University of Nevada Las Vegas| Gaming Studies Research Center | Dave Schwartz |
University of Nevada Las Vegas |
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Casino [ptz]
formerly the Gaming Studies Weblog |
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 Friday, July 25, 2003 SITE NEWS: CASINO [PTZ] EXPLAINED
Before we get into that, I just want to say that work on the WSOP summaries is continuing. Alycia is doing a great job of pulling info out of the archives and putting it together. The biggest challenge is that the info is not consistent--there is a great deal of stuff on 1978, but nearly nothing on 1970, for example. Why have I renamed this weblog? Well you know, I thought that "Gaming Studies Weblog" was too antiseptic for me. It sounds absolutely boring. And the casino world that I chronicle is anything but boring. (Although watching people gamble is, to me, mind-numbingly, excruciatingly ponderous). For a while, that wasn't a problem, because I didn't put much effort into it. But since the publication of Suburban Xanadu, I've found the need to publicize what I do a bit more, and I've been finding more interesting news to post about. So I decided to think up a better name. At first, I thought something like "Back of the House" might be neat, because I try to give people a sense of what's going on behind the industry. But that's a bit long for a snappy name, and it is kind of generic. In a flash, it hit me: I am acting like an online, industry-wide CCTV operator, observing and reporting on what is going on, using my UNLV standard-issue Gateway as a virtual camera, panning, tilting, and zooming around the web of gaming information. Thus was born Casino [ptz]. I'd appreciate anyone who blogs linking to this; I'd be happy to link back. I'd also appreciate any insights into how I can make this a better blog, technically, aesthetically, or content-wise. And now onto the news.... HARD ROCK COMING TO BILOXI Everyone's favorite rock and roll eatery is coming to the Mississippi Coast, as a casino. The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino has been approved for development by the Mississippi Gaming Commission. It will open in May 2005 near the Beau Rivage casino. From the LV Sun: Premier Entertainment will own and operate the $255 million resort. "I think Hard Rock brings a brand to the coast that is recognized worldwide," said Joe Billhimer, president and chief operating officer of Premier Entertainment. Premier plans to begin construction in October pending a final go-ahead from the commission. That could come during a September vote. The development will feature a 10-story hotel with 304 rooms, a Hard Rock Cafe, a 1,200-person capacity Hard Rock Live Performance venue, a pool with a beach area and a nightclub on the top floor of the hotel. The casino will have a single 48,500-square-foot gaming floor with 1,500 slot and video poker machines and 50 table games. Read the entire story here. PENN SLOTS ON THE SHELF? There are a plethora of stories out this morning about the status of efforts to bring slot machines to Pennsylvania's race tracks, and this one from the Philadelphia Inquirer says it best: The move to legalize slot machines in Pennsylvania is dead - for now. The state Senate yesterday quietly killed a bill that would have raised $1 billion in gambling revenue to reduce property taxes, lower Philadelphia's wage tax, and pump $17 million a year into the Convention Center. The action came less than a week after the House passed a bill allowing slots gambling at nine racetracks and one slot parlor each in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The bill would have also cut city wage taxes by about 10 percent and reduced school taxes in the state by an average of 20 percent. The House bill died a quiet, procedural death. "We referred the bill to the Senate Rules Committee with no plans for the committee to act on it," said Erik Arneson, chief of staff for Senate Majority Leader David "Chip" Brightbill (R., Lebanon), an opponent of slots who runs the committee. That means the bill would sit in committee indefinitely. Although the Senate buried the House bill, gambling may still survive in some form. Proponents of the bill said they would start again with the hope of having a bill before the legislature in the fall. The Senate will be in session next week, but does not plan to meet again until September. Read the entire story here. SEABISCUIT TO BRING THEM BACK TO THE TRACKS, OR JUST BEATING A DEAD HORSE? The widely-hyped film Seabiscuit, the story of the famous thoroughbred adapted from Laura Hillenbrand's best-selling novel, opens today. It is a compelling tale that probably makes a great screen presence. But the bigger question is, will it revive interest in horse racing? And if it does, what does that mean for racino proponents? There are two articles I've