Author: James P. Kraft
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 0801893577
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 302
Book Description
The stories of the shadowy networks and wealthy people who bankrolled and sustained Las Vegas's continuous reinvention are well documented in works of scholarship, journalism, and popular culture. Yet no one has studied closely and over a long period of time the dynamics of the workforce -- the casino and hotel workers and their relations with the companies they work for and occasionally strike against. James P. Kraft here explores the rise and changing fortunes of organized and unorganized labor as Las Vegas evolved from a small, somewhat seedy desert oasis into the glitzy tourist destination that it is today. Drawing on scores of interviews, personal and published accounts, and public records, Kraft brings to life the largely behind-the-scenes battles over control of Sin City workplaces between 1960 and 1985. He examines successful and failed organizing drives, struggles over pay and equal rights, and worker grievances and arbitration to show how the resort industry's evolution affected hotel and casino workers. From changes in the political and economic climate to large-scale strikes, backroom negotiations, and individual worker-supervisor confrontations, Kraft explains how Vegas's overwhelmingly service-oriented economy works -- and doesn't work -- for the people and companies who cater to the city's pleasure-seeking visitors. American historians and anyone interested in the history of labor or Las Vegas will find this account highly original, insightful, and even-handed.
Vegas at Odds
Author: James P. Kraft
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 0801893577
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 302
Book Description
The stories of the shadowy networks and wealthy people who bankrolled and sustained Las Vegas's continuous reinvention are well documented in works of scholarship, journalism, and popular culture. Yet no one has studied closely and over a long period of time the dynamics of the workforce -- the casino and hotel workers and their relations with the companies they work for and occasionally strike against. James P. Kraft here explores the rise and changing fortunes of organized and unorganized labor as Las Vegas evolved from a small, somewhat seedy desert oasis into the glitzy tourist destination that it is today. Drawing on scores of interviews, personal and published accounts, and public records, Kraft brings to life the largely behind-the-scenes battles over control of Sin City workplaces between 1960 and 1985. He examines successful and failed organizing drives, struggles over pay and equal rights, and worker grievances and arbitration to show how the resort industry's evolution affected hotel and casino workers. From changes in the political and economic climate to large-scale strikes, backroom negotiations, and individual worker-supervisor confrontations, Kraft explains how Vegas's overwhelmingly service-oriented economy works -- and doesn't work -- for the people and companies who cater to the city's pleasure-seeking visitors. American historians and anyone interested in the history of labor or Las Vegas will find this account highly original, insightful, and even-handed.
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 0801893577
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 302
Book Description
The stories of the shadowy networks and wealthy people who bankrolled and sustained Las Vegas's continuous reinvention are well documented in works of scholarship, journalism, and popular culture. Yet no one has studied closely and over a long period of time the dynamics of the workforce -- the casino and hotel workers and their relations with the companies they work for and occasionally strike against. James P. Kraft here explores the rise and changing fortunes of organized and unorganized labor as Las Vegas evolved from a small, somewhat seedy desert oasis into the glitzy tourist destination that it is today. Drawing on scores of interviews, personal and published accounts, and public records, Kraft brings to life the largely behind-the-scenes battles over control of Sin City workplaces between 1960 and 1985. He examines successful and failed organizing drives, struggles over pay and equal rights, and worker grievances and arbitration to show how the resort industry's evolution affected hotel and casino workers. From changes in the political and economic climate to large-scale strikes, backroom negotiations, and individual worker-supervisor confrontations, Kraft explains how Vegas's overwhelmingly service-oriented economy works -- and doesn't work -- for the people and companies who cater to the city's pleasure-seeking visitors. American historians and anyone interested in the history of labor or Las Vegas will find this account highly original, insightful, and even-handed.
