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.