seen today speculating that Seabiscuit will make horseracing palatable to the mainstream again, one from The Trentonian and another from the Courier Post. The Trentonian piece is, well, in the Trentonian. The Courier Post article is well researched and is as good a primer for anyone about the horse and the movie. Let's say that, somehow, Seabiscuit makes going to the track cool again. Revenues go up, purses go up, and everyone is happy. But that would, I think, remove one of the key arguments that supporters of track slots make: that the economic boost the machines give are needed to save the industry. The question of slots at racetracks, ultimately, won't be decided by state legislatures, track operators, or slot manufacturers. It will be decided by the people, who will vote with their dollars. Would they rather spend their gambling money pouring coins into a video poker machine, or would they rather bet it on the horses, increasing their personal stakes in watching the races? It all comes down to consumer choice. If the tracks can market themselves as exciting entertainment options, they can be veyr successful. After all, it wasn't so long ago that the NBA playoffs were shown on tape delay--smart marketing made that league an international success. And aren't the best marketers the people who turn sitting in front of a machine which is guaranteed to take in more money than it pays out something that people line up to do? Think about it. SUBURBAN XANADU UPDATE amazon.com sales rank: 85,671; 2 reviews, including a new one from "a gaming analyst from New York" that is very complimentary. Thank you! barnesandnoble.com sales rank: 100,002; 2 reviews Rank on the Love and Casino War list of best-selling Vegas books: 58 That's all for today. Have a great weekend, and remember that the house always wins.
Thursday, July 24, 2003 CONGRATULATIONS TO ROSEN
The first headline I saw today reminds me that a stint in Atlantic City augurs good things for a casino executive's career. Steven Rosen of Park Place Entertainment (soon to be Caesars Entertainment) has been promoted to Senior VP of Marketing, and will report directly to PPE Pres Wallace Barr, another executive who spent time on Absecon Island. For those who don't know, Rosen was the senior VP of marketing at Harrah's Marina (now Harrah's AC). Rosen has had some iconoclastic marketing ideas throughout his career, and is sure to handle the challenges of the PPE/CE transition with the intrepid innovation that I saw him use in Atlantic City. Read the full story here from Adweek. MORE PROOF THAT ATLANTIC CITY IS THE REAL POWER CENTER OF THE GAMING WORLD If you've been to Las Vegas, you know that the Tropicana is not exactly a premier property. It's neighbors are newer, sleeker, and owned by bigger corporations with access to more captial for future improvements. Yet despite a "rough quarter" on the Strip, Aztar, the Trop's parent company, actually made more money. The reason? Solid performance at the AC Tropicana. From Jeff Simpson's story at the LVRJ: Powered by strong performances at Tropicana Atlantic City and at Casino Aztar in Evansville, Ind., Phoenix-based Aztar announced earnings of $18.8 million, or 51 cents per share, up 14 percent from $16.5 million, or 44 cents. "It was an absolutely great quarter for us in Atlantic City," Aztar Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Paul Rubeli said during a Wednesday conference call for analysts and investors. Tropicana Atlantic City cut payroll and gamblers' comp costs while maintaining hotel occupancy of 96 percent, Rubeli noted, boosting property cash flow, defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, to $34.2 million from $32.8 million. Read the entire story here. TRUMP'S TOWERING RAGE But all isn't sanguine in Atlantic City. Donald Trump is pretty steamed because the South Jersey Transportation Authority hasn't finished a ramp linking the Marina to the Borgata. Trump claims that this is costing him $$$, and he may sue. Then, in the same statement, he says that the Borgata hasn't hurt his Boardwalk properties (including my former workplace, the Taj), because it hasn't generated a "wow factor." So which is it? Either the Borgata is drawing new patrons who can't find the Marina, or it's not drawing anyone. This doesn't seem to make sense. Trump has also threatened not to build a $1.5 billion casino on the World's Fair site, which seems like an idle threat, because he's already busy not building a casino there. They've just announced plans to put up a Peter Max mural so the exposed side of Convention Hall doesn't look so nasty. You can read the story in the Star Ledger. YOU"VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME Cow pie bingo? Yes, people play this game. If the cow poops in your square, you win! Unless you're in the square at the time. In another story from the Star Ledger, it