Sportsbook at Wynn Las Vegas, during Super Bowl XLII, February 2008
A sportsbook (sometimes abbreviated as book) or a race and sports book is a place where a gambler can wager on various sports competitions, including football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, horse racing and boxing. The method of betting varies with the sport and the type of game. The more prominent the event, the more wagering options that are made available.
Winning bets are paid when the event finishes, or if not finished, when played long enough to becomes official; otherwise all bets are returned. This policy can cause some confusion since there can be a difference between what the sportsbook considers official and what the sports league consider official. Customers should carefully read the sportsbook rules before placing their bets.
The betting volume at sportsbooks varies throughout the year. Bettors have more interest in certain types of sports and increase the money wagered when those sports are in season. Likewise the interest in sports varies by country since the level of interest in the various sports is not constant the world over. Some major sporting events that don’t follow a specific schedule, like boxing, can create peaks of activity for the sportsbooks.
Word origin
A sportsbook is a portmanteau, French for “jacket holder,” meaning a suitcase with two storage spaces. Sportsbook combines two meanings into one word for a sports gambling operation, in this case SPORTS and BOOK which is short for bookmaking.
Odds
In the mid 1930s, Leo Hirschfield started a company in Minneapolis, Minnesota called Athletic Publications, Inc., that published and distributed odds to bookies across the country by telephone and telegraph. He had a team of handicappers analyzing the matchups who also studied newspapers across the country. The company was a major provider of odds and prices until it finally disbanded, under fear of prosecution from the Federal Wire Act of 1961.
Today most sportsbooks get their opening prices from other sportsbooks as well as private companies like Las Vegas Sports Consultants. They adjust prices based on the bets coming in, news, injury, and weather information, and the price movement by other sportsbooks.
Nevada sportsbooks
Today there are roughly 150 licensed sportsbooks in the United States, all located in Nevada casinos. Now that many casinos share the same parent company, they offer the exact same wagering choices and odds, which is a disadvantage to the astute gambler who in the past could do more shopping for better prices.
In the 1950s the first Nevada sportsbooks, called turf clubs, opened. They were independent from the casinos, and had an informal agreement with the hotels that they would stay out of the casino business as long as the hotels stayed out of the sportsbook business. The sportsbooks had to pay a 10% tax so they charged a high vigorish to gamblers, but they still brought in a lot of business.
In 1974 the tax was lowered to 2%, (and in 1983 lowered to 0.25%), and in 1975 Lefty Rosenthal, who ran the Stardust Casino, convinced legislators to allow them in the casinos, and soon nearly all of the casinos added them. The turf clubs were no longer able to compete and eventually all closed.
In Nevada casino sportsbooks you will find:
Betting Windows
Numerous big screen televisions
Places to sit and watch
Interactive betting stations
Odds boards, usually computerized
UK sportsbooks
Betting shops are common in the United Kingdom. Companies like Ladbrokes and William Hill have offered walk-in betting shops for decades.
Cheating in casinos refers to actions which are prohibited by a casino’s rules. Cheating is usually illegal but the exact sanctions will depend on the jurisdiction in which the casino operates. In Nevada, cheating in a casino is a felony under Nevada law. In most other jurisdictions, specific statutes do not exist but cheating in a casino would likely be considered fraud and dealt with as such by the authorities.
Methods of cheating
The methods for cheating in a casino are often specific to individual games and include:
Pastposting
After a bet is won, one replaces smaller denomination chips with chips of large denomination.
Hand Mucking
Palming desirable cards then switching them for less desirable cards that the gambler holds.
Marking Cards During Play
Various methods.
Introducing Previously Marked Decks Into Play
Usually involves “inside” help, i.e., the collusion of casino employees. There are many different way to mark decks of cards, some of them very difficult to detect.
False Deals
Ability to deal the second card from the top (used in conjunction with marked cards), or the ability to deal the bottom card of the deck (used in conjunction with placing desirable cards at the bottom of the deck.)
False Shuffles and Cuts
Ability to seemingly mix and cut the cards while retaining certain cards or the whole deck in a desired order.
Slot Machines
Methods exist for altering the outcome of slot machine games.
