Casino – the smallest casino in an Atlantic City that has been getting bigger and brighter – and a
Are you wondering which of the six casino buffets in Shreveport is for you? Well, a Gannett reporter has gone through considerable personal hardship to help you out. From The Times: Sometimes an important story requires sacrifice. Political reporters bypass “The Colbert Report” for C-SPAN. Sports reporters skip “American Idol” to write the latest Terrell
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gambling & cultureSome members of Congress think that the solution to the Internet gambling “problem”is to pass enforcement of a ban onto banks. The banks, understandably, have a different take. From the WSJ: A group representing 5,000 small banks is opposing a tool lawmakers hope to use to stop illegal online gambling, posing a challenge to what
A Japanese bank is incorporating a virtual roulette wheel into its ATM machines. I don’t this is a joke, and you can read the article from Reuters: Japanese banks have long had a reputation for poor service but at least one is trying something new — wooing customers with an opportunity to try their hand
ATM + roulette = fun? Read More »
gambling & culture, haphazard worldState gaming police recently busted up a Nevada slot cheating team. From the LVRJ: In 1979, Michael Joseph Balsamo was arrested on charges of cheating at gambling. Since then, he has racked up 25 investigations and six convictions and has been listed in Nevada’s Black Book of Excluded Persons. Add another charge to the list.
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gambling & cultureIt’s been a few days since the story broke, but I still haven’t seen any serious discussion of the change in the Wynn Las Vegas casino floor hierarchy, outside of people quoting dealers irate about their upcoming drop in pay. This is absolutely understandable–if someone asked me to take a $10,000 pay cut (or told
The sound of one hand shuffling Read More »
life in vegasPeople like to bet on strange stuff, and people like it bet online. From the Desert Sun: When it comes to online gambling, anything is fair game. If they’re not playing the odds on the next American Idol or another Britney Spears’ divorce, Internet gamblers may wager on the chances of bird flu reaching the
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gambling & culture