seems that Legalized Games of Chance Commission is considering a request by the Brigantine Rams to hold such an event: For some, cow pie bingo is a harmless way to raise funds with some old-fashioned country fun. But New Jersey officials need convincing. They say the time-honored, rural game of chance is subject to state regulation. Last year, state officials turned down a Hampton Rotary Club request to revive the contest at the Sussex County Farm and Horse/ New Jersey State Farm in Augusta, according to fair officials. Now, the Brigantine Rams football club of Atlantic County has asked the state Legalized Games of Chance Control Commission to allow them to hold a cow pie bingo game as a team fund-raiser. The commission's five members will consider Brigantine's request next month. Genene Morris, state Division of Consumer Affairs spokeswoman, said the commission, which supervises bingo and raffle licenses and amusement games, is responsible for ensuring every contest is fair. "They would have to make sure that it really is based on chance," she said. Morris said the commission never approved or received a request for cow pie bingo until Brigantine's this year. She said she was unfamiliar with the Hampton Rotary situation. Cow pie proponents say they have no problem with the state laws on games of chance, since there is no way to know where a cow will go. A grid is marked in a field, and contestants guess where the cow will plop. If the cow plops in your box, you win. I don't know how you could rig a cow's digestive processes, and frankly, I'm better off not knowing. My first and last thought on this? ONLY IN BRIGANTINE. IOWA GAMING DEBATE Two stories from the Des Moines Register. In the first, the chairman of Adventureland park has charged that casinos in Iowa have caniballized the economy and led to a decay in the moral fiber: The chairman of Adventureland park and hotel in Altoona said counties that court casinos are gambling with crime, a cannibalized economy and moral decay. The warning from John "Jack" Krantz, formerly an ardent supporter of neighboring Polk County-owned Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino, was sent to a newspaper in Dickinson County, where residents earlier this month overwhelmingly rejected riverboat gambling. Krantz, who owns a vacation home in the county, said his theme park and hotel have gained "little or no business" from the Altoona gambling operation, which reported the highest gross revenue among the state's 16 casinos during the past 12 months. Read the whole story here. In the second, casino proponents "gave props" to the anti-casino people, saying that: "They geared up and studied the issue. They were well-organized and well-funded," he said. "They had more money and a high level of sophistication." Read the whole story here. SUBURBAN XANADU UPDATE amazon.com sales rank: 85,551; 1 review barnesandnoble.com sales rank: 209,469; 2 reviews Rank on the Love and Casino War list of best-selling Vegas books: 58 That's all for today.
Wednesday, July 23, 2003
SITE NEWS: WSOP UPGRADES IN PROGRESS
I've got the template for the new summary pages together, and it looks solid. Alycia, the student who is compiling the data, is doing a great job. Hopefully, this will become a great reference for those who need it. No feedback on the mainpage changes, so I'll go ahead and interpret silence as approval. Projects in the pipeline include the Harrah's Collection exhibit, a new FAQ for gaming research, a DI history exhibit, and new subject guides. NEW WYNN CASINO NO GAMBLE From the Love and Casino War blog, I checked out an article from the Guardian about Steve Wynn. Here are some of the pertinent parts: Billionaire Steve Wynn seems like one of those characters who could only exist in Las Vegas. Now 60, he has played as great a part in the creation of modern Las Vegas as anyone - and is now poised, with his latest, most spectacular venture, to leave his name permanently on the city's skyline. By 2005, his most ambitious gamble, a $2.4bn hotel resort - with its own man-made lake and, of course, with its own Ferrari and Maserati dealerships - is due to open. Originally, it was to be named Le Reve, after one of the Picassos that Wynn and his wife own; but, as of last month, it is to be called Wynn Las Vegas, embodying a dream of a different kind.... Las Vegas has lived well, even through recessions, but even Sin City took a hit after September 11, and the local economy wobbled. The family-friendly image of the city that Wynn helped to foster has now been replaced with a return to the more traditional image of the city. "What happens here, stays here," is the slogan Las Vegas now uses to market itself to America. Wynn, as it happened, had already sold off his famous landmarks in 2000 for around $6bn in a classic piece of Las Vegas wheeler-dealing. This allowed him more