life in vegas

Upcoming Online Talk: Lessons Learned from COVID and the Path Ahead

This Friday 8/20 at noon (PDT), I am giving a talk for the UNLV Alumni Association’s Rebel Recharge series called “Lessons Learned from COVID and the Path Ahead.” I’m going to be looking at has happened to Las Vegas over the past 18 months, and suggest four lessons we can learn from it. The event […]

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events

An important anniversary for Las Vegas gaming – CDC Gaming Reports

I’ve got another commentary up today, marking another important milestone: Today, we mark another milestone of Nevada gaming history, one that reminds us how far the state and the industry have come, and how far both still have to go. On March 26, 1960, Governor Grant Sawyer, Las Vegas NAACP President Dr. James McMillan, Las

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CDC Gaming

They Will Return – CDC Gaming Reports

I’ve got another commentary up on CDC Gaming Reports. This one is about why we shouldn’t write off conventions in Las Vegas: The casinos of the Strip were particularly vulnerable to the pandemic, not only because it put a temporary halt to gaming on casino floors. Casinos across the country (mostly) managed to emerge from

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CDC Gaming

“Pitiless Cruelty: Cynicism, Capitalism, and Gambling in the Writing of Mario Puzo” – Popular Culture Review

I have an article in the latest edition of the Popular Culture Review about Mario Puzo’s views on capitalism and gambling: The Godfather made him a wealthy man, but Mario Puzo’s long years as a struggling writer and childhood in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen conditioned him to treat money—and those who made a great

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writing

It Took a Fire to Change Us | Nevada Public Radio

When asked repeatedly about how Las Vegas can come back from the coronavirus, I kept thinking about an earlier Las Vegas disaster–the 1980 MGM Grand fire and the subsequent Las Vegas Hilton blaze, which provoked a national conversation about highrise safety. I wrote something for KNPR’s DC Blog about how Las Vegas came back from

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writing

What Happened Here | Nevada Public Radio

I was asked to pen some reflections about what the shutdown/lockdown means to Las Vegas, so I waxed somewhat more philosophical than usual and drew on some history: However, our city and state have historically offered service on a higher level. We’ve always prided ourselves on contributing to the national mission, whether it be winning

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writing

Why change in the gaming industry should never surprise anyone – CDC Gaming Reports

I’m getting back into short-form writing! Here’s a quick commentary I wrote about the nature of change in the casino business for CDC Gaming Reports: There has been a great deal of change in the news lately for the gaming world. After more than a decade as head of MGM Resorts, Jim Murren is stepping

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CDC Gaming

Upcoming Event – An Evening with Frank Leone at the Clark County Library

Before you know it, I’ll be interviewing a Las Vegas musical legend in the Paul Blau Theater at the Clark County Library: In this conversation facilitated by UNLV gaming historian and author David G. Schwartz, former Musicians Union President and legendary pianist/director/conductor Frank Leone will talk about his experiences in Las Vegas entertainment over the

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events

How Las Vegas Casinos Are Getting More With Fewer Employees | Forbes

My latest from Forbes.com looks at trends in casino employment: Las Vegas casinos, like any hospitality business, owe everything to their employees. After all, they are the ones that provide the hospitality that guests are paying for, the link between the product and the people who buy it. And those employees are more valuable than

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forbes

Las Vegas Casinos Hope Sports Betting Will Change Their Luck

My latest for Forbes.com looks at where sports betting fits into the modern casino industry: With rising displeasure at added fees and charges, as well as more competition from casinos around the world, Las Vegas-based gaming operators need a new way to stay profitable. Some believe that sports betting is the solution, and a new

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forbes

The Robot Invasion Of Las Vegas Might Be Horrifying (Or No Big Deal) | Forbes

My latest for Forbes looks at what impact robots will have on the Las Vegas hospitality experience–and what it means for those who work there: Robots are taking an increasing role in all aspects of the Las Vegas visitor experience, with some resort operators banking on automation and artificial intelligence to reduce labor costs and

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forbes

What You Don’t Know About The Man Behind That Moonwalk DDT | Forbes

One 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

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forbes

The Past Is Still With Us: A Look Behind and Forward at Las Vegas’ history

In my latest at Vegas Seven, I muse about the shame of the recent past, which seems to be a perpetual thing in Las Vegas: There’s always been the perception in Las Vegas that the old days weren’t good, but the older days were great. Of course, here, the past is all relative. When I

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Vegas Seven

AI Could Change More Than the Game(s) in Las Vegas

I first wrote this about a month ago. I was just thinking about the potential impact of AI and automation on Las Vegas. And now you can read it: Since the invention of the slot machine over 100 years ago, automation has been a part of gambling, generally for the better. And yet recent developments

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Vegas Seven

A Small Town Cools Down, A Big League City Heats Up – Vegas Seven

When the weather changed a few weeks back, I started thinking about the end of summer. I ended with some meditations on what makes Las Vegas different and how it is no longer quite as special: Until now, Las Vegas has been many things, but a big league town was not one of them. As

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Vegas Seven

The NFL used to shun Las Vegas. Why is it moving a team there? – The Washington Post

I’ve written up a few thoughts for the Washington Posts’s Post Everything on why Las Vegas is suddenly acceptable to the NFL: The gambling industry here and football have been seeing each other secretly since the 1960s. But Monday’s 31-to-1 vote by league owners to permit the Oakland Raiders to move to Las Vegas with

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washington post

The NCAA Tourney’s Economic Impact on the Las Vegas Strip – Vegas Seven

This week in Vegas Seven, I also had a short article about how March Madness betting impacts Las Vegas: In the past decade, the amount bet on the tournament has almost doubled. That’s more about the expanding popularity of sports betting itself, though, since the percentage of money bet on the tournament has remained close

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Vegas Seven