Collusion
In poker games, the practice of two partners signalling to each other the values of their cards; this can be very difficult to detect.
How casinos combat cheating
Proper Procedure
This means certain standardized ways of shuffling cards, dealing cards, storing, retrieving and opening new decks of cards.
Eyes in the Sky
Most casinos have an extensive array of cameras and recorders which monitor and record all the action in a casino. Some casinos use facial recognition software to detect known cheats or card counters/advantage players as they enter the casino.
Software
Casinos use software to analyze game play to uncover any unusual betting patterns or winning patterns and thus discern cheaters (as well as non-cheating card counters and “advantage players”).
Video: Casino cheat Richard Marcus (World’s biggest casino baccarat scam demonstrated on national TV by the world’s most famous casino cheater, Richard Marcus.)
Bally’s
3645 Las Vegas Blvd South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Number of rooms
,814
Theme
Cosmopolitan Las Vegas
Gaming space
7,000 ft² (6,224.5 m²)
Permanent show(s)
Jubilee!
Signature attraction(s)
Garden Walkway
Notable restaurant(s)
Al Dente Bally’s Steakhouse Chang’s
Owner
Harrah’s Entertainment
Date opened
973
Casino type
Land-based
Major renovation(s)
981, 1994
Previous name(s)
Bonanza New Bonanza MGM Grand Bally’s Grand
Casino website
Bally’s Website
Bally’s Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located in Las Vegas, Nevada on the Las Vegas Strip. The hotel has 2,814 rooms that are 450 ft² (42 m²) or larger. The hotel has over 175,000 ft² (7,000 m²) of banquet and meeting space. It also has a 67,000 ft² (6,000 m²) casino.
Bally’s is home for the long-running production show Jubilee!.
One of the signature features of this hotel is the neon lighting wrapped around the covered moving sidewalk that brings guests from Las Vegas Boulevard to the entrance of the casino.
The hotel has a Las Vegas Monorail station at the rear of the property.
History
The site was first occupied by the Bonanza Hotel and Casino which opened in July 1963. It was later renamed to the New Bonanza Hotel and Casino shortly before construction on the MGM Grand began.
The 43 ac (174 km²) site opened in 1973 as the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino with 2,084 rooms, the largest hotel in the world at that time. Kirk Kerkorian was the owner. The hotel had a movie theme when it opened.
The MGM Grand Hotel fire on November 21, 1980 killed 87 people.
It suffered a fire in the casino that traveled up into the hotel, killing 87 guests and employees on November 21, 1980. The facility was rebuilt in only eight months. The fire was, and still remains, the largest disaster in Nevada history in terms of loss of life. The fire resulted in a major reform in fire safety codes for the city’s casino resorts, which are now among the strictest in the United States.
The hotel was later sold in 1985 to Bally Entertainment Corporation, and the property’s name was changed to Bally’s. The MGM Grand name was transferred to the former Marina Hotel, now known as the MGM Grand Las Vegas. Bally’s was later taken over by Hilton Corporation. In 1998, Hilton spun off its casino holdings into a new company, Park Place Entertainment, later known as Caesars Entertainment. That company merged with Harrah’s Entertainment in 2003.
At the end of June 2005, Harrah’s Entertainment CEO Gary Loveman announced that the company would consolidate all its properties under a few brand names: Harrah’s, Rio, Caesars, and Horseshoe. This implies that Bally’s will be re-branded in the future.
Film history
In 1993, the hotel was featured in the film Honeymoon in Vegas, starring Nicolas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker.
It was also featured prominently in the 1995 film Leaving Las Vegas, also starring Cage and Elizabeth Shue.
Notable natives and residents of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Natives
Adam Seward – football player
Andre Agassi – professional tennis player
Barry Zito – baseball player
Charisma Carpenter – actress
Daveigh Chase – actress
Greg Anthony – professional basketball player
Jack Kramer – tennis player
James Ronald Whitney – film and television director
Jenna Jameson – porn star
The Killers – Alternative rock band
Brandon Flowers
Mark Stoermer
Ronnie Vannucci
Kurt Busch – professional race car driver (NASCAR)
Lance Mazmanian – writer
Mikalah Gordon – American Idol contestant
Ricky Davis – professional basketball player
Stephanie Louden – professional golfer (LPGA)
Stephanie Romanov – actress
Non-natives
This is a list of people who played a notable role in the history of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Anthony Spilotro – mafia enforcer
Benny Binion – owner of the Horseshoe casino
Bob Stupak – developer of Stratosphere, controversial former owner of Vegas World
Bobby Baldwin – poker player and casino executive
Bugsy Siegel – developer of Flamingo.