money for his art collection, which he still enjoys despite badly deteriorating eyesight and which he exhibits to the public. It also left him with a money-chest for what may now be his final throw, the Wynn Las Vegas. There will be two theatres in the complex and the opening show, masterminded by Franco Dragone, a Cirque du Soleil director, will be a fable about a boy's search for flight. "Our boy's going to fly, and people will come from everywhere to see it and marvel at it," Wynn said when he announced the venture. The whole project will also involve Wynn flying close to the sun. "Everybody is watching to see if he can pull it off again," says Marc Cooper. "And they want him to succeed, they want him to do it again." The bets are that Wynn will. It's a decent article, but it honestly doesn't do justice to the magnitude of Wynn Las Vegas. It seems a bit out of date, too. I live right down the street from the Wynn LV site and have seen the project from the inside a bit over the past few months, and it is absolutely incredible. The garage is going up, the hotel tower is about 20 stories and rising at the rate of a floor a week, the concrete slab for the casino is down, and the theater and ballrooms are beginning to take shape. This resort is going to be completely different from anything that came before. Granted, building a casino, on the scale of grand human achievements, might be rather small. It isn't like finding a cure for cancer or eradicating world hunger. But to build a resort on the scale of Wynn Las Vegas takes a special kind of genius and determination, particularly after having set the bar so high with Mirage, which shifted the course of the gaming industry in Las Vegas, and Bellagio, which was the apotheosis of the '90s boom. The buildings that we create reflect our times, and I think that Bellagio is the distillation of the late 1990s, just as the Sands was the quintessential statement of the cool Vegas of the 1950s and early 1960s and Caesars Palace stood as emperor of the big-money boxing mecca Vegas of the 1980s. Steve Wynn's ideas about his new casino, I think, come down to the simple fact that he has the courage to go beyond the paradigm, as a social scientist might say. In plain English, this means that once everyone thinks they've figured out the rules, Wynn changes the game. WANNA BUY A STRIP CASINO? The Riviera Holdings Corp. is pretty straightforward about wanting to sell. They need new investors, apparently. Names being thrown around include Donald Trump, the Jacobs family (who own a Reno casino), and Italian investor Fabrizio Boccardi. I doubt that any of these pan out, though. Read the whole story from the LVRJ here. EXCITEMENT AT SARATOGA SPRINGS No jokes about hope springing eternal here, but there is a buzz, apparently, around opening day at Saratoga this year. The culprits are the arrival of Funny Cide and the premiere of Seabiscuit. Maybe Seabiscuit will do for racing what 8 Mile did for battle rap--bring it (back) into the mainstream. Here's an excerpt from the Times Union: When Saratoga Race Course opens its doors for the 135th season today, excitement and expectations will be high, even by Saratoga's standards. The combination of hometown hero Funny Cide and the premiere of the movie "Seabiscuit" in Wilton tonight has created a special buzz. "I think it's going to be a very exciting meet," said Susan Manola, who arrived Sunday from Washington, D.C., and was picking up her copy of the Daily Racing Form on Broadway around noon Tuesday. Funny Cide, the gritty 3-year-old gelding who won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, arrived in the Saratoga backstretch at around 9:25 a.m. Tuesday. The film "Seabiscuit" was partially shot in Saratoga Springs, and opens to audiences nationwide on Friday. Racing fans say it will increase interest in the sport just like Funny Cide's amazing run of successes. "People who don't follow racing know about Funny Cide. That's the exciting thing about this horse," said Ed Hotaling, author of "They're Off! Horse Racing at Saratoga." "I think it's going to be really historic. I think there will be record crowds." Read the entire article here. DOUBTS ABOUT NEW GAMING TAXES Three articles here about why higher gaming taxes, though they promise short-term $$$, might not be such a great idea. From the LA TIMES: From Nevada to New Jersey, cash-strapped governments are looking to hit the jackpot by raising taxes on the gambling industry, which in some states could be a bad bet. The $27-billion industry is an easy mark for politicians because casinos and their customers, not the entire electorate, shoulder tax-hike costs. "Of all taxes to complain about, the last one on the list is probably a tax on casinos," said Bill Ahern, director of communications at the Tax Foundation in Washington. But gaming officials and industry analysts warn