fromthebook

Online island pioneer

The small island nation of Antigua capitalized on online gaming by encouraging early sports betting sites to set up business there. Like earlier resource-poor jurisdictions such as Monte Carlo and Nevada, it hoped to leverage its tolerance of gambling into substantial development.

To learn more about the early days of online gaming, see 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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Grandest hotel…again

When the “new” MGM Grand opened in December 1993 with 5,005 rooms, it was the biggest hotel-casino in the world. That marked the third time majority owner Kirk Kerkorian has opened the world’s biggest hotel-casino. He did it with the International (1969) and original MGM Grand (1973).

For more about Las Vegas casinos, check out 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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Goldstein lobbies for riverboats

Bernard Goldstein, former owner of the Alter Companies, was influential in lobbying for the legalization of riverboat casinos in Iowa in 1988 and 1989. Goldstein’s riverboat casino company eventually became Isle of Capri.

You can learn more about riverboat casinos 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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Trump comes to Atlantic City

Donald Trump’s first Atlantic City casino wasn’t wholly his own—it was a joint venture with Harrah’s, and was initially called “Harrah’s at Trump Plaza.” 

For the full story of how Trump gained sole possession of that property and two other Atlantic City casinos, read 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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Moulin Rouge breaks the color line

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.

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The (illegal) Beach Club shines

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.

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