August 26, 2017 Saturday
I spoke this afternoon at the Las Vegas Library about my
career, the great casino pioneers who taught me the gambling business, and what
Nevada’s Golden Era of Nevada gambling resorts was like before the Strip was
transformed into the Megaresort Era of the 1990s.
I went into my extensive casino consulting career, and I
described the major lawsuits and criminal cases I won as an expert witness.
This included the huge IRS skimming case against the Dunes Hotel on the Strip,
and getting the Nevada Supreme Court to dismiss the kidnapping and theft
charges against the suspects in the terrible beating of two players at the
Horseshoe Club in downtown Las Vegas.
I described my friendship with casino owner Johnny Drew and my
respect for him as a casino operator. I explained my turnaround of Mesquite,
Nevada’s Oasis resort for IGT slot-machine mogul Si Redd. I presented my
management style, casino marketing and promotion innovations, and tremendous
publicity machine for the Castaways and Silver Slipper casinos, which were in
the heart of the Las Vegas Strip.
I also explained why today’s casinos have to buy new slot
machines more often than in the Golden Era, when the town’s hotel rooms were
filled with gamblers, rather than convention attendees and party club revelers.
As I explained why today’s machine models lose their popularity so quickly, there
were many nods of agreement in the audience, as if these people had experienced
what I was describing.
In contrast, I operated the Castaways and Silver Slipper for
13 years. I had inherited old machines and in expansions, I added some new
machines and many old, used machines, so at the closing of both, as required
under Nevada estate law, my machines average age was more than 20 years old.
Yet, these machines had the highest average win per day in Nevada. I achieved
this record because, when I bought the old machines I inserted new reel strips,
since players do not care about the images, names, and lighting on the facades,
but are only focused on what kind of action the machines’ reel strips give
them.
As I explained, players today are not more fickle than the
players of my era, they just cannot find machines that give them the gambling
experience they are searching for, which my unique reel strips had given them for
so many years.
After my presentation, I answered the audience’s many
questions about the history of the Las Vegas casino industry. Afterwards, I
autographed both “30 Illegal Years To The Strip” and “All Against The Law”.
I am most appreciative to Julie Okabayashi, who is the Library’s
Scheduling Specialist. She proposed I do the three speeches this summer. She
offered great assistance in making these events successful. Afterwards, she
sent me the following email, “Thanks for all of the lectures you gave this
summer for us. Every program you gave was well attended and the audiences
really had a great time listening to your stories. I hope we can work together
again soon.” Julie, I would also enjoy working with you on future presentations.
