My latest Forbes post looks at why the influence of Bill Harrah might be making a comeback: William Fisk Harrah came into the gambling business in 1933. Having left UCLA before completing an engineering degree, he bought a bingo operation his father had been running in Venice Beach. Harrah the younger already had firm ideas […]
The Casino Pioneer Poised For A Comeback In Las Vegas And Beyond Read More »
forbesMy latest Forbes post examines the significance of Nevada’s third quarter gaming results. Fascinating stuff, to be sure: The September disappointment caps a challenging quarter during which net gaming win decreased by over seven percent. Considering that, in their second quarter conference calls, casino executives were apologetic over a quarter that actually saw a nearly
Las Vegas Casinos Are Worried The Worst Is Yet To Come | Forbes Read More »
forbesMy latest Forbes post is a look back at Circus Circus, which just turned 50: It’s ironic but fitting that Circus Circus, for years the top low-end casino on the Strip, shares a parent with Caesars Palace, which until the 1989 opening of The Mirage was undisputed in its reign atop the high-end. Jay Sarno was
The Clown That Saved Las Vegas Hits A Major Milestone | Forbes Read More »
forbesIn Forbes, I just tried to explain the phenomenon that is G2E: “The show,” as the true insiders call it, is divided into two parts. “Education” is a 12-track series of panels, seminars, and keynotes on topics ranging from gaming leadership and career development to non-gaming growth opportunities in esports (one of several new 2018
The Las Vegas Insider Meetup Where Casinos Find The Future | Forbes Read More »
forbesIn my latest piece for Forbes, I explore how a local non-profit is connecting performers with kids in need: From its Las Vegas roots, the organization has expanded from coast to coast, with programs in several cities, including Orlando, Orange County, and, soon, New York City. It may not have the financial impact of major
The Hidden Kindness Of Las Vegas Entertainers | Forbes Read More »
forbesMy latest for Forbes.com describes a very hectic night in Las Vegas: The Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas opened in December 2009, bringing a different kind of non-gaming luxury to the Strip. When it was sold earlier this year to Andrew and Peggy Cherng and Tiffany Lam, the property’s management shifted to Hilton, owners of the
Inside The Las Vegas Strip’s Overnight Ultra-Luxe Changeover | Forbes Read More »
forbesMy latest from Forbes.com looks at a Vegas not-so-insider tip: It’s one of those insider Vegas tricks that’s actually right in front of your face in big letters: If you’re talking about the hotel casino that Evel Knievel made famous and The Hangover reminded us of, you never use an apostrophe. It’s Caesars, not Caesar’s
The Story Behind The Most Famous Missing Apostrophe in Las Vegas Read More »
forbesMy latest (and most viewed to date) for Forbes reveals what Wynn’s parking validation plan means for the future of paid parking: To say that visitors were outraged is putting it lightly. Prices in Las Vegas, especially on the Strip, are as high as they’ve ever been, and adding another charge on top of resort
Wynn’s Reversal On Paid Parking A Sign Of Las Vegas Future | Forbes Read More »
forbesMy latest for Forbes considers possible downsides of changes to blackjack: For about two hundred years, blackjack was the casino equivalent of a benchwarmer. Into the 1950s, the most popular casino game in Las Vegas was craps, a rollicking, social game that was seen at its most colorful in Guys and Dolls. When the dice
Blackjack’s Rise And Fall Shows What Drives Customers Away | Forbes Read More »
forbesOne thing I liked about writing for Vegas Seven was being able to write about pro wrestlers, who are consistently the best interviews for me. When I saw a video of a Vegas-based wrestler and tribute artist had gone viral, I knew had a springboard for my first, and hopefully not last, wrestling column for
What You Don’t Know About The Man Behind That Moonwalk DDT | Forbes Read More »
forbesMy latest for Forbes looks at what it takes to go far in the World Series of Poker’s Main Event: It doesn’t seem like hard work when you first think about it. Pay a few hundred dollars to buy into a satellite tournament. Get a few lucky cards, win your seat in the World Series
How To Get To The World Series Of Poker Final Table | Forbes Read More »
forbesWith the World Series of poker underway, I decided to look first at the history of the game: The World Series of Poker, whose Main Event got underway last Monday, is today a global phenomenon, with thousands of players hoping to bluff and raise their way towards the millions of dollars at stake. Its first
The Surprisingly Humble, Forgotten Roots Of Poker’s Biggest Game | Forbes Read More »
forbesLast week for Forbes (how time flies!) I wrote about the ultimate impact the Vegas Golden Knights have had on Las Vegas: Speaking of on-ice accomplishments, it would be hard to script a better first season for the team. Even a Stanley Cup win would have been a worse outcome. To use a gambling analogy:
How The Vegas Golden Knights Made Ice Hockey #Vegasborn | Forbes Read More »
forbesI got interested in slot YouTubers a while back. Last week, two of them had their channels suspended, which made it newsworthy. This Forbes piece talks about the controversy: On June 3rd at 7:28 in the morning, Brian Christopher got an email from “The YouTube Team” telling him that his video, “Smokin’ Hot Gems, BIG
YouTube Slot Controversy Shows The Perils Of Your Side Hustle | Forbes Read More »
forbesMy second piece for Forbes.com is a look at what the math of slot machines means for the casino and the player: Slot machines remain the most important money-making part of casinos in the United States. In many states, casinos make between 65 and 80 percent of their gambling income from slots. In Las Vegas,
How Casinos Use Math To Make Money When You Play The Slots | Forbes Read More »
forbes, writingMy first piece as a Forbes.com contributor takes a look at the April Nevada gaming numbers, and what they mean: The Gaming Revenue Report features numbers for all casinos in the state, broken down into 25 reporting areas, which sometimes overlap. For example, Clark County is a reporting area, but so is the Las Vegas
Why Las Vegas Casinos Had A Good April And What It Means | Forbes Read More »
forbes, writingCan you guess the year that an article appeared in Forbes magazine with these quotes? — “Las Vegas is showing signs that it is becoming overbuilt.” –“With traffic growing more slowly than capacity, older casinos have been hurting. Atlantic City casinos fared much worse last year.” — “Steve Wynn put it this way: ‘The old