Casino [ptz]
formerly the Gaming Studies Weblog

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Friday, March 19, 2004

Parking wars

When visitors come to the Las Vegas Strip, they see the glittering palaces to extravagance, also known as casino resorts. What they often don't realize is that there is an incredible amount of planning involved in each, down to the number of parking spaces permitted. Usually this is no problem, but recently, the Venentian's planned expansion has unleashed some contention. From the LV SUN:

A battle brewing between Strip kingpins Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson revolves around parking spaces.

In Business Las Vegas, a sister newspaper to the Las Vegas Sun, reported today that the two titans are battling over the number of parking spaces Adelson intends to add when he builds his next resort, the so-called "Venetian Phase II."

Wynn charges that Adelson's executives submitted bogus numbers to Clark County planning officials in an attempt to avoid building sufficient parking. He also charges that Venetian bosses have encouraged employees to park at neighboring resorts rather than take up scarce parking spots at the Venice-themed hotel.

"We caught 'em," Wynn said recently when asked why his company's executives had become involved in The Venetian's planning process. "They were trying to submit a plan with gross underparking, and we caught them."

Wynn said The Venetian was twisting its interpretation of the county's rules to minimize its parking obligations and that a parking shortage at Adelson's property already exists.

"Their employees and customers are parking across the street (at Treasure Island)," Wynn said. "Now they want to make the situation even worse."

County planning rules require Strip developers to build sufficient parking for properties' guests and workers

Las Vegas SUN: Fight over Strip casinos' parking spaces breaks out

The number of spaces required is determined by an intricate formula that takes into account the number of hotel rooms and public spaces (restaurants, shops) on the property. As land on the Strip becomes more valuable, parking--long taken for granted--may become more of an issue. As most cities know, parking problems are one of the consequences of growth.
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posted by Dave at 3:58 PM

Wednesday, March 17, 2004

Betting on productivity

The perennial office pools, where co-workers fill out their brackets and hope for the best, is more than harmless fun, or even degenerate gambling: it's lost productivity. From YahooNews:

Filling out a bracket can take hours of studying stats and scouting information. The impact of that pursuit on the workplace is the subject of yearly analysis. A recent study by a job placement consulting firm suggests that while interest in the tournament might cost more than $1.5 billion in lost productivity, an organized office pool might ease that financial blow.

Challenger, Gray & Christmas of Chicago estimated that workers spending 10 minutes a day talking about the tournament during its two-week run cost employers $1,525,500,000. That figure is based on an employee pool of more than 39 million earning an average of $15.56 an hour.

The article goes on to suggest that the best solution might be company-sponsored brackets. But the NCAA (protesting too much, I think) frowns on the idea, still spouting the useful fiction that all of the brackets are strictly for entertainment purposes:

No one has a stronger view against gambling than the NCAA, which prints a warning at the bottom of the tournament brackets available on its Web site against using the brackets for gambling purposes.

"We definitely support individuals filling the brackets and having contests," says Bill Saum of the NCAA's enforcement office. "The brackets are very much a part of the NCAA Tournament ... Just don't add money to the mixture."

Yahoo! News - Organized pools could save firms money, study indicates

Don't add money to the mixture? Who's he kidding? Is that naivete or cynicism? It's so hard to tell when people are being sarcastic these days.
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posted by Dave at 4:30 PM

A New Deal

If you subscribe to Publisher's Lunch, you may have seen this item under "Deal Reports:"

Professor of history at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and coordinator of its Gaming Studies Research Center David Schwartz's ROLL THE BONES, a global history of gambling, investigating how it has evolved with-and influenced-civilizations around the world, tracing its history from the earliest cultures to the modern day, and tell how the major games such as poker, craps, and roulette developed, to Brendan Cahill at Gotham (world).

This is one of the big projects I alluded to a few weeks ago. It is going to take a lot of serious research to do this book right, so I may be blogging less often. On the other hand, I may have more insights to share, so I may be posting more.
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posted by Dave at 9:10 AM

Tuesday, March 16, 2004

Circle that date

According to Steve Wynn, his Wynn Las Vegas will open on April 28, 2005--about two weeks before Las Vegas's centennial, conicidentally. In announcing the move, he positioned the resort as something completely new. From the LV SUN:

He said his new resort will be the first Las Vegas property designed from the inside out, intended to please its guests rather than to lure tourists. Wynn named three resorts he built as examples of the outdated style.

"It's ludicrous to think people stayed at Bellagio, The Mirage, and Treasure Island for lakes, volcanos or pirate shows," Wynn said. "Those are all tourist attractions. We have guests.