that making the burden too heavy could backfire. They point to Illinois, which in May raised the rate for its top gaming tax bracket by 40% — and where some casino companies are cutting back on investments and planning to reduce operating hours. The gaming tax trend "is not encouraging," said William Schmitt, an analyst with CIBC World Markets in New York. Read the entire article here (you must register). From the Des Moines Register, a piece about racinos lessening tax burdens: After a 13-hour session, the Pennsylvania House on Friday voted, 120-81, for a proposal that would enable slot machines to be installed at its nine tracks as well as one location in Pittsburgh and another in Philadelphia. It hopes to add $1 billion in revenue in the first year. Horse purses would get 18 percent of the slot revenue. The proposal now goes to the Pennsylvania Senate. Currently, only five states have slot machines at tracks - Iowa, West Virginia, Louisiana, Delaware and Rhode Island. New York, estimating $1 billion in income, has approved video lotteries at its tracks and adding six Indian casinos, but the legality of the legislation has been tied up in court. Tracks have been salivating for slot machines ever since they saw what a windfall they produced in Iowa and West Virginia, where yearly purses at Mountaineer Park mushroomed from $4.5 million to $34 million. Now states are increasingly debating slot machine proposals, and the reason most emphasized by proponents is the tax benefits. "I think state budget deficits are really the reasons in it being talked about," said Jack Ketterer, executive director of the Iowa racing and Gaming Commission. "They're battling budget deficits and don't want to raise taxes." While no other racing legislation passed this year, it drew extensive debate in several states and will probably come up again in 2004. Read the entire article here. And a companion piece from the Philadelphia Daily News, which takes a decidedly negative view of the use of expanded gaming to bridge budget shortfalls: I'LL ALWAYS oppose using "gaming" revenues to finance public services. It's not a sermon. I've placed my share of $2 bets and enjoyed it win or lose. Just seems to me we ought not be basing our decisions about services provided citizens on how much we can pry loose on a sucker's bet. The tradeoff doesn't make much sense to me when you consider that most of the state's "winnings" would come from the meager resources of local low rollers and not from the well-heeled bulls whose high-stakes bets made Las Vegas such a shimmering oasis in the desert. Everything about the "gaming industry" - from its name to the selective testimonials of occasional winners - rings as false as a slug in a slot machine. Somethings wrong when the state tells us that gambling is bad unless they get to cut the pot. So, even as good a salesman as Ed Rendell can be, I never thought he'd slip his slot machine gamble past the sound sleepers in the Pennsylvania Legislature. Until I read this piece of, ahh, legislation that just passed in Harrisburg. It includes 100 pages of the kind of arcane minutiae that obfuscate most legislation. But section 9214 "Net Slot Machine Revenue Distribution and Establishment of the State Gaming Fund" is a veritable grab bag of gambling goodies. The "fund" would be formed with the $50 million licensing fee that each slot machine operator must ante up before the state deals the first hand. With eight potential takers, there could be $4 billion in the pot before the games begin - not counting gaming taxes. The thing would fund everything from rehabs for disabled jockeys to a Volunteer Fire Company grant program. There would even be money for a "Pennsylvania Stallion Award" (you young guys need not apply). There is, of course, money to treat compulsive and problem gamblers. We're not short on compassion. Mainly, as promised by candidate Rendell, it would buy tax relief for overburdened municipalities. Even with that, it was tough sledding for awhile. Read the entire column here. SUBURBAN XANADU REPORT In what is fast becoming a fan favorite, here are today's numbers on the #59 best-selling Vegas book on Amazon.com amazon.com sales rank:85,551 * 1 review barnes and noble.com sales rank: 208,550 * 2 reviews I think that a great system for picking the winning combo for an illegal numbers game would be to use the last 3 digits of the Suburban Xanadu sales rank. It is very straightforward and open to public scrutiny. I have been spending too much time researching illegal gambling, I think, because I'm starting to think in terms of how I would run a numbers operation. That is all for today. I'm giving a talk to the Association for Information Technology Professionals about online gaming tonight here in Vegas, so if you are a member of that group and are in town, definitely stop by--you won't be disappointed.
