Really good piece in the LV Sun today about the rise of phony online hotel reviews, and what travel sites are doing about them: The rise of traveler-generated online reviews has forced hotel managers to contend with anonymous posts from angry or disappointed customers. For people in the business of promoting Las Vegas hotels, it […]
It’s (possibly) a faaake! Read More »
news about gamblingInteresting article in today’s AC Press about local casinos’ new focus on…locals: The sluggish economy and fierce competition from Pennsylvania’s slot parlors for out-of-state customers have forced Atlantic City casinos to fine-tune their marketing strategies to focus more on the local area. In doing so, they have discovered there is a lucrative market right in
Evolution of AC: locals Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingHere are more details about the proposed regulatory changes in Atlantic City, which seem to make the tax process even more byzantine. Ah, I just wanted an excuse to use “byzantine” in a sentence. It’s one of those words that I don’t get to use enough. From Business Week: The new casinos would have to
Details of AC “overhaul” Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingCasinos in Atlantic City continue to post revenue declines, as the July number prove. From the AC Press: Casino revenue sank to its lowest level in 12 years in July, another ominous sign that there will be no summer turnaround for the troubled gaming industry. In what is ordinarily the biggest money-making month on the
Not much time to write because of a big project I’m working on, but I’ve posted the latest UNLV Gaming Podcast: it’s an interview done at the Casino Marketing Conference with Nichole Barker and Hetty Fore, who share their expertise about casinos using the “new media” to talk to patrons and potential customers. You can
New UNLV Gaming Podcast: Casinos and New Media Read More »
what's newColorado casinos are getting ready to start play with more games and higher betting limits. From the Colorado Springs Gazette: At the Colorado Grande Casino in Cripple Creek, the last security cameras are being placed over the roulette table. At Bronco Billys Casino, gamblers are laying wagers on blackjack table in the new table games
Gambling history in Colorado Read More »
news about gamblingUtah is one of two states that has no legal gambling, but that might be changing–online at least. From the Salt Lake Tribune: Prominent poker players have teamed with big Las Vegas casinos to push for a law legalizing — and heavily regulating — online gambling. Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff likes the idea, as
Utah gambling ahead? Read More »
news about gamblingI am shocked–shocked–to learn that Congress has chosen to bar casinos from getting any of the nearly trillion dollars in stimulus money that’s floating around. From CNN: Congress has moved to prevent money from the proposed $825 billion stimulus package from being used for zoos, aquariums, golf courses, swimming pools and casinos, an effort to
No casinos need apply Read More »
news about gamblingThis Christian Science Monitor editorial argues with some logic that gambling isn’t the best thing for the economy. But I think the last line is a bit utopian: One bright spot in this deep recession is that gamblers might be saying "Enough" to the lure of easy money and calling it quits. States, too, should
I’ve got an issue with this New York Times editorial. See if you can guess why: Asked to choose between the casinos and the health of the people who work in them, Atlantic City has sided with the casinos. The City Council voted in October to allow smoking in the city’s gambling parlors for at
Gambling with word choice Read More »
atlantic cityJust to give you an idea of what I’m working with, I wanted to post this letter from my Homeowners’ Association. It’s probably no better and no worse than most HOAs, but they went a little “nuts” with the “quotation marks” and capitalizing Common Nouns. You’ve really got to click and read the whole thing–it
A very quotable newsletter Read More »
life in vegasI’ve been watching reruns of Classic Trek lately (that’s Star Trek: The Original Series for purists, or The One With Kirk and Spock for those with a non-geek awareness of the show), and it gave me an idea: what if the new wave of Las Vegas casinos and condos is Star Trek: The Next Generation
To boldly go where no analogy has gone before Read More »
news about gamblingI don’t think you’ll see officials in Nevada, or anywhere else in the US, adopting this approach any time soon. From Bloomberg: South Korea’s National Gaming Control Commission yesterday said it intended to limit total annual revenue of the gambling industry, including horse racing, lottery tickets and casinos, to about 14 trillion won $13.4 billion.
Limiting gambling in South Korea Read More »
news about gamblingMy latest Business Press column is out, in which I turn an offhand comment by an LA Times movie reviewer into grist for 550 words about Fake Vegas. From the LVBP: Casinos, certainly, have taken their place as legitimate businesses, and a former Harvard business professor runs the world’s biggest gaming company. So it’s not
Fake Vegas explored Read More »
life in vegas, news about gamblingIf you haven’t heard it, here’s the press release, more or less verbatim: MGM Mirage is naming the big casino resort at its in-development City Center project on the Strip the “Aria Resort and Casino.” I don’t have an inside line on the creative process that led to the choice, but from what I’ve read
Unless something derails the deal (and how often has that happened with the Trumpster’s Atlantic City casinos?) the Trump Marina will soon become the Margaritaville casino resort. From the AC Press: Trump Marina Hotel Casino is being sold in a $316 million deal that will transform the poorest-performing property in Donald Trump’s gaming empire into
Wastin’ Away on Huron Ave Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingIt’s hard to believe, but one of the oldest gambling con games is alive and well in the shadow of the Las Vegas Strip. I snapped some pictures of a shell game in action on Monday between the Tropicana and Hooters. Technically that’s not the Strip, but it’s in the Strip tourist corridor, so the
Casinos have been Atlantic City for thirty years, and there are still some people who remember Day One. From the AC Press:
Remembering Day One Read More »
atlantic cityChristina Binkley. Winner Takes All: Steve Wynn, Kirk Kerkorian, Gary Loveman, and the Race to Own Las Vegas. New York: Hyperion, 2008. 304 pages, hardcover. Over the last decade, the Las Vegas Strip has become increasingly consolidated. Once, there were a host of casino owners: Aztar, Bally Gaming, Boyd Gaming, Circus Circus Enterprises, Grand Casinos
Book Review: Winner Takes All Read More »
book reviews, life in vegasI’m going to be teaching in Reno next semester, and from judging from this article I should feel right at home. From the RGJ: The gaming industry is soaring worldwide but not in Reno, a leading gaming analyst told a group of young Reno business leaders Wednesday. “This is an $85 billion industry (annually in
Reno, pedestrian Reno Read More »
news about gambling