I was down at the Boardwalk closing yesterday–it’s quite a thing to see a casino shut its doors. I’m going to be involved in an oral history program that will collect interviews from former employees, so if you know someone who used to work there, have them get in touch with me. I think there […]
A closing, thoughts on an opening Read More »
life in vegasWith the whole “Sin City” marketing strategy, it feels like a lot of Las Vegans think that they invented hedonism. I mean, people have been getting plastered and doing stupid things for millennia. I guess the genius of Las Vegas is that its promoters have boiled this down to a soundbite. Doing research for Roll
What happens at the coffeehouse… Read More »
haphazard worldMen’s Fitness magazine did some kind of poll to determine what the fittest and fattest cities in America are. Because you’ve probably got a pretty much uniform distribution of physically fit and unfit people around the country, this seems like a fool’s errand to me, but it made headlines. From MSNBC, but it’s everywhere: When
A days ago, Richard Velota of the LV Sun wrote an article about the future of the casino floor. It got picked up in a few other periodicals, and presents a really good view of the state of the art of server-based slots, which is where the industry is heading. From the LV Sun: Some
Server-based games Read More »
gambling & cultureThat’s probably just the first time I’ll use some permutation of that phrase over the next five years, because Boyd Gaming announced this morning that it is closing the Stardust to make way for Echelon Place. Because I’m such a “gaming industry insider,” I arrived at the office and found a copy of the press
A Stardust memory? Read More »
life in vegasI’m still busy with Roll the Bones, but I’ve got to post what I think is the one-liner of the year…so far. From the AP: Some teenage soccer players and their parents saw more sights than they wanted when they stayed at a hotel where about 200 swingers were having a New Year’s party. Paul
I haven’t been posting much, not because I’m off on vacation, but because I’m in the middle of one of my busiest weeks in recent memory. Since last Monday, I’ve been doing a final read-through and edit of the mammoth 770-page Roll the Bones manuscript. I’ve really streamlined the book, cutting about 80 pages so
Australian billionaire Kerry Packer died in his sleep yesterday. Here’s an article from the Courier-Mail: ONE of the best gambling legends about Kerry Packer is of him facing off against a Texas oilman in Las Vegas. The Texan, apparently angered by the noise Packer’s entourage was making at baccarat, boasted he was worth $US100 million
If you’re curious about which Las Vegas casino will be getting the boot next, you can check Las Vegas Casino Deathwatch. Or, you could just throw the name of every structure over 20 years old into a hat and pick one. Or, you could read this aritcle from the LV Business Press: Once Tamares Group
If you live in Pittsburgh and want to keep the Penguins in town, your best hope might be a slot casino. Even though the team won’t directly run the proposed slot parlor, its profits may help pay for a new arena. From the Post-Gazette: The Pittsburgh Penguins’ partner in a proposed $1 billion development at
Super Mario Slots? Read More »
news about gamblingAccording to Entertainmentwise (not my first choice for breaking casino news, to be sure), George Clooney’s Las Ramblas project has been “scrapped.” What does that mean? You be the judge: George Clooney’s plans to build a casino in Las Vegas have been totally scrapped. The actor had planned on teaming up with Brad Pitt and
Clooney “rambling” out? Read More »
life in vegasI am busy at work revising Roll the Bones and doing 1000 other things today, but nevertheless I found these stories compelling enough to share with you. The first shows that megalomania is alive and well. From Scotsman.com: TURKMENISTAN’S president, Sapamurat Niyazov, has ordered construction of a university to be named after his book Rukhnama,
I don’t have much time to write a real post/commentary today (work on Roll the Bones and several other things is taking up all my time), but if you want to catch me on the radio, check out KWDN 720 AM at noon (Pacific time) today. I’ll be a guest on “Lunchtime with Ira,” broadcasting
When I worked at the Trump Taj Mahal, I saw many Philly and New York sports stars gambling and having fun, often within a few hours after games. Anyone who works in AC probably has stories to tell. That’s why it’s strange that this made the paper. From the San Jose Mercury News: On a
Doing research for Roll the Bones, I’m increasingly coming to believe that gambling truly is everywhere in history. This excerpt from a Tarzan story, for example, references lots, card sharps, and a specific cheating technique, all in a few melodramatic paragraphs. “It is the will of the majority,” announced Monsieur Thuran, “and now let us
The lottery of death!?! Read More »
gambling & culture, writingI can say this without hesitation: if you want to present an academic paper on the gaming industry, the best conference for you is the International Conference on Gambling and Risk-Taking. It’s held every three years, and in May 2006 it will be in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Here’s some pertinent information: Call for Papers Calling
World’s best gaming conference Read More »
gambling & culture, what's newThe “Sin City” label is a pretty new (and, all things considered, pretty lame) tag for Las Vegas. In the 1940s and 1950s, several cities held claim to the title, including Phenix City, Alabama. Really. From the Shelbyville (TN) Times-Gazette: Jack Culpepper’s first run-in with the steamier side of Phenix City life occurred in the
Sin City, circa 1940 Read More »
gambling & cultureBecause my legs are still a little sore, I feel I have the right to talk some more about last Sunday’s marathon. As soon as I don’t feel moderate pain with every step, it’ll become ancient history. That, and because I’m out of the office editing the manuscript today, I don’t have the time to
No, this isn’t a glowing review of Wynn Las Vegas–it’s a rare foray from me away from gambling and into the realm of politics. It turns out that a poem indirectly praising US president George W. Bush has been discovered and eliminated from a Pakistani textbook. From the Guardian: Penned by an anonymous writer, The
Last week in my post on marathon betting, I confidently gave all of my readers a guarantee lock: that I would not win the 2005 New Las Vegas Marathon. I predicted correctly: Kenyan Stephen Kiogora broke the tape at 2:11:56. You can see the results here. Around the time he crossed, I was trudging up
Finishing the race Read More »
life in vegas