media

Reaction to Sarno Roundtable at Lied Library

The Sarno Roundtable event went off on Sunday at Lied Library. It was a tremendous experience, but don’t take my word for it. Here’s what KSNV has to say:

You can access that report here if the embedded video isn’t happening: Biography profiles Caesars Palace developer Jay Sarno

The Las Vegas Sun also covered the event:

David Schwartz, director of UNLV’s Center for Gaming, moderated the panel through discussions of Sarno’s life in Las Vegas during the 1960s. The panel members talked about Sarno’s court battles with the FBI, his legacy on the Strip and his eccentric lifestyle that made him a divisive figure in Las Vegas.

“There was nobody in Las Vegas who was neutral on the subject of Jay Sarno,” Schwartz said. “People loved him and people couldn’t stand him. There was no middle.”

Jay Sarno remembered for doing ‘something nobody had ever done before’

But you don’t have to take their word for it—you can listen to the entire roundtable right here, since it’s now a UNLV Gaming Podcast.

I’d like to thank everyone from Lied Library who helped plan and run the event, all of the panelists for showing up and being so candid, and everyone who attended. It was truly a great night, and a sign of just how important Jay Sarno was to the development of Las Vegas.

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The I-Team tackles Grandissimo

Last Friday, George Knapp of 8 News Now’s I-Team ran a feature on Jay Sarno’s legacy and Grandissimo:

While some might think the father of the Las Vegas Strip is mobster Bugsy Seigel, or casino titans Kirk Kerkorian or Steve Wynn, the true architect of modern Las Vegas might be a self-described degenerate gambler named Jay Sarno.

While there is no statue to honor Sarno’s memory, there is a new book that tells his amazing story, warts and all

I-Team: The Man Behind Modern-Day Las Vegas

I’m glad that George reached out to me for this. Here is the video of the story:

8 News NOW

And a link to the video if that embed doesn’t work. 

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Watch Grandissimo on Frequency

Last Thursday, I took part in Frequency, DTLV.com’s interview series. It was a great night, and I’m thrilled that the event was recorded so that you can see it for yourself:

Watch Frequency With David G. Schwartz, William Swaney and Wassa Coulibaly

I’d like to thank my friend and editor Greg Miller for being a great interviewer—wonderful questions and we could have talked for much, much longer.

Watch Grandissimo on Frequency Read More »

interview

Watch Grandissimo on Frequency

Last Thursday, I took part in Frequency, DTLV.com’s interview series. It was a great night, and I’m thrilled that the event was recorded so that you can see it for yourself:

Watch Frequency With David G. Schwartz, William Swaney and Wassa Coulibaly

I’d like to thank my friend and editor Greg Miller for being a great interviewer—wonderful questions and we could have talked for much, much longer.

Watch Grandissimo on Frequency Read More »

interview

Grandissimo on Peter Greenberg Worldwide

I was one of many guests interviewed on Peter Greenberg Worldwide’s radio show. You can listen to the episode here:

Peter Greenberg Worldwide – Nobu Hotel Caesars Palace – January 18, 2014

 It was a nice chance to talk about Grandissimo for a national audience, and I’ve got to say that Peter is one of the best interviewers I’ve encountered. Totally conversational, but always moving the show ahead, talking with him on air is just great. I also talk candidly about my past career as Mr. Peanut, among other things. 

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life in vegas

Grandissimo in Literary Las Vegas

Grandissimo has a write-up in the View’s “Literary Las Vegas” section:

Atlantic City native David G. Schwartz has a Ph.D. in U.S. history from the University of California, Los Angeles, and has hands-on experience in the gaming industry. Since since 2001 Schwartz has been at UNLV, where he serves as the director of UNLV’s Center for Gaming Research. The professor, speaker and consultant is also the author of several books on the gaming industry including his newest “Grandissimo: The First Emperor of Las Vegas: How Jay Sarno Won a Casino Empire, Lost It, and Inspired Modern Las Vegas.”

Literary Las Vegas: David G. Schwartz

There is also a brief excerpt from the book. 

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reviews

Grandissimo on Hotel Interactive

The Grandissimo media tour continues, this time as the author spends some time with Glenn Haussman, host of the Hotel Interactive podcast:

David G. Schwartz is not just a PhD but also the Director, Center for Gaming Research, at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, an amazing historian as well as the author of several books including Roll The Bones, which is a history of gambling since the dawn of time and his newest, Grandissimo: The First Emperor of Las Vegas, the story of Caesars Palace developer Jay Sarno.

Friday, January 10, 2014

To listen to the podcast, follow the above link or go here

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John L. Smith talks Grandissimo in the LVRJ

Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist John L. Smith recently wrote a column discussing several books that would make great stocking stuffers. Grandissimo was prominent on that list:

In a casino industry bursting with praise for its current ringmasters, Steve Wynn, Sheldon Adelson, Gary Loveman, and Jim Murren among them, it’s possible to forget that it was Sarno who dreamed biggest of all at a time the gambling racket wasn’t exactly for the weak-kneed….Thanks to Schwartz’s efforts, the grand casino ringmaster Jay Sarno will long be remembered.

Tales about Las Vegas make good stocking stuffers

Click through to read the entire list—there are some good ones on it!

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reviews

Tipping the Odds with Grandissimo

The Grandissimo media tour continues with a guest appearance on the Tipping the Odds podcast. I enjoyed talking about the book with Mitch and Dr. Kev:

Tipping the Odds #91: Interview with Dr. David Schwartz

Direct link to show

Listen in—it was a lot of fun recording it. I’m still trying to think of an appropriate Vegas story for their book prohect. 

