Author David G. Schwartz summarizes chapter 12,…

By on June 18, 2013

Author David G. Schwartz summarizes chapter 12, “America’s Playground…Again: Atlantic city becomes the casino capital of the East,” of Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling (Casino Edition).

If you don’t see a video above, go here: http://youtu.be/UtsacolklS4

This chapter covers the development of casinos in Atlantic City. It starts with a brief recap of the city’s history through the 1960s, and discusses the trends that led to the successful 1976 referendum that approved casinos in the city.

From there, the chapter covers the development of New Jersey’s regulatory and licensing system, the first casino (Resorts International), and several other landmark casinos, including Caesars Boardwalk Regency, Bally’s, the Sands, the Golden Nugget, and Donald Trump’s three casinos. Finally, it talks about the last few years, taking the city from the excitement surrounding the opening of the Borgata in 2003 to the malaise and doubt surrounding Revel’s opening in 2012.

This entry is filed under atlantic city, chapter summary, video.

Moulin Rouge breaks the color line

By on June 13, 2013

From the 1930s, Las Vegas casinos on the Strip and Downtown were racially segregated. In 1955, the Moulin Rouge opened on Bonanza Road, as the first major Las Vegas casino to welcome patrons of all races.

You can learn more about the Moulin Rouge in Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling. 

Go here to read an excerpt from the book, or learn where to buy your copy.

This entry is filed under fromthebook, las vegas casinos, moulin rouge.

Casino Concentration and the Logic of Empire | Vegas Seven

By on June 12, 2013

For this week’s Green Felt Journal, I offer you an 800-word version of the 10,000-word paper I presented at the International Conference on Gambling and Risk-Taking. It’s my attempt to assess whether the mid-decade spate of mergers was good for anyone…and from what I’ve discovered, it looks like the answer is “not really.” From Vegas Seven:

For the Las Vegas casino industry, the past decade has been defined by two things: consolidation and disaster. From 2000 to 2008, Las Vegas Strip casino operators acquired each other until two companies—today they are known as MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment Corporation—controlled nearly two-thirds of the Strip corridor casino market. The following three years is where the disaster, in the form of the recession, comes in. The timing of the two makes it difficult to assess whether the mergers were good or bad, on the balance, for Las Vegas, but the evidence we have indicates that we would have been better off with less-concentrated ownership.

via Casino Concentration and the Logic of Empire | Vegas Seven.

There’s a lot of research behind my conclusions that didn’t make the Vegas Seven article, but if the article makes it into the conference proceedings, you might be able to read the whole thing.

Glad my suggested headline (complete with Heinlein reference) made it to print.

This entry is filed under Vegas Seven and tagged , .

Author David G. Schwartz summarizes chapter 11, “The…

By on June 11, 2013

Author David G. Schwartz summarizes chapter 11, “The Sky’s the Limit: Las Vegas reaches for the stars,” of Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling (Casino Edition).

This chapter starts with the arrival of Jay Sarno, a true casino visionary who built Caesars Palace and Circus Circus. It then covers the impact on Las Vegas of an even more eccentric figure, Howard Hughes. From there, it discuses the corporate gaming acts, Kirk Kerkorian, the origins of the World Series of Poker, and several personalities who came to prominence in Downtown Las Vegas, including Steve Wynn, Jackie Gaughan, and Sam Boyd.

For more information about the book, visit http://www.rollthebonesbook.com

If you don’t see a video, please go here: http://youtu.be/Uxo63Wrx6Ns 

This entry is filed under chapter summary, life in vegas, video.

The (illegal) Beach Club shines

By on June 7, 2013

For the first half of the 20th century, Edward Riley Bradley’s Beach Club, located in Palm Beach, was the finest illegal gambling establishment in Florida and, some would argue, the entire country.

You can read more about illegal casinos (and legal ones too) in Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling. 

Go here to read an excerpt from the book, or learn where to buy your copy.

This entry is filed under fromthebook and tagged , .

Author David G. Schwartz summarizes chapter 10, “A Place…

By on June 5, 2013

Author David G. Schwartz summarizes chapter 10, “A Place in the Sun: The Las Vegas Strip is Born,” of Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling (Casino Edition).

This chapter covers the development of the Strip from the 1941 opening of the El Rancho Vegas into the 1960s. It discusses pioneers like Thomas Hull, Bill Moore, and Billy Wilkerson, and the infamous Bugsy Siegel who muscled Wilkerson out of the Flamingo casino.

It also explains the three factors that gave mob-connected casinos an advantage (for a time) in Las Vegas, discusses syndicate ownership as exemplified by the Desert Inn, and takes on topics as varied as the Rat Pack, the development of skill play and card-counting, and the desegregation of the Strip and Downtown.

If you don’t see a video, go here: http://youtu.be/5PwpS528RLc 

This entry is filed under chapter summary, last frontier, video, writing and tagged , , , .

The French Prohibition

By on June 3, 2013

The French Chamber of Deputies passed an edict on June 1, 1836 that would ban gambling in France, effective December 31, 1837. 

You can read the story of how gambling returned to France 80 years later, and much more, in Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling. 

Go here to read an excerpt from the book, or learn where to buy your copy.

This entry is filed under france, fromthebook and tagged .

Investing in America | Vegas Seven

By on May 31, 2013

Busy week, so I’m just posting this week’s Green Felt Journal about the EB-5 program, which is changing Las Vegas:

“Invest In Your American Dream,” reads the text next to a photo of the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign. The words are quickly replaced by “LAS VEGAS EB5 IMMIGRATION CENTER IS YOUR BEST CHOICE,” with a view of the Strip at night, followed by “THE OPPORTUNITY TO OBTAIN U.S. GREEN CARD,” against a pastiche of a billowing American flag with extra stars, the Statue of Liberty and the Capitol building. Then, just to make the message clear, we get “THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE AMERICAN LIFESTYLE,” laid over a skyline that’s definitely not Las Vegas.

via Investing in America | Vegas Seven.

I learned a good deal researching this one…it will be interesting to see where the program goes in the next few years.

This entry is filed under Vegas Seven and tagged , , , .

Cal-Neva Confidential

By on May 31, 2013

In the 1930s, North Shore Lake Tahoe’s Cal-Neva Lodge, owned by James McKay and William Graham, was notorious for reportedly hosting gangsters like Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd.

Learn more about the Cal-Neva, which was later owned by Frank Sinatra, in Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling. 

Go here to read an excerpt from the book, or learn where to buy your copy.

This entry is filed under fromthebook and tagged , , .

A slow start for Indian gaming

By on May 28, 2013

The earliest federal recognition of tribes’ right to offer gambling on their reservations dates from 1924, but gambling geared towards non-Indians didn’t really get started for another 50 years.

You can learn more about Indian gaming in Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling. 

Go here to read an excerpt from the book, or learn where to buy your copy.

This entry is filed under fromthebook, tribal gaming and tagged .

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