Playing the Odds
Author: Hal K. Rothman
Publisher: UNM Press
ISBN: 0826354106
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 288
Book Description
"This collection of Hal Rothman's wide-ranging, brash, and brilliant essays on Las Vegas offers up a treasury of insights on the follies and possibilities of the New West. Confident, passionate, learned and, yes, wise, Rothman is simply one of the most important voices writing on the region today. He is also a hell of a lot of fun to read." - Virginia Scharff, professor of history and Director, Center for the Southwest, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, and Women of the West chair at the Institute for the Study of the American West, Autry National Center, Los Angeles "Hal Rothman has been enlightening me, irritating me, surprising me, and making me laugh for twenty years. Reading his columns reminds me why. He has long been one of the brashest, loudest, smartest, and most original voices in the West. Not even ALS could quiet him. These columns aren't the same as talking to him, but they come close." - Richard White, Margaret Byrne Professor of American History, Stanford University "Hal Rothman is both the greatest Western historian of his generation and an H. L. Mencken in cowboy boots. Here is a magnificent collection of his opinion, wit, and wisdom." - Mike Davis, author of Planet of Slums and Buda's Wagon
Publisher: UNM Press
ISBN: 0826354106
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 288
Book Description
"This collection of Hal Rothman's wide-ranging, brash, and brilliant essays on Las Vegas offers up a treasury of insights on the follies and possibilities of the New West. Confident, passionate, learned and, yes, wise, Rothman is simply one of the most important voices writing on the region today. He is also a hell of a lot of fun to read." - Virginia Scharff, professor of history and Director, Center for the Southwest, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, and Women of the West chair at the Institute for the Study of the American West, Autry National Center, Los Angeles "Hal Rothman has been enlightening me, irritating me, surprising me, and making me laugh for twenty years. Reading his columns reminds me why. He has long been one of the brashest, loudest, smartest, and most original voices in the West. Not even ALS could quiet him. These columns aren't the same as talking to him, but they come close." - Richard White, Margaret Byrne Professor of American History, Stanford University "Hal Rothman is both the greatest Western historian of his generation and an H. L. Mencken in cowboy boots. Here is a magnificent collection of his opinion, wit, and wisdom." - Mike Davis, author of Planet of Slums and Buda's Wagon
The Odds
Author: Chad Millman
Publisher: Da Capo Press
ISBN: 0786731044
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 282
Book Description
One gambler is a manic former cokehead with an Ivy League degree. The second is a college dropout trying to make a living at the only thing he enjoyed at school -- gambling. The third, one of Vegas's most respected bookmakers, is perilously close to burning out. The Odds follows the lives of these three professional gamblers through a college basketball season in a one-of-a-kind city struggling to reconcile its lawless past with its family-friendly makeover. With a wiseguy attitude and a faultless eye and ear for the sights and sounds of Vegas and its denizens, Chad Millman has created a portrait that the Wall Street Journal called "fascinating. . . often screamingly funny." The Las Vegas Review-Journal had just one word for the book: "Superb."
Publisher: Da Capo Press
ISBN: 0786731044
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 282
Book Description
One gambler is a manic former cokehead with an Ivy League degree. The second is a college dropout trying to make a living at the only thing he enjoyed at school -- gambling. The third, one of Vegas's most respected bookmakers, is perilously close to burning out. The Odds follows the lives of these three professional gamblers through a college basketball season in a one-of-a-kind city struggling to reconcile its lawless past with its family-friendly makeover. With a wiseguy attitude and a faultless eye and ear for the sights and sounds of Vegas and its denizens, Chad Millman has created a portrait that the Wall Street Journal called "fascinating. . . often screamingly funny." The Las Vegas Review-Journal had just one word for the book: "Superb."
Loving the Odds
Author: Stefanie London
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
ISBN: 9781682811337
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 150
Book Description
Risk analyst Bailey Reuben might be in Las Vegas, but the last thing on her mind is sin. She's there to find her jerk of an ex and get her grandfather's watch back. Instead, she finds a smoking hot stranger. A stranger with a crazy plan to help her retrieve her family heirloom and get revenge. It's a bad idea-she calculates risks for a living, after all-but she can't say no. Bad boy PR guru Lance Fulton is all about helping the gorgeous, quirky Bailey. She's in desperate need of some fun, and pretending to be her new boyfriend is the perfect way to help her see how sexy she is, get the watch, and show her ex what he's missing. But the more they get to know each other-and the hotter their attraction burns-the higher the probability one of them will end up with a broken heart...
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
ISBN: 9781682811337
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 150
Book Description
Risk analyst Bailey Reuben might be in Las Vegas, but the last thing on her mind is sin. She's there to find her jerk of an ex and get her grandfather's watch back. Instead, she finds a smoking hot stranger. A stranger with a crazy plan to help her retrieve her family heirloom and get revenge. It's a bad idea-she calculates risks for a living, after all-but she can't say no. Bad boy PR guru Lance Fulton is all about helping the gorgeous, quirky Bailey. She's in desperate need of some fun, and pretending to be her new boyfriend is the perfect way to help her see how sexy she is, get the watch, and show her ex what he's missing. But the more they get to know each other-and the hotter their attraction burns-the higher the probability one of them will end up with a broken heart...