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Grandissimo on Gambling with an Edge

Yesterday the Grandissimo media tour reached critical mass, with several interview tapings. The first of these to be posted is my interview with Bob Dancer and Richard Munchkin on the Gambling with an Edge Radio Show:

The show is available here: http://www.slot-machine-resource.com/podcasts/dschwartz.mp3

I really enjoyed talking with Bob and Richard about the book. With their own long careers in gambling, they added a real perspective to the discussion.

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Talking about Grandisismo on Talk about Las Vegas

For the latest stop on the Grandissimo global media tour, I had a wonderful conversation with Ira David Sternberg for his show Talk about Las Vegas with Ira, which is broadcast on KUNV and is available for online listening as well.

Although this has just been released, it’s one of the first interviews I did for the book, and it was a great chance to discuss the book with someone who knows and ins and outs of Las Vegas past and present. 

You can listen to the show here, or visit the episode page

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life in vegas

Grandisismo on the Gamblers Book Club Podcast

It was a real thrill, as always, to sit down with the legendary Howard Schwartz at the Gamblers Book Shop and talk about Grandissimo. 

Gamblers Book Club Podcast: EPISODE 129- Grandissimo: The First Emperor of Las Vegas: How Jay Sarno Inspired Modern Las Vegas by David G. Schwartz

Direct link to listen or download

As you’ll hear, I had a great time recording this one. I could easily have spent a few hours riffing with Howard. Two weeks ago, I sat and listened to Howard talking with Oscar Goodman (Oscar noticed me lurking towards the end and mentioned me), which was incredibly fun. 

This was my third or fourth time on Howard’s podcast, and it’s always something I look forward to. This time, you get to hear me in unabashedly book-selling mode. I figured that it was appropriate, because you can buy the book directly from the Gamblers Book Club after listening. 

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Talking Grandissimo on 360 Vegas Podcast

This weekend, I guest-co-hosted the 360 Vegas Podcast and got the chance to talk about current Las Vegas news, the prizes and pitfalls of studying Las Vegas history, and, naturally, Grandissimo.

Link to listen or download

Too many highlights to mention, including a digression into my former career as a costumed character on the Atlantic City Boardwalk. Basically it’s a fun conversation between Mark and me about things we like and are fascinated by, centering on Las Vegas. 

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Grandissimo on Ralston Reports

Last night, as part of the Grandissimo launch media tour, I did a half-hour interview with Jon Ralston on Ralston Reports:

[click here if the embedded video doesn’t play]

It was great fun to be able to discuss the book at such great length on TV. What’s fascinating to me is how different hosts approach the book in different ways. With Lorrin on 97.1, I talked more about the rock star elements of Jay Sarno’s persona. On KNPR. I talked about his career’s impact on the community. Here, we talked about his business and personal life but also got more into the political and legal aspects of the book than I ever have. Interesting stuff.

I’ve already recorded an interview with Ira David Sternberg for his show Talk About Las Vegas, and I have some exciting ones scheduled. It’s great to get the book out there.

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interview

Grandissimo Reviewed in the Review-Journal

In this morning’s Las Vegas Review-Journal, columnist Jane Ann Morrison shared her thoughts on Grandissimo:

My view is that it’s a great read and a warts-and-all portrayal of Sarno, a dreamer (and a scoundrel) who was the visionary behind Caesars Palace, which reached out to high rollers, and Circus Circus, which went for the mass market, the yin and yang of Las Vegas gaming.

Sarno book reveals good, bad

There’s much more than that, and I encourage you to read the entire column

And you now have one more data point about Grandissimo—it is a good book to read on a flight to China. 

Seriously, it’s gratifying that the book has had such a positive critical reception. I worked very hard to write a book that did three things: accurately reflected Sarno’s life and career; recreated the feel of Las Vegas in the 1960s to 1980s; and was written in such a way that people actually enjoyed reading it. I love that several of the Amazon reviews have variations on the theme of “I couldn’t put it down.” I’m really glad that I was able to relate Sarno’s story in a way that is accessible and engaging.

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life in vegas, reviews

Grandissimo on the cover of Vegas Seven

That’s right, this week’s Vegas Seven magazine is the official Grandissimo launch issue. The book even made the cover:

There are three book-related stories in the magazine this week:

  1. A contributor’s note where I share a little background on the book
  2. An excerpt from the book called “The Rise of Caesar”
  3. An original essay, “A Kingdom of Darker Magic,” exploring the theory that Jay Sarno was the Walt Disney of Las Vegas

I am thrilled to have this chance to introduce the book to people. And that cover is just beautiful. Thank you to my editor Greg Blake Miller and everyone at Seven who made this happen.

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Vegas Seven

The official Grandissimo proclamation

October 19, the day of the official launch for Grandissimo, is shaping up to be huge. The launch will be part of the Vegas Internet Mafia Family Picnic event at The D hotel & casino on Fremont Street.

How big a deal is the launch? Well, I’ve got a proclamation from Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman that says it’s worthy of recognition:

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The text reads: 

I, Carolyn G. Goodman, Mayor of the City of Las Vegas, do hereby proclaim October 19, 2013 as Jay Sarno—Grandissimo Day in the City of Las Vegas and ask all citizens to join me in recognizing all the contributions Jay Sarno made to the development of Las Vegas through the groundbreaking casinos he built, Caesars Palace and Circus Circus. Thirty years after his death, his influence on how casinos are built and run is still felt. Today we celebrate the launch for GRANDISSIMO: THE FIRST EMPEROR OF LAS VEGAS by David G. Schwartz, a full-length biography of Sarno that tells the incredible story of the Las Vegas pioneer.

Thanks for this go to the mayor’s office, which kindly issued the proclamation.  

And if you needed another reason to join us in launching Grandissimo, the mayor thinks you should. 

The official Grandissimo proclamation Read More »

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