January 27, 2016 Wednesday
ENTERING THE TWITTER SPHERE
PITCHING 30 ILLEGAL YEARS AS A CHRISTMAS GIFT
December 28, 2015 Monday
I did two radio shows early in the month on December 8 and
9, 2015. One was a half-hour interview with a radio network host based in
Salina, Kansas. This is my third time visiting with him over the past nine
months.
I followed that up the next morning with a 40-minute
interview with a female radio host in Los Angeles. This is my fourth with her.
The timing of these two interviews gave me a great opportunity to suggest my
book as a holiday gift.
This morning I did a one-hour interview with a Boston radio
host. This is my fifth with her, since I did my first radio interview with her
about 30 Illegal Years To The Strip on April 10, 2015. I am grateful that these
hosts and their listeners have wanted me back so often to discuss my historical
research findings. Now I would like to expand this base of radio hosts to reach
more potential readers.
I hope each of my followers had an enjoyable holiday season,
and I wish each of you a healthy and satisfying new year.
BACK ON THE RADIO AGAIN
November 30, 2015 Monday
Two weeks ago, I did an interview in the Seattle, Washington
area. It was supposed to be for 20 minutes, but the host found my historical
findings and career so interesting that he kept me on for 40 minutes.
Last evening, I did an hour-interview with Morgan White
Jr.'s clear-channel broadcast from Boston that covers the eastern two-thirds of
the country. We discussed the career of comedian Joe E. Lewis and how he
single-handedly saved New York City's Copacabana from bankruptcy and
transformed it into America's most famous nightclub, Ben Siegel's glamorous
life in Hollywood as the most sought-after dinner guest by Hollywood's film
elite, and the Chicago gang's huge, long-term extortion of the movie companies
under the leadership of Frank Nitti. Morgan and I also talked about two Las
Vegans who were good friends to both of us. They were my Castaways Hotel/Casino
sports book director Sonny Reizner and my career-long mentor, accountant Leo
Lewis. Morgan was close to both men but his friendships with them was two
decades after the two were so central in my life and career.
Morgan White Jr. is a delightful and inquisitive man who bills
himself as the master of trivia for his improv performances at his radio shows,
club appearances, convention meetings, and private events. He can speak
knowledgeably on almost any subject, but his success really derives from his
being a consummate entertainer who keeps his audiences fascinated with
interesting concepts as well as facts. Whenever I call to see how he is doing,
it always turns into a long conversation, because of our shared interests in
American history, especially the Las Vegas casino industry and entertainment in
general. He can be reached for booking performances at TriviaMorganWhiteJr.com.
I was introduced to Morgan by another author, Bob Mills, who
was an attorney until he became a comedy writer for Bob Hope. Mills wrote a
book about his long career with Hope, The
Laugh Makers: A Behind-the-Scenes Tribute to Bob Hope's Incredible Gag Writers
under his legal name Robert L. Mills. During all the years of their
collaboration, Hope only woke Mills up in the middle of the night one time,
when the comedian asked his writer to name Hope's just-completed manuscript
about his golfing experiences. Mills shot back "Confessions of a hooker - my
lifelong love affair with golf." This bestseller made more money for the
USO than any of Hope's books. It is still available in pro golf shops long
after his passing. I always seek Bob Mills' advice about my book titles, and
now he is instructing me in how to tweet. Something I plan to begin doing in
the next few weeks. Bob Mills is not only a very thoughtful and creative
fellow, but as you would expect, he can be very humorous to talk to.
After last night's interview, this morning I did a 15-minute
interview on another Boston station. It is my fourth interview about 30 Illegal Years To The Strip with this hostess.
She has a health show, and she attends several health-product conventions in
Las Vegas each year, so she is very knowledgeable about what the city has to
offer. She is especially interested in the gambling experience and the problems
of gambling addiction.
BOOK SIGNING FOR THE PBS FUNDRAISER AT THE LAS VEGAS' MOB MUSEUM
October 27, 2015
Tuesday
What a fun experience my first book signing was two days
ago. It was held in the gangster atmosphere of the Mob Museum in Las Vegas. My
signing was part of a PBS' fundraising event that featured a special crime
mystery who-done-it show production. I am appreciative to PBS for promoting 30 Illegal Years To The Strip because
PBS is the TV network that is most concerned with historical authenticity.
Go Miss Marple. A photo of
this featured character in the Masterpiece
Mysteries series highlighted the PBS publicity release about my upcoming
book signing that the station sent out to its supporters. This brought in many
old-time Las Vegans, who kept me occupied at my table throughout the show and
long afterwards talking about the early years of Las Vegas that we all
remember. One retired businessman brought up our first meeting in 1967, when I
was just beginning my historical research. Quite an experience reminiscing with
someone about an encounter a half-century ago. I was glad to contribute to this
community effort and to donate my book-sale royalties to this important
network.
By the way, I am a big fan of PBS' Lawrence Welk show because its extraordinary musicians perform the big-band versions of the hits of my youth, including that era's favorite songs from cultures around the world.
Here I am greeting the supporters of PBS, as they entered and left the Mob Museum's event room. I am sitting under a large photo of Ben Siegel's girlfriend, Virginia Hill, with a display of my books and flyers in front of me.
BACK ON THE RADIO WITH TWO INTERVIEWS
October 26, 2015
Monday
A week ago, I did a half-hour radio interview with a network
that is new for me. Based in Vero Beach, Florida, the host was most genial, and
he had me tell the stories I find most interesting from my book, 30 Illegal Years To The Strip.
Today, I did a fifteen-minute radio interview with a host in
Boston, my third with her in the past six months. She wanted to talk about what
the gambling experience was like for players in Las Vegas when the focus was on
the casinos rather than conventions.
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