Carl Icahn – owner of Stratosphere and Arizona Charlies
Céline Dion – singer
Clint Holmes – singer, songwriter
Corinna Harney Jones – actress and former Playboy playmate.
Danny Gans – entertainer
David Brenner – professional comedian.
Debbie Reynolds – entertainer
Del Webb – developer
Elvis Presley – legendary singer
Frank Rosenthal – sports handicapper, casino manager.
Gladys Knight – singer, entertainer and actress
Hank Greenspun – newspaper publisher and land developer.
Howard Hughes – billionaire casino owner and land developer.
Jay Sarno – developer of Caesars Palace and Circus Circus.
Jerry Lewis – entertainer
Jerry Tarkanian – former UNLV Men’s Basketball Head Coach
John C. Fremont – explorer
Jon Lindquist – radio announcer
Kevin Sorbo – actor
King Lizzard – entertainer
Kirk Kerkorian – developer of International Hotel and MGM Grand.
Larry Johnson – professional basketball player in the NBA.
Liberace – entertainer
Meyer Lansky – mob financier
Mike Tyson – professional boxer
Moe Dalitz – casino owner/executive (Desert Inn), developer
Oscar Goodman – defense attorney for mafia figures, Mayor of Las Vegas.
Paige O’Hara – actress
Pat Morita – actor
Randall Cunningham – professional football player.
The Rat Pack:
Dean Martin – singer and entertainer
Frank Sinatra – singer
Joey Bishop
Peter Lawford
Sammy Davis, Jr. – singer and entertainer
Robin Leach – writer, TV show host
Sam Boyd – casino owner
Siegfried & Roy – entertainers.
Roy Uwe Ludwig Horn
Siegfried Fischbacher
Steve Wynn – developer of The Mirage, Treasure Island, Bellagio and Wynn Las Vegas.
Toni Basil – choreographer, musician, one hit wonder
Tony Curtis – actor
Wayne Newton – professional singer
The Las Vegas Sun was one of Las Vegas, Nevada’s two daily newspapers. It is owned by The Greenspun Corporation and is affiliated with Greenspun Media Group.
The paper was published in the afternoons on weekdays from 1990-2005. The paper is now included as a section of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and continues operating exclusively on its website.
History
The Las Vegas Sun was first published on May 21, 1950, by Hank Greenspun, who served as its editor until his death. From its founding the paper was a published in the mornings. Starting in 1990 the paper switched to publishing in the afternoon.
The last afternoon edition of the paper was published on September 30, 2005. On October 3, 2005, the Las Vegas Sun began distribution as a section of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a rival newspaper which it has a Joint operating agreement with.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) is a public agency that runs the Las Vegas Convention Center, Cashman Center, and Cashman Field and is responsible for the advertising campaigns for the Clark County, Nevada area.
The fourteen member board is appointed by various elected governing bodies in the County. Funding is provided by a room tax on all hotels in the county.
Activities
The authority works to bring events to the Las Vegas area, sometimes by providing funds to subsidize events. These events include:
The NBA 2007 All-star game
The 2006 Tennis Channel Open Tennis Tournament
The authority is also responsible for the advertising campaigns for Las Vegas. Working with the same advertising company R & R Partners since 1982 they have developed ad campaigns like:
A view of Las Vegas Boulevard at dusk from the Paris Hotel and Casino’s replica of the Eiffel Tower
Las Vegas Boulevard, State Route 604, is the current name for a road that has a historic past. Over the years it has been called:
Arrowhead Highway
Los Angeles Highway (named for its role in connecting Los Angeles, California)
Salt Lake Highway (named for its role in connecting Salt Lake City, Utah)
U.S. Highway 91 (entire segment)
U.S. Highway 93 (from Fremont Street north)
U.S. Highway 466 (from Jean to Fremont Street, including the Las Vegas Strip)
Nevada State Route 6 (entire segment, not signed)
With the construction of I-15, Las Vegas Boulevard went from being the main through road to one that only served as a bypass for travelers. The name change reflects its local importance rather than past names when it served as a main intra city road.
