Freefalling cat

I saw something really neat on the news yesterday, and I just knew I had to share it with the assortment of regular readers, online gamblers, and people looking to buy casino carpet who visit my site. This story is covered virtually everywhere, but I particularly like First Coast News‘s package, which includes audio: Piper

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haphazard world

Wing and a prayer

For some reason, I get a “CityAtlantic” email newsletter. Usually, it’s just a bunch of shilling for whatever big events are coming up, but this issue has a real gem: an unsigned manifesto about one man’s aborted journey to greatness. From CityAtlantic.com: Being overweight comes with a lot of baggage… and I’m not just talking

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haphazard world

Vegas and the End of History

There is an interesting debate in American Interest between Francis Fukayama and Bernard-Henri Levy “over American virtues and vices, neoconservatives, religion, the future of American muscular internationalism, and the role of intellectuals in a free society.” Interesting, it starts in Las Vegas but, as the title suggests, goes pretty far afield. In this first couple

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life in vegas

Gambling-free week

Between working on Roll the Bones, writing four articles a month, and doing all sorts of other peer review things (plus living in Las Vegas), I’ve really had my fill of gambling. So yesterday I decided a little vacation of sorts was in order. Of course, I’m not about to quit my job (which I

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what's new

Great lead-in

I never watch those red carpet shows where someone critiques what people are wearing at various awards shows, but I’ve gathered that they just make all kinds of catty comments and allow people sitting at home shoveling down Ben and Jerry’s ice cream feel aestetichally superior to professional actressses with teams of designers, hair, and

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life in vegas

The next WSOP TV?

I spend most of my time researching and interpreting the past. I think this has some relevance for us today, and it interesting on its own merits as well. But I usually get asked to prognosticate about the future: where will Las Vegas be in fifty years, which new casino will be most successful, etc,

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gambling & culture

NASCAR in Vegas

Auto racing is the big thing in Las Vegas this week, so I thought that people might appreciate this item from Sports Illustrated about the fact and fantasy of betting on NASCAR. For example… Most Nevada gambling establishments will offer a variety of wagers. While this includes action on events such as “most laps led,”

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life in vegas

Is “dead money” considered history?

The Harrah’s eNewsletter is always a font of information, some of it quite useful. The latest one, for example, let us know that we can now register for the 2006 World Series of Poker, and suggests that by doing so our names will ring through the halls of history along with those of Alexander the

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gambling & culture