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 SITE NEWS: WSOP UPGRADES
I learned that there were some broken picture links in the WSOP galleries, and I fixed them. Also, Special Collections student assistant Alycia is working on compiling the info for the annual summaries, so I should have something to post soon. That exhibit get many hits, so I'm working to upgrade it. I'll also add a section of player biographies taken from the 20th anniversary press guide. 2200 PAGES+, NO CONVICTION Nothing really newsworthy, but it is interesting for historical purposes. I haven't read this myself, put I probably will very soon. Here it is, the FBI file of Moe Dalitz, mastermind of the Desert Inn and "Mr. Las Vegas" for many years. ONLINE SPORTBETTING LEGAL STAKES RAISED The government of Antigua is filing a complaint with the WTO against the US related to the Jay Cohen case: The World Trade Organization today said it will appoint a three-member panel to determine if U.S. efforts to crack down on offshore Internet gambling operations violate international trade accords. The WTO announcement comes in response to a challenge filed by Antigua and Barbuda, a Caribbean island nation that is a major nexus for the Internet gambling industry. U.S. laws that ban the transfer of funds to offshore gambling operations and make it difficult for non-U.S. firms to obtain gaming licenses violate trade agreements ensuring market access to "cross-border services," the complaint said. Internet gambling became a major part of Antigua and Barbuda's economy during the 1990s, when up to 100 different online gaming companies employing more than 5,000 people operated in the island nation. Today, there are fewer than 40 Internet gambling companies located on the islands employing half as many local residents. Island officials attribute the industry's decline in part to the U.S. crackdown. Read about it here from the Washington Post. INDIAN GAMING An interesting article about Indian gaming from the San Francisco Chronicle: The boom in Indian casino gambling has sparked new scrutiny from the Bay Area to the nation's Capitol -- and fears among tribal leaders that the intense attention will hurt an industry that has lifted many of their people out of abject and historic poverty. The issue is whether the Indian tribes should retain the free rein they have enjoyed to build large Las Vegas-style casino projects anywhere they can successfully make a claim of sovereignty. There is a growing effort to bring the Indian casinos under local environmental laws and development regulations, an effort spurred by the fear that the tribes have too much latitude. The tribal leaders have responded with angry testimony in Congress and with a customary political tactic that has proved successful in the past -- heavy spending on radio and TV campaign-style advertising and political mailings, as well as hefty campaign donations to a wide array of state officials. In Sonoma County, a proposal by the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria for a casino-hotel project on 2,000 rural acres has prompted a hue and cry from local officials, who say they have no authority to assure the project adheres to customary environmental regulations. The concerns have led Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, to propose legislation that would bring the project under the jurisdiction of local development regulations. Read the entire article here. IF THEY STILL EMPLOYED THE WORLD"S MOST ELECTRIFYING SURVEILLANCE OPERATOR, THIS WOULD BE TRULY SCINTILLATING :) My old stomping grounds and former workplace (before taking the GSRC gig), the TRUMP TAJ MAHAL, will feature a light show (story from the AC Press): A segment of the Boardwalk will go dark Saturday night and a massive aerial display of lights, pyrotechnics and music atop Trump Taj Mahal will begin the casino's weeklong "Lights of Freedom" show. Organizers are promoting the show, orchestrated by German light artist Gert Hof, as the first of its kind in the United States. "We thought this would certainly elevate things above the typical Fourth of July fireworks event," said Steve Gietka, vice president of entertainment for the three Trump casinos. Hof performed similar shows before audiences of millions at millennium shows at the Acropolis in Athens, the Danube River in Budapest and in Beijing. Beams from the 100-plus dancing, 7,000-watt spotlights anchored atop Trump Taj Mahal will be visible for 35 miles, but organizers are encouraging spectators to gather along the Boardwalk for the best view. Admission is free. Read the entire story here. One guess what the soundtrack will be. If you guessed Springsteen, you guessed right. BOOK NEWS Amazon.com sales rank: 84,450, 1 review barnesandnoble.com sales rank: 207,982, 2 reviews, including a new one from a "professional gambler from Vegas." Until next time, buy and review Suburban Xanadu! You'll be glad you did. Thanks.