"For the past 60 years, the Strip has been a carnival midway," he said. "The notion is that people stay one place and promenade up and down the Strip. That's over -- that's yesterday."

Wynn differentiated his new property from his past resorts in another way that would appeal to a rapidly aging baby boom population. Wynn Las Vegas dramatically reduces the amount of walking its guests will have to do to get from point to point in his property, Wynn said.

Las Vegas SUN: Wynn sets opening date for new resort

Given that many people complain about the amount of walking a trip to Las Vegas now entails, this is a smart design decision. If you read Suburban Xanadu, you know that Strip casinos were originally designed to be inward-reflecting. So everything old is new again.
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posted by Dave at 2:41 PM

Monday, March 15, 2004

War on online gambling

Just as I'm getting into the revisions for my first draft of Uneasy Convicitons, my book about gambling prohibition, the Wire Act, and Internet gaming, the federal government is beginning a new crackdown on online gaming. Anything that keeps the topic in the news is good...unless you're one of the companies targeted. From the NY Times (registration required):

The investigation into the activities of media, public relations and technology companies relies on a controversial legal concept that holds that the American businesses, by providing advertising and other services that support Internet gambling, are "aiding and abetting" online casinos. That gives prosecutors an indirect way to attack the overseas enterprises, whose operations are illegal here but fall outside their jurisdiction.

Lawyers said they were not aware of any charges that had been filed. Still, the campaign, which has gone on for months, has already chalked up some significant nonlegal victories. Several big media operations — including Infinity Broadcasting, Clear Channel Communications and the Discovery Networks — stopped running advertisements for offshore Internet casinos last fall in light of the threat of further scrutiny that might lead to prosecution.

The investigation of the Internet gambling industry, lawyers said, is being run by Raymond W. Gruender, the United States attorney in the Eastern District of Missouri. His office convened a grand jury last year in St. Louis that has issued summonses to a number of companies and individuals, including Sebastian Sinclair, a market researcher who provides economic analyses of the online gambling industry.
U.S. Threatens Action Against Online Gambling

This is even more evidence that Congress needs to study Internet gaming and decide, once and for all, what the US's policy is. If they can wait until after Uneasy Convicitons comes out, that would be even better.
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Anyone living in the Portland area who has not picked up a copy of Suburban Xanadu no longer has any excuse. I was in town this weekend and signed a few copies at Powell's Books.
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posted by Dave at 4:34 PM

Gaming Studies@UNLV | Casino [ptz] | Archives | Email

I am the maker of rules, dealing with fools/I can cheat you blind

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.

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You can't win money here, but you can take a quiz or two.

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...

Gambling quiz

(view the Scoreboard)

This quiz features ten questions about gambling, mostly in casinos.

2. Do you know casino history?

Take the...

Suburban Xanadu quiz

(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.

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Read about strange slots and more.

Classic posts

Bashing the Donald

Betting on cheating

Las Vegas bites!

What happens in Vegas...

Porn or advertising?

New Jerseyans talk funny?

Mystery Creature from Maryland
Update: Mystery solved

Seven questions

Dave's book quoted in Parliament

Bird gets Trumped
(Fuzzy Zoeller unleashed)

Merger update, 7/04

A game called hope

Casino blocking monument?

Slots, urban design, and destination dreams

BJ by the sea

News of the Inane

Dogs not playing poker

My book is a buzz word

Mega merger mania

Stripped of dignity?

Of sleaze and goldmines

The Real Addicts

WSOP thoughts ('04)

Sweet Georgia busted

Secret to a long life

Don't be afraid, the clown's afraid too

Failed casino marketing

Out of this world?

It's a Hard Rock Life

Hastert blasts casinos/2 tiger tales

Russian Regulation?

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In Memoriam

Claude Trenier

Shannon Bybee

Si Redd

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These bloggers are in the Casino[ptz] club.

Other blogs

Alberta Gaming Research Institute Library

Bill Barol's Blather

Love and Casino War

Online Casino Legalization Blog

Poker Babe's
Game Journal

Presence of Mind

PokerProf's Pokerblog

Email Dave if you want him to add your blog.

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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.

Atlantic City, NJ-you can see Dave's home in this photo, but he won't say where.

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.

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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.

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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.

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Just because

Dave just likes these images, and hopes you do as well.

You'll find strange non-sequiturs in many Las Vegas casinos, but none as heart-warming (literally) as this dragon. He once belched flames and terrifying townsfolk, but now he stands watch over some nickel progressives.

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,
like the moon
you are changeable,
ever waxing
and waning;
hateful life
first oppresses
then soothes
as fancy takes it;
poverty and power,
it melts them like ice.

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.

people have panned, tilted and zoomed since July 2004.