Las Vegas Boulevard, while running the length of the city of Las Vegas, Nevada is located mostly in Clark County, Nevada. “The Boulevard”, as it is sometimes called by longtime Las Vegas residents, starts at Apex, Nevada and continues south to about 2 miles south of Jean, Nevada.
At its northern end in Apex, the Boulevard starts in an industrial complex of manufacturing plants and power plants running along the Union Pacific Railroad line. As you travel south, the road meets Nellis Air Force Base on the east side and the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on the west side.
As the road enters North Las Vegas, it passes through some of the older commercial areas of the area. As the road approaches Las Vegas itself, you see some of what Vegas was as some of the older casinos appear along with some of the older and more famous strip clubs.
On entering the city of Las Vegas, the Boulevard showcases the city’s past with a number of museums. the Old Las Vegas Mormon State Historic Park and the Neon Museum at the Fremont Street Experience. On crossing Washington Street, the Bolvard is designated as the Downtown Las Vegas Boulevard Scenic Byway by the state. This designation continues down to Sahara Avenue.
Further south is a stretch of road that has many of the older motels, bars and wedding chapels that were among the high points of the old Vegas before the era of the megaresorts.
It is at this point the Boulevard leaves the city of Las Vegas and assumes its unofficial name for the next 4 miles: the Las Vegas Strip. This portion of Las Vegas Boulevard begins at the Stratosphere and runs to Mandalay Bay. This is the section of the road most people are familiar with: the home of the megaresorts and casinos with their lights and attractions seen around the world. It is designated as an All-American Road.
Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, picture taken looking north up the strip
At the end of The Strip, Las Vegas Boulevard passes the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino and approaches the backside of the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign as it runs along the western edge of the McCarran International Airport property. South of Russell Road, the Nevada Department of Transportation assumes responsibility for the maintenance of the Boulvard.
South of this point, development thins out with newer shopping malls, hotels and condominiums as the Boulevard runs just east of Interstate 15. It passes though Sloan and Jean before ending in the Mojave Desert.
Golden Nugget Companies Inc. was formed by Steve Wynn in 1973. The company was created after Wynn acquired majority control of the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company ceased to exist after it constructed The Mirage in 1989. At that time, the name was changed to Mirage Resorts, Inc.
The company held three hotel/casinos under the Golden Nugget brand:
Golden Nugget Atlantic City
Golden Nugget Las Vegas
Golden Nugget Laughlin
History
Wynn’s, and the company’s interest, in Atlantic City did not last very long, due to frustration with gaming regulators in New Jersey. The Golden Nugget Atlantic City was sold to Bally’s Entertainment Corporation, which changed the name to Bally’s Grand Casino/Hotel.
The company and its casinos became part of Mirage Resorts in 1989.
Fremont Street is probably the most famous street in Las Vegas, Nevada besides the Las Vegas Strip. Fremont was the major street in the downtown casino corridor. It is, or was the address for many of the famous casinos such as Binion’s Horseshoe, Eldorado Club, Fremont Hotel and Casino, Golden Gate Hotel & Casino, Golden Nugget, The Mint, and the Pioneer Club.
Prior to the construction of the Fremont Street Experience, Fremont Street was the picture of Las Vegas that was included in virtually every television show and movie that wanted to display the lights of Las Vegas. The abundance of neon earned the steet the nickname of Glitter Gulch.
Fremont Street by night.
History
Fremont Street dates back to 1905, when Las Vegas itself was founded.
Fremont Street’s illuminated “Space Frame”.
While gambling was well established prior to being legalized, the Northern Club in 1931 received one of the first 6 gambling licenses issued in Nevada and the first one for Fremont Street.