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What is Casino[ptz]? In a sentence: "A weblog featuring news, notes, and opinions from the world of casinos and gambling." Casino is self-explanatory; ptz refers to a surveillance camera that can pan, tilt, and zoom, thus offering the operator a better perspective and more detailed shot. Casino [ptz] was maintained by Dave Schwartz, coordinator of the Gaming Studies Research Center at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. As of now, Casino [ptz] is not being updated. Instead, you can find Dave's wit and wisdom on his own website, www.dieiscast.com. \ Go there now, for casino carpets and more. The opinions expressed are those of Dr. Schwartz and not those of UNLV or any of its students, staff, or faculty. If you have any questions, please direct them to Dave at dgs@unlv.nevada.edu. ---------------------------------
Quizzes Test your knowledge with two quizzes I have devised for your enlightenment and entertainment. 1. Do you know gambling? If you've read this weblog, I'll bet you do. Take the... (view the Scoreboard) This quiz features ten questions about gambling, mostly in casinos.
2. Do you know casino history? Take the... (view the Scoreboard) This quiz features ten questions taken from the pages of Suburban Xanadu. If you've read the book, the quiz should be a snap. Or, take the quiz and see what you are missing. -----------------------
Classic posts Mystery
Creature from Maryland Dave's book quoted in Parliament Bird
gets Trumped Slots, urban design, and destination dreams Don't be afraid, the clown's afraid too Hastert blasts casinos/2 tiger tales --------------------------
In Memoriam
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Other blogs Alberta Gaming Research Institute Library Online Casino Legalization Blog
Email Dave if you want him to add your blog. --------------------------
Who is Dave Schwartz? Dave Schwartz is the coordinator of the Gaming Studies Research Center at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, which means that he spends most of his time at work doing three things: 1) Extending and improving the collection of books, journals, and primary materials about gambling known as the Gaming Collection. 2) Working on digital initiatives, such as this weblog and the GSRC site, that facilitate the understanding of gaming research and gaming issues. 3) Answering questions about gambling from media and researchers, or directing them to the answers.
Before coming to UNLV, Schwartz worked in the Atlantic City casino industry as a surveillance officer. He is also the youngest person known to have received a Ph.D. in History from UCLA.
Schwartz is the author of Suburban Xanadu: The Casino Resort on the Las Vegas Strip and Beyond, which is an intelligent, accurate account of the creation and legacy of the Las Vegas Strip. Click on the link for more information about this best-selling book, or just buy it from amazon.com. --------------------------
In his own words: "To answer the biggest question I get, no, I don't gamble. I know the odds and, having spent more hours than I care to remember watching people gambling, it doesn't excite me at all. So why do I study gambling? Because the industry and the interactions fascinate me. "Las Vegas is an interesting place to live, and my job gives me a good window on the city. In a typical day, I might go from talking about gambling books with a system player to answering a question from a reporter from a major newspaper to meeting with casino executives. So I think I can bring a unique perspective on the industry and the people who make it work." To learn more about Dr. Schwartz, go here. ---------------------------- The unofficial Casino[ptz] mascot
It's the mystery mammal, of course. Dave is currrently developing a "Mystery Mammals" cartoon idea. Hey, if "Father of the Pride" works, maybe animal cartoons will become the next big thing. ------------------------------ Just because Dave just likes these images, and hopes you do as well.
It's always important to remember your roots. Dave has chosen this image to constantly remind him just where he came from. It is a heraldic crest gone wrong.
Oh yeah, Dave also likes to see his name in lights. This is a genuine, non-photoshopped image...or is it?
Casino carpet is almost (but not quite) abstract art. This is from a real casino floor in a real Las Vegas Strip casino. Guess where and win a prize!
Here are some closing thoughts from Orff's Carmina Burana, "Fortuna, Imperatrix Mundi" (Fortune, Empress of the World): O Fortune, Somehow I don't think you'll find that in any casino advertisements. But Carmina Burana would be a great casino show, particularly sectons 2 and 3, which deal explicitly with gambling, drinking, debauchery, and sex. The opera is almost an adaptation of the 13th century version of "what happens in Vegas (or, in this case, Beuren), stays in Vegas. Certainly it has all the elements of a great revue extravaganza. |
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