As I mentioned a few days ago, last night I was scheduled to give a talk at the meeting of the Southern Nevada Casino Collectibles Club.
I had a great time talking to the collectors. Usually when I speak to groups, I give a straight talk about casino history. But knowing how savvy collectors are about casino history (I learn something just about every time I talk to one), I skipped that and instead we had a great Q&A where I pointed them to some sources for their own historical research and shared some of my finds.
It was fun because it was a chance to talk about the behind-the-scenes aspects of my job (and my research/writing) that I don’t usually get to.
I also brought a few copies of the new book and sold (and signed) them all, making this my first book signing event for Roll the Bones (Casino Edition).
All of which made me think I should do this more often. If you’ve got a group in Southern Nevada and are looking for a speaker, I’d be happy to give a brief talk about what I do and what I’ve written. It’d be nice if I could bring a few books to sell as well.
And if you’re coming to town for a convention or are an event planned, I also do convention speaking. I’ve got two main talks that I give.
The first is Seven Things You Should Know About Casinos, which explains some of the tricks of the casino trade to novice audiences and is a perfect fit for the first day’s lunch speaker. It’s humorous, and people get a good overview of the odds of different games, casino history, the mob, counting cards, and casino etiquette.
The second is How Bugsy Blew It: Leadership Lessons from a Las Vegas Legend. This one is a good fit as a management/leadership/motivational talk. I share the real story of how Bugsy Siegel took control over the Flamingo project and nearly ran it into the ground before getting murdered by an unknown assailant in 1947, but with a hook: what can leaders learn from his mistakes? It’s a different spin on the usual motivational talk, but one that has some good lessons for everyone.
If you’re interested in having me speak to your group, whether it’s a social group of Las Vegas locals or a visiting convention group, contact me.