Addiction by Design
Author: Natasha Dow Schüll
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691160880
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 456
Book Description
An anthropologist looks at the new "crack cocaine" of high-tech gambling Recent decades have seen a dramatic shift away from social forms of gambling played around roulette wheels and card tables to solitary gambling at electronic terminals. Slot machines, revamped by ever more compelling digital and video technology, have unseated traditional casino games as the gambling industry's revenue mainstay. Addiction by Design takes readers into the intriguing world of machine gambling, an increasingly popular and absorbing form of play that blurs the line between human and machine, compulsion and control, risk and reward. Drawing on fifteen years of field research in Las Vegas, anthropologist Natasha Dow Schüll shows how the mechanical rhythm of electronic gambling pulls players into a trancelike state they call the "machine zone," in which daily worries, social demands, and even bodily awareness fade away. Once in the zone, gambling addicts play not to win but simply to keep playing, for as long as possible—even at the cost of physical and economic exhaustion. In continuous machine play, gamblers seek to lose themselves while the gambling industry seeks profit. Schüll describes the strategic calculations behind game algorithms and machine ergonomics, casino architecture and "ambience management," player tracking and cash access systems—all designed to meet the market's desire for maximum "time on device." Her account moves from casino floors into gamblers' everyday lives, from gambling industry conventions and Gamblers Anonymous meetings to regulatory debates over whether addiction to gambling machines stems from the consumer, the product, or the interplay between the two. Addiction by Design is a compelling inquiry into the intensifying traffic between people and machines of chance, offering clues to some of the broader anxieties and predicaments of contemporary life. At stake in Schüll's account of the intensifying traffic between people and machines of chance is a blurring of the line between design and experience, profit and loss, control and compulsion.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691160880
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 456
Book Description
An anthropologist looks at the new "crack cocaine" of high-tech gambling Recent decades have seen a dramatic shift away from social forms of gambling played around roulette wheels and card tables to solitary gambling at electronic terminals. Slot machines, revamped by ever more compelling digital and video technology, have unseated traditional casino games as the gambling industry's revenue mainstay. Addiction by Design takes readers into the intriguing world of machine gambling, an increasingly popular and absorbing form of play that blurs the line between human and machine, compulsion and control, risk and reward. Drawing on fifteen years of field research in Las Vegas, anthropologist Natasha Dow Schüll shows how the mechanical rhythm of electronic gambling pulls players into a trancelike state they call the "machine zone," in which daily worries, social demands, and even bodily awareness fade away. Once in the zone, gambling addicts play not to win but simply to keep playing, for as long as possible—even at the cost of physical and economic exhaustion. In continuous machine play, gamblers seek to lose themselves while the gambling industry seeks profit. Schüll describes the strategic calculations behind game algorithms and machine ergonomics, casino architecture and "ambience management," player tracking and cash access systems—all designed to meet the market's desire for maximum "time on device." Her account moves from casino floors into gamblers' everyday lives, from gambling industry conventions and Gamblers Anonymous meetings to regulatory debates over whether addiction to gambling machines stems from the consumer, the product, or the interplay between the two. Addiction by Design is a compelling inquiry into the intensifying traffic between people and machines of chance, offering clues to some of the broader anxieties and predicaments of contemporary life. At stake in Schüll's account of the intensifying traffic between people and machines of chance is a blurring of the line between design and experience, profit and loss, control and compulsion.
Then One Day...
Author: Chris Andrews
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781944877194
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 264
Book Description
Then One Day... describes the colorful scene of legal sports books in the memoir of Chris Andrews, who built a Las Vegas career out of sports betting.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781944877194
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 264
Book Description
Then One Day... describes the colorful scene of legal sports books in the memoir of Chris Andrews, who built a Las Vegas career out of sports betting.
Vegas Confidential
Author: Norm Clarke
Publisher: Stephens Press, LLC
ISBN: 9781932173260
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 278
Book Description
Norm Clark is one of Las Vegas's most notable and recognizable celebrities around. This eye-patched man-about-town knows it all about this vibrant city in the desert--where to go, what to do, and most importantly, where to see and be seen. Vegas Confidential: Norm! Sin City's Ace Insider 1,000 Naked Truths, Hot Spots, & Cool Stuff, is an atypical guide to Las Vegas. While most books highlight the same old tourist stops, Norm's book celebrates the best places, often undiscovered gems, where readers can get a true taste of what Las Vegas has to offer. He also reveals where to go to hang out with famous celebrities and what the gossip readers need to know to get in with the in crowd. Norm also shares interesting tidbits that will make even the newest residents or visitors seem hip to the scene and add fresh surprises to those already in the know. This book has it all!