Glitter Gulch was closed to vehicle traffic in September, 1994 to begin construction on the Fremont Street Experience. (Wikipedia)
Fremont Street was the major street in the downtown Las Vegas casino corridor. It is, or was the address for many of the famous casinos such as Binion’s Horseshoe, Eldorado Club, Fremont Hotel and Casino, Golden Gate Hotel & Casino, Golden Nugget, The Mint, and the Pioneer Club. Prior to the construction of the Fremont Street Experience, Fremont Street was the picture of Las Vegas that was included in virtually every television show and movie that wanted to display the lights of Las Vegas. The abundance of neon earned the street the nickname of Glitter Gulch. Fremont Street dates back to 1905, when Las Vegas itself was founded. While gambling was well established prior to being legalized, the Northern Club in 1931 received one of the first 6 gambling licenses issued in Nevada and the first one for Fremont Street. Glitter Gulch was closed to vehicle traffic in September, 1994 to begin construction on the Fremont Street Experience.
The Frement Street Experience (FSE) is a pedestrian mall and attraction that occupies the westernmost 5 blocks of Fremont Street. The attraction is a barrel vault canopy, 90 feet high at the peak, that covers four blocks or approximately 1,500 feet. It was the first Las Vegas project of architect Jon Jerde, who went on to design the facade of Treasure Island, the Bellagio, and other projects on the Las Vegas Strip. The underside of the canopy is covered with an LED display, referred to as “Viva Vision” and built by the LG Corporation, programmed to show periodic sound-and-light presentations after dark. While Las Vegas is known for never turning the outside casino lights off, each show begins by turning off the lights on all of the buildings, including the casinos, under the canopy.
The Frement Street Experience (FSE) is a pedestrian mall and attraction that occupies the westernmost 5 blocks of Fremont Street. The attraction is a barrel vault canopy, 90 feet high at the peak, that covers four blocks or approximately 1,500 feet. It was the first Las Vegas project of architect Jon Jerde, who went on to design the facade of Treasure Island, the Bellagio, and other projects on the Las Vegas Strip. The underside of the canopy is covered with an LED display, referred to as “Viva Vision” and built by the LG Corporation, programmed to show periodic sound-and-light presentations after dark. While Las Vegas is known for never turning the outside casino lights off, each show begins by turning off the lights on all of the buildings, including the casinos, under the canopy.
The initial display contained about 2.1 million lightbulbs controlled by 32 computers located in kiosks on the mall. The sound system, using speakers suspended over the mall, was rated at 350,000 watts. Strobe lights were added at some point to provide additional entertainment options on Disco Nights. Displaying images that looked “real” took some innovation. New techniques were developed to make these curved, low-resolution images viewable from the ground. One adjustment was to move images slowly across the display to prevent blurring. The 2001 upgrade to the sound system raised the power to 550,000 watts. The 2004 upgrade features a 12.5-million LED display and more color combinations than the original display. The old control system was replaced by a central control room using 10 computers. (Flickr)
Floyd Lamb State Park is a 2000 acre Nevada state park in Las Vegas, Nevada. The park contains the Tule Springs Ranch Historic Area which is an area that contains some of Las Vegas’ older buildings which were moved here over the years.
History
The area around the springs was a water stop for indians who frequented the area.
For part of its life, the area served as a dude ranch that was frequently used by spouses who needed a place to spend the 6 weeks it took to be able to obtain a divorce in the 1950s era.
Boulder Highway is a 17 mile divided roadway in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, Nevada, USA. It begins at Foothills Drive at the southeastern edge of the city of Henderson. It runs northwest through that city, and the towns of Whitney and Winchester. The Boulder Highway name ends at the Las Vegas city limit at Sahara Avenue. The highway continues northwest as Fremont Street for another mile, ending at the five points intersection of Fremont, Charleston Boulevard and Eastern Avenues. Fremont continues as an undivided road until it intersects with Las Vegas Boulevard, where it ends at the Fremont Street Experience pedestrian mall.
Originally, Boulder Highway began where U.S. Highway 93 and U.S. Highway 95 merge, east of Railroad Pass and west of Boulder City (about US-93 Milepost 11). This old section is also know as the Boulder Strip
It is signed as Nevada State Route 582. It was formerly known as US-93/US-95 before the completion of the Oran K. Gragson Expressway now designated Interstate 515, which also carries the 93/95 designation.
