The 1980 MGM Grand fire is perhaps the most famous casino disaster in history, but the August 13, 1785 blaze that destroyed a wing of Spa’s Redoute casino was just as catastrophic in its day, particularly since burning playing cards blown by a strong wind landed on the roofs of nearby houses, spreading the fire. But the Redoute recovered.
You can learn more about Spa gambling in Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling.
Go here to read an excerpt from the book, or learn where to buy your copy.
Author David G. Schwartz discusses Chapter 8, “Wise Guys & One-Armed Bandits,” of Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling (Casino Edition).
This chapter covers the rise of Saratoga Springs as a racing and gambling center, the invention of slot machines, and the development of gambling syndicates throughout the nation. These groups dominated illegal gambling in the cities they controlled and were a precursor of the larger organized crime groups that took over during Prohibition.
Finally, it discusses the growth of illegal casinos throughout the United States, legal casinos in Cuba and Tijuana, and the Kefauver Committee, whose reforming zeal closed down illegal operations in many states.
If you don’t see the video, go here: http://youtu.be/0QZ0nmBekGI
For more information about the book, including where to buy it, visit http://rollthebonesbook.com/.
Florestan, the first of his name, prince of Monaco (but not the Andals or the First Men) issued an edict on April 26, 1856, that permitted a pair of developers to begin constructing a “bathing establishment” in his principality. That establishment would eventually become the Monte Carlo casino.
There’s plenty more about Monte Carlo in Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling.
Go here to read an excerpt from the book, or learn where to buy your copy.
I’ve been wanting to write more about Macau, which is such a huge gambling story, for a while, and when given a feature slot for Vegas Seven, jumped on the chance to talk about Macau’s impact on Las Vegas. The result is this week’s cover story:
Back in the early days—2006 or so—American executives signing on for tours of duty in Macau felt like they were stepping into the Wild West. Street violence had subsided since the island’s 1999 reversion to mainland control, but there was still a sense that this was a frontier, a place where anything could happen. And when strangers rode into town—often from the former frontier town of Las Vegas—they went where strangers always go first: the saloon. In this case, that meant the Embassy Bar at what was then the Mandarin Oriental hotel. It was an admittedly upscale saloon, but for an expat executive it was an oasis, a free-port, a place to make crucial first connections and ease into Chinese life. It offered just enough reassuring familiarity, and just enough tantalizing strangeness.
At 4,000 words, this is a long magazine piece for me, but I think you’ll agree it packs a lot of story into those words. The great art really helps. I’m as proud of this as I am of anything I’ve written so far.
Among Stanley Ho’s possessions in Macau (in addition to his many casinos) is the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Center, which at the time of its construction was the tenth-highest tower in the world.
You can learn more about Stanley Ho’s career in Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling.
Go here to read an excerpt from the book, or learn where to buy your copy.
A form of lotto was played in China as early as the tenth century AD, over 500 years before it appeared in Italy.
You can learn much more about the history of Chinese gambling in Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling.
Go here to read an excerpt from the book, or learn where to buy your copy.
Last Sunday, on a short deadline for my Green Felt Journal, I suddenly got inspired. I recalled that Caribbean Stud Poker no longer had a separate line item in the monthly Gaming Revenue Report (these things apparently stick in my head), and figured, that’s got to be worth a column.
Some digging for numbers and comment later, I had a story. You can read it for yourself:
But with limited floor space, games that no longer draw don’t last. This is nowhere more apparent than in looking at the fate of Caribbean Stud Poker in Nevada. Once nearly ubiquitous, it’s now nearly gone from the state’s casinos.
Caribbean Stud Poker is known in the industry as a proprietary table game. Some games, like roulette and blackjack, have rules that are in the public domain; any casino can offer them, as long as they get regulatory approval. Proprietary games, on the other hand, are developed by a creator who patents his or her work. The creator then sells the game to casinos, which pay a per-table rental fee ranging from $30 to $2,500 per month; more profitable tables command higher rents.
I learned a lot writing this one–I hope you find it interesting as well.
One of the most important figures in 1940s Las Vegas gambling got his start on the right side of the law, crossed over to the wrong side, and then came back. Guy McAfee was a vice squad commander in the Los Angeles Police Department, who, it was discovered, had ownership interests in several illegal casinos. Resigning rather than facing corruption charges, he moved to Las Vegas, where he was involved with several legal casinos. He’s best known as the founder of the Golden Nugget.
There’s lots more about the early figures of Las Vegas gambling in Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling.
Go here to read an excerpt from the book, or learn where to buy your copy.
Video summary of Chapter 7, “Fools of Fortune,” in Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling (Casino Edition).
This chapter covers the spread of gambling throughout urban America during the 19th century, starting with the first urban gambling houses and ending with “trade stimulators” throughout the small towns of America. Topics covered include wolf traps and other early gambling houses, New York City faro houses, John Morrissey, Chicago gambling, Midwestern gambling houses, and professional gamblers.
If you don’t see a video, watch it on YouTube.
You might know Moby Dick as a seminal 19th century American novel. Or, if your tastes run that way, a John Bonham drum solo vehicle. But it was also the name of a seafood restaurant at the Stardust that opened in the late 1950s.
There’s plenty more about casino restaurants (but, regrettably, not much about cetaceans) in Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling.
Go here to read an excerpt from the book, or learn where to buy your copy.
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