Publisher: Stephens Press, LLC
ISBN: 9781932173260
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 278
Book Description
Norm Clark is one of Las Vegas's most notable and recognizable celebrities around. This eye-patched man-about-town knows it all about this vibrant city in the desert--where to go, what to do, and most importantly, where to see and be seen. Vegas Confidential: Norm! Sin City's Ace Insider 1,000 Naked Truths, Hot Spots, & Cool Stuff, is an atypical guide to Las Vegas. While most books highlight the same old tourist stops, Norm's book celebrates the best places, often undiscovered gems, where readers can get a true taste of what Las Vegas has to offer. He also reveals where to go to hang out with famous celebrities and what the gossip readers need to know to get in with the in crowd. Norm also shares interesting tidbits that will make even the newest residents or visitors seem hip to the scene and add fresh surprises to those already in the know. This book has it all!
The Oddsmakers
Author: Paul Czuchra
Publisher: Publishamerica Incorporated
ISBN: 9781413726176
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 228
Book Description
An incident with consequences for the so-called "integrity of the game" as profound as the "Black Sox" scandal and more profound than Pete Rose betting on baseball is backdrop for THE ODDSMAKERS, a novel that gives new meaning to a proverbial once-in-a-lifetime dream. This dream appears as a box score from a game yet to be played. Oddsmakers traverse Las Vegas to the crossroads of sports and gambling from where they must forge a path to the rainbow's end. But Las Vegas is on the verge of a disappearing act worthy of Siegfried and Roy. The information age and corporate takeover of the City raise the odds against them. Odds grow longer when their demons threaten to turn the dream into a nightmare. Can the oddsmakers overcome and become "oddsbreakers" too? Does their odyssey have consequences for the "integrity of the game?"
Publisher: Publishamerica Incorporated
ISBN: 9781413726176
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 228
Book Description
An incident with consequences for the so-called "integrity of the game" as profound as the "Black Sox" scandal and more profound than Pete Rose betting on baseball is backdrop for THE ODDSMAKERS, a novel that gives new meaning to a proverbial once-in-a-lifetime dream. This dream appears as a box score from a game yet to be played. Oddsmakers traverse Las Vegas to the crossroads of sports and gambling from where they must forge a path to the rainbow's end. But Las Vegas is on the verge of a disappearing act worthy of Siegfried and Roy. The information age and corporate takeover of the City raise the odds against them. Odds grow longer when their demons threaten to turn the dream into a nightmare. Can the oddsmakers overcome and become "oddsbreakers" too? Does their odyssey have consequences for the "integrity of the game?"
Stage to Studio
Author: James P. Kraft
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421429160
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 276
Book Description
Award for Best Research in the Field of Record Labels or Manufacturers from the Association for Recorded Sound CollectionsWinner of the Kenneth W. Baldridge Prize from the Phi Alpha Theta Honor Society, Hawaii Region Between the late nineteenth and mid-twentieth century, technology transformed the entertainment industry as much as it did such heavy industries as coal and steel. Among those most directly affected were musicians, who had to adapt to successive inventions and refinements in audio technology—from wax cylinders and gramophones to radio and sound films. In this groundbreaking study, James P. Kraft explores the intersection of sound technology, corporate power, and artistic labor during this disruptive period. Kraft begins in the late nineteenth century's "golden age" of musicians, when demand for skilled instrumentalists often exceeded supply, analyzing the conflicts in concert halls, nightclubs, recording studios, radio stations, and Hollywood studios as musicians began to compete not only against their local counterparts but also against highly skilled workers in national "entertainment factories." Kraft offers an illuminating case study in the impact of technology on industry and society—and a provocative chapter in the cultural history of America.
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421429160
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 276
Book Description
Award for Best Research in the Field of Record Labels or Manufacturers from the Association for Recorded Sound CollectionsWinner of the Kenneth W. Baldridge Prize from the Phi Alpha Theta Honor Society, Hawaii Region Between the late nineteenth and mid-twentieth century, technology transformed the entertainment industry as much as it did such heavy industries as coal and steel. Among those most directly affected were musicians, who had to adapt to successive inventions and refinements in audio technology—from wax cylinders and gramophones to radio and sound films. In this groundbreaking study, James P. Kraft explores the intersection of sound technology, corporate power, and artistic labor during this disruptive period. Kraft begins in the late nineteenth century's "golden age" of musicians, when demand for skilled instrumentalists often exceeded supply, analyzing the conflicts in concert halls, nightclubs, recording studios, radio stations, and Hollywood studios as musicians began to compete not only against their local counterparts but also against highly skilled workers in national "entertainment factories." Kraft offers an illuminating case study in the impact of technology on industry and society—and a provocative chapter in the cultural history of America.
Sharp Sports Betting
Author: Stanford Wong
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780935926248
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Advice on betting sports for beginners to experts.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780935926248
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Advice on betting sports for beginners to experts.