I’ve just had an essay published in which I consider the role of gambling in America. Pretty big topic, and this is certainly not the last word, but it’s the best that I’ve been able to come up with: Today legal gambling in the United States is widely accepted and more prevalent than ever. But […]
The Consumer Age Turned Americans Into Gamblers | Essay | Zócalo Public Square Read More »
writingMy latest for Vegas Seven–some thoughts on the meaning of Pennsylvania’s expansion of gambling: There are two areas of interest for Las Vegans. The first is the expansion itself. In a sense, Pennsylvania’s push may be the final phase of the expansion of American gambling, which started with Nevada’s re-legalization of wide-open commercial gaming in
Pennsylvania gambling expands and other states will follow Read More »
Vegas SevenI got the opportunity to write a piece about how the NHL’s announcement it is coming to Las Vegas fits in with the history of gambling for the Washington Post. Here is a small sample: In that atmosphere, professional sports — whose legitimacy has at times been tainted by gambling-related scandals from the infamous 1919
In this week’s Green Felt Journal, I consider the 150-year history of Nevada and gambling, and wonder what the future will hold: The original match wasn’t exactly a marriage of convenience, but it wasn’t a forbidden romance, either. When Nevada joined the Union in 1864, it soberly criminalized the gambling that had been rampant—as it was
Is Nevada Moving Away From Gambling? | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenI just want to give everyone a heads-up: though I still don’t have an ETA for the Sarno book, I have something new that was just published: I’ve written the chapter on gambling in the first volume of SAGE Publication’s Key Issues in Crime and Punishment series, Crime and Criminal Behavior. Here’s the cite: William
A new chapter in a new book Read More »
writingI’m pretty excited about the upcoming Gaming Research Colloquium talk that we’re hosting at UNLV: Please join us at 12:15 PM, Thursday, Feb. 24, as February Gaming Research Fellow Darryl A. Smith delivers a Gaming Research Colloquium talk titled “’Dark with Excessive Bright:’ Gambling Tells and the Gaming Taboo.” Smith, an assistant professor of religious
2/24 UNLV Gaming Research Colloquium: Professor Darryl A. Smith Read More »
gambling & cultureThis story’s only tangentially about gambling, but it’s interesting in a quirky sort of way. From the Malaysian Star: A Malaysian maid working in Hong Kong has reportedly won over HK$30mil RM12mil in a local lottery, China Press reported.The middle-aged woman is a helper at the mansion of Angela Leong, the fourth wife of casino
Ho’s wife’s maid wins the lottery Read More »
gambling & cultureI have just been sent a series of haiku that summarize articles about various aspects of casino gambling. I thought I would share a few with you. When the Chips are Down Gambling took a hit; Gambling’s more than Nevada And vice versa. Source: A special report on gambling “When the chips are down” THE
A few casino haiku Read More »
gambling & cultureHey everyone, I’ve just posted a new occasional paper over at http://gaming.unlv.edu. It’s part of a bigger study of locals sports books by recent UNLV sociology Ph.D. Fred Krauss: Fred Krauss. “Taking the Points: The Socialization Process of a Sports Book Regular.” Patrons of a casino sports book use the environment for much more than
New Occasional Paper at UNLV Read More »
gambling & cultureThere’s another article about casino carpet available today–this is a little piece in Wired magazine: “The carpets definitely play a big part in keeping the town as surreal as it is,” said Maluszynski by e-mail. “Thought has been given to the carpeting by people who want to create this special atmosphere, [one] that defines Vegas
Vegas carpet in Wired Read More »
gambling & cultureIt’s Thursday, and if you like my writing for Vegas Seven, it’s a lucky Thursday, since I’ve got my usual Green Felt Journal column and a more in-depth Latest Word. The Latest Word piece takes a philosophical and even theological look at poker, winning, and losing: In other words, poker isn’t always fair. Of course,
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gambling & culture, news about gambling, writingBased on a discussion in my Gambling and the Media class, I wrote a little essay about how gambling’s depicted in film and literature. Now it’s a Las Vegas Business Press column: Looking at how gambling is depicted in books, films, and television says a lot about how people perceive the pastime, but it often
Writing about gambling Read More »
gambling & cultureThis might be the nuttiest gambling story of the year. You’ve got to read it to believe it. From the Independent Online: Traditional beliefs about the clairvoyant powers of vultures could spell trouble for the birds as gamblers look for a sure bet during the World Cup. According to muti tradition, eating the brains of
Gamblers & vulture brains Read More »
gambling & cultureI’ve posted the latest in the Occasional Paper Series over at the Center for Gaming Research. It’s a great read: Paper 03: May 2010 Theodore Whiting. “The History of Baccarat,” Occasional Paper Series 3. Las Vegas: Center for Gaming Research, University Libraries, University of Nevada Las Vegas, 2010. Abstract: The true origins of modern Baccarat
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gambling & culture, what's newPart-time economist and full-time curmudgeon Andy Rooney trashed the gambling business in a recent 60 Minutes piece: The thing that bothers me most about gambling is that people fritter away money so they don’t get to spend it on things that someone else has been paid to produce. Gambling produces nothing. There’s only so much
Andy Rooney takes on gambling Read More »
gambling & cultureI think someone’s got their semantics wrong in this Card Player article about legalizing at-home poker in South Carolina: This week, after a hearing that included testimony from the Poker Players Alliance, a local businessman and poker player, and a number of elected officials, a South Carolina House sub-committee voted 4-1 to change the state’s
“Socialized poker” coming to South Carolina Read More »
gambling & culture, news about gamblingIn addition to my regular Green Felt Journal column this week, I’ve got a “Latest Thought” for your perusal in Vegas Seven: There hasn’t been much written about locals casinos on the scholarly front, so Nedelec, a geographer, shared a conclusion from a chapter in 1999’s The Real Las Vegas: Life Beyond the Strip edited
Hitting the jackpot in Clark County Read More »
gambling & culture, life in vegas, writingFrom an interview recorded last week comes this week’s UNLV Gaming Podcast: This podcast features an interview with the Executive Director of the National Council on Problem Gambling recorded March 25, 2010 at the Nevada State Conference on Problem Gambling, held at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.. Whyte talks about how he become
New UNLV Podcast: Keith Whyte Read More »
gambling & culture, what's newIf you like casino capers, here’s one from Switzerland, via the New Zealand Herald News: A masked gang armed with machine guns and pistols staged a spectacular robbery at a Swiss casino dubbed “Las Vegas in Europe” last night and escaped with hundreds of thousands of euros after terrifying gamblers by firing shots into the
Often, gamblers decide to pool their resources and share both the costs and the gains from their gambling. Lottery clubs are the best example of this. Sometimes, though, it ends badly, as in this Connecticut case. From the Boston Globe: For years, Theresa Sokaitis and Rose Bakaysa were the closest of siblings, whiling away long
Family feud over jackpot Read More »
gambling & culture, news about gambling