TRUCKERS NETWORK RADIO SHOW INTERVIEW

 May 21, 2021  Friday

 I had a great one-hour interview with the hosts of the Truckers Network Radio Show. This network presents weather, driving conditions, news, and entertainment for commercial drivers. The hosts told me that many of their listeners regularly drive through Las Vegas, and they are interested in the history of the gambling industry.

We discussed my relationship with the early gambling operators who spent so much time teaching me the history of this business and how to operate a casino, especially Moe Dalitz and Benny Binion. We talked about having a future interview to discuss the other early casino owners’ operations and backgrounds.

COAST TO COAST AM MARATHON INTERVIEW

 

April 30, 2021  Friday

I just completed my longest radio interview, a two-and-one-half hour marathon, with Coast to Coast AM host George Noory. It is the most listened to late evening radio show with more than 600 stations. We discussed subjects from my history book “30 Illegal Year to the Strip”, about the four largest Prohibition gangs. After Repeal, they operated elegant high-limit illegal casinos across America. Then, they built 80% of the Las Vegas Strip casinos, during the twenty years from the opening of the Flamingo in 1946 to the opening of Caesars Palace in 1966.

As always, George was a superlative host with challenging questions. Thank you, George! I had a great time.

A RADIO INTERVIEW OF "30 ILLEGAL YEARS"

February 9, 2021  Tuesday

I remain busy working on my next history of the Nevada gambling industry. Today, I was called for a radio interview by a network of stations in the states of Kansas and Texas, and I discussed my most recent history book "30 Illegal Years To The Strip".

THE MODERNIZATION OF MY WEBSITE BillFriedmanAuthor.com

 

November 14, 2020  Saturday

 

My website has a new image. The title photo on the main page has pictures of the hoodlums who had such a great impact on the development of the early Las Vegas Strip gambling resorts. The title photo on the subpages contains pictures of Benny Binion and Moe Dalitz, who were two of Las Vegas greatest casino operators.

 

These two men greatly assisted me in my historical research and casino management career. The subpages title photo shows both of them smiling, which is the way they always were in all the years I knew them. Both had great senses of humor, and neither could talk about serious issues without regularly throwing in really funny lines that would break me up.

 

The website has been designed, so it will be easy to add information about my upcoming history book on the first page, and detailed information on new subpages that will be devoted to it.

 

My next history book will be completed by summer, and it should be published by this time next year. When my manuscript enters the production process in the fall, I will start writing a monthly email newsletter to update readers on how it is going, and how I am proceeding on my next historical manuscript.

MY FIRST QUOTE IN THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

March 26, 2020  Thursday

The Wall Street Journal quoted me today in its article about how long it might be for the closed Las Vegas casinos to reopen and become busy again. I explained that the many uncertainties of the coronavirus pandemic made it impossible for me to make a meaningful guess. My quote is below, following the reporter’s lead in line.

I expect to finish my latest history manuscript later this year. When it is complete, I will begin making occasional blog posts about the publication process, leading up to its expected release in late Spring 2021.

REVIEW OF “30 ILLEGAL YEARS” BY “CASINO COLLECTIBLE NEWS”

April 29, 2019   Monday

The “Casino Collectible News” magazine spring edition reviewed “30 Illegal Years to the Strip”. I am very appreciative for the fine review in their very classy and colorful publication. Interestingly, my book is about the men who built most of the Las Vegas Strip resorts that produced so many of the old chips and other casino collectibles that their members trade in.

I am nearing the half way point in my next history of the Nevada casino industry that explores and reveals its fascinating early years up to 1950. I expect to publish it in November next year. When I enter the home stretch, I will begin discussing the many relevant issues, early casinos, and colorful gambling pioneers who laid the groundwork for this industry.

Most of the early casino owners and executives were devoted gamblers themselves, so they understood what their players wanted and expected. Thus, their casinos offered a much more exciting and personalized gambling experience than is found in the megaresort era casinos, which so changed it all since the 1990s.