The section of Boulder Highway between Tropicana Avenue and Sahara Avenue is known as the “Boulder Strip”, in reference to the famous Las Vegas Strip to the west. The Boulder Strip contains Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling Hall, Boulder Station, and several smaller casinos and motels.
A sportsbook (sometimes abbreviated as book) or a race and sports book is a place where a gambler can wager on various sports competitions, including football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, horse racing and boxing. The method of betting varies with the sport and the type of game. The more prominent the event, the more wagering options that are made available.
Winning bets are paid when the event finishes, or if not finished, when played long enough to becomes official; otherwise all bets are returned. This policy can cause some confusion since there can be a difference between what the sportsbook considers official and what the sports league consider official. Customers should carefully read the sportsbook rules before placing their bets.
The betting volume at sportsbooks varies throughout the year. Bettors have more interest in certain types of sports and increase the money wagered when those sports are in season. Likewise the interest in sports varies by country since the level of interest in the various sports is not constant the world over. Some major sporting events that don’t follow a specific schedule, like boxing, can create peaks of activity for the sportsbooks.
Word origin
A sportsbook is a portmanteau, French for “jacket holder,” meaning a suitcase with two storage spaces. Sportsbook combines two meanings into one word for a sports gambling operation, in this case SPORTS and BOOK which is short for bookmaking.
Odds
In the mid 1930s, Leo Hirschfield started a company in Minneapolis, Minnesota called Athletic Publications, Inc., that published and distributed odds to bookies across the country by telephone and telegraph. He had a team of handicappers analyzing the matchups who also studied newspapers across the country. The company was a major provider of odds and prices until it finally disbanded, under fear of prosecution from the Federal Wire Act of 1961.
Today most sportsbooks get their opening prices from other sportsbooks as well as private companies like Las Vegas Sports Consultants. They adjust prices based on the bets coming in, news, injury, and weather information, and the price movement by other sportsbooks.
Nevada sportsbooks
Today there are roughly 150 licensed sportsbooks in the United States, all located in Nevada casinos. Now that many casinos share the same parent company, they offer the exact same wagering choices and odds, which is a disadvantage to the astute gambler who in the past could do more shopping for better prices.
In the 1950s the first Nevada sportsbooks, called turf clubs, opened. They were independent from the casinos, and had an informal agreement with the hotels that they would stay out of the casino business as long as the hotels stayed out of the sportsbook business. The sportsbooks had to pay a 10% tax so they charged a high vigorish to gamblers, but they still brought in a lot of business.
In 1974 the tax was lowered to 2%, (and in 1983 lowered to 0.25%), and in 1975 Lefty Rosenthal, who ran the Stardust Casino, convinced legislators to allow them in the casinos, and soon nearly all of the casinos added them. The turf clubs were no longer able to compete and eventually all closed.
In Nevada casino sportsbooks you will find:
Betting Windows
Numerous big screen televisions
Places to sit and watch
Interactive betting stations
Odds boards, usually computerized
UK sportsbooks
Betting shops are common in the United Kingdom. Companies like Ladbrokes and William Hill have offered walk-in betting shops for decades.
Internet sportsbooks
While internet sportsbooks lack face-to-face transactions, they can handle more customers than land based sportsbooks and operate more cost effectively. They pass lower costs on to customers in the form of reduced vigorish (cheaper prices) or bonus incentives. They can also offer similar products, such as casino games, bingo, and poker to their existing clients.
While Internet sportsbooks take bets online, normally they are licensed in some jurisdiction. Taxation and regulation vary greatly by country.
Internet sportsbooks range from fraudulent operations with no intention of paying their customers to multi-billion dollar publicly traded companies. Internet sportsbooks range in focus, as some primarily cater to American sports, while others focus on European soccer. Some sportsbooks handle large wagers while others have low wagering limits. Some offer many exotic proposition wagers, where others have limited choices. Payment methods are not universally accepted at all sportsbooks.
Costa Rica is home to a large number of offshore sportsbooks, as it caters to many of the needs of the industry with an open regulatory environment and a large, capable workforce. A number of sportsbooks are also located in Jamaica, Gibraltar, Antigua, Curaçao, Australia, and many other countries around the world.
The United States Justice Department claims that wagering at offshore sportsbooks is a violation of the 1961 Federal Wire Act. Jeffrey Trauman of Harwood, North Dakota, was the first player ever to be prosecuted for online sports betting in the United States. The former car salesman, who quit his job to become a professional gambler, was cited under a North Dakota state law. [1]
Las Vegas was given its name by Spaniards in the Antonio Armijo party, who used the water in the area while heading north and west along the Old Spanish Trail from Texas. In the 1800s, areas of the Las Vegas Valley contained artesian wells that supported extensive green areas or Meadows (Vega in Spanish), hence the name Las Vegas.
John C. Frémont traveled into the Las Vegas Valley on May 3, 1844, while it was still part of Mexico. He was a leader of a group of scientists, scouts and observers for the United States Army Corps of Engineers. On May 10, 1855, following annexation by the United States, Brigham Young assigned 30 Mormon missionaries led by William Bringhurst to the area to convert the Paiute Indian population. A Fort was built near the current downtown area, serving as a stopover for travelers along the “Mormon Corridor” between Salt Lake and the briefly thriving Mormon colony at San Bernardino, California. Las Vegas was established as a railroad town on May 15, 1905, when 110 acres owned by Montana Senator William A. Clark’s San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City Railroad, was auctioned off in what is now downtown Las Vegas. Las Vegas was part of Lincoln County until 1909 when it became part of the newly established Clark County. Las Vegas became an incorporated city on March 16, 1911 when it adopted its first charter.
Major events
Major events in Las Vegas’ history include:
Establishment of Las Vegas as a railroad town (May 15, 1905).
Legalization of gambling (March 19, 1931).
Completion of Hoover Dam (October 9, 1936).
Opening of Bugsy Siegel’s Flamingo Hotel on what would become the Las Vegas Strip (December 26, 1946).
Atmospheric nuclear testing (1951 to 1962).
The floods of 1955, 1984, 1999, and 2003.
MGM Grand Hotel fire (November 21, 1980), the worst disaster in Nevada history.
Opening of the Mirage (November 22, 1989), which began the era of megaresort casinos.
100th birthday, or Centennial, of Las Vegas (May 15, 2005).
Economic history
Las Vegas started as a stopover on the pioneer trails to the west, and became a popular railroad town in the early 1900s. It was a staging point for all the mines in the surrounding area, especially from the town of Bullfrog, that shipped their goods out to the country. With the growth of the railroads, Las Vegas became less important, but the building of the Hoover Dam injected new blood into Las Vegas and the city has never looked back. Federal dollars from Hoover Dam soon converted to tourist dollars after the dam was built. The increase in tourism and the legalization of gambling led to the advent of the casino-hotels for which Las Vegas is famous.
The constant stream of tourist dollars from the hotels and casinos was augmented by a new source of federal money. This money came from the establishment of what is now Nellis Air Force Base. The influx of military personnel and casino job-hunters helped start a land building boom which still goes on today.
Las Vegas has also benefitted from the economic woes of California, whose high-tax, high-regulation business climate has caused companies desiring or needing a West Coast presence to relocate to more business-friendly Nevada.
A tour of Las Vegas casinos and hotels THE adult gambling, adult fun, and entertainment playground of the world
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the state of Nevada, United States. The city is the largest to be founded in the 20th century, and is a major vacation, shopping, and gambling destination. Las Vegas was established in 1905, and officially became a city in 1911. Las Vegas has been the county seat of Clark County since the formation of the county in 1909. The 2000 census reported that the city had a population of 478,434 [1]. The Census Bureau’s official population estimate as of 2004 was 534,847. The city’s Planning and Development Department reported an increase of 41,126 in 2005, for a total population of 575,973. [2]. Recent figures place the population for the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which includes all of Clark County, at over 1.6 Million people (2004 [3]), and the region is the fastest growing in the United States.
The name Las Vegas is often applied to the unincorporated areas of Clark County that surround the city, especially the resort areas on and near the Las Vegas Strip. This 4½ mi (7¼ km) stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard is mostly outside the Las Vegas city limits, in the unincorporated town of Paradise.
The center of gambling in the US, Las Vegas is sometimes called Sin City due to the popularity of legalized gambling, availability of alcoholic beverages any time (like all of Nevada), various forms and degrees of adult entertainment, and legalized prostitution in nearby counties (it is illegal, though, in Las Vegas and Clark County; Nevada law prohibits prostitution in counties which have populations greater than 400,000). The nickname favored by local government and promoters of tourism is The Entertainment Capital of the World. The city’s glamorous image has made it a popular setting for films and television programs.
Airbus is in discussion with more clients interested to use the world’s biggest passenger plane, Airbus superjumbo A380, into a flying casino.
David Velupillai, marketing director for Airbus’s executive and private aviation division, said a fully-fitted casino could be delivered as early as 2012.
The gambling “is clearly a growing business in Asia and what this interest reflects is what is happening in Macau and Singapore. The idea of a flying casino has been mentioned before but it’s now looking a lot more concrete,” said the head of Airbus’ Executive and Private Aviation Division, Francois Chazelle.
The most important destination for the future casinos will be Asia, especially Macau.
Las Vegas Sands Corp., a hotel, gaming, and resort development company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada and owning The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, the Sands Expo and Convention Center, and Venetian Macao Limited, a developer of multiple casino hotel resort properties in The People’s Republic of China’s Special Administrative Region of Macao, hopes to launch VIP charter flights between Hong Kong and Las Vegas featuring baccarat tables in Lockheed Martin planes, in accordance with a South China Morning Post
Interesting change, isn’t it? It seems that starting with this year, Las Vegas will be no more the capital of the gambling world. The Sin City is growing old.
In accordance with Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, casinos in Macau took in gross gambling revenue of $10.4 billion in 2007, up 47 percent from about $7.05 billion the year before. Four new casinos opened on Macau last year. At the end of December, Macau had 4,375 gaming tables and 13,267 slot machines in 28 casinos, up from 2,762 tables and 6,546 slots in 24 casinos a year before.
Minimum bets in the Chinese territory usually set at US$12.85, compared with a less than US$1 in some Vegas locations, allow Macau to take in far more per customer and per table than Las Vegas, says Asian Times.
“Macau has built properties based on Las Vegas’s 30 years of experience, but the Chinese market doesn’t have any experience with the Vegas product,” Andy Nazarechuk, dean of the University of Nevada Las Vegas-Singapore’s William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration, said. “Once they learn, there will be money to be made.”
Las Vegas is growing much more slowly, and it is not entirely its fault. It is the US general policy about gambling that makes the US gambling to slow down every year. Including the policy for online gambling. At a first glance, UIGEA helped Las Vegas and the other US land casinos.
The true is, the US gambling industry lost its way during the last years, and now it tries to find it again. I am not talking about the companies, that expanded their activity in all the world, but about the US internal gambling market. The development of the Indian casinos is part of this process.
Las Vegas, billed as The Entertainment Capital of the World, is famous for massive and lavish casino resorts, the unrestricted availability of alcoholic beverages (as is true throughout Nevada), and adult entertainment. Once officially referred to as Sin City, this image made Las Vegas a popular setting for films and television programs. The major attractions in Las Vegas are the hotels. The most famous hotels line Las Vegas Boulevard South, also known as the Las Vegas Strip. Many of these hotels carry thousands of rooms and are featured on various themes. There are, of course, large casino areas in these hotels as well. There are many hotel casinos in the city’s downtown area as well, which was the original focal point of the city’s gaming industry in its early days. Several large hotels and casinos are also located somewhat off the Strip but adjacent to it, as well as in the county around the city. (Wikipedia)
Betting Big on Nevada TIME To many Washington wags, the very notion evokes images of show girls arguing with croupiers about the finer points of Hillary Clinton’s healthcare policy …
Clinton Wagers on Gambling AOL News Newsbloggers, VA By David Knowles From the LA Times comes a fascinating piece about how Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama view the issue of gambling. Hillary has taken an …
Do US Democrats Support Gambling? Online-Casinos.com, Denmark … and the positions on gambling taken by the leading Democrat contenders started to get confusing this week as Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama traded …
Clinton and Obama seek to break deadlock in Nevada Guardian Unlimited, UK After Barack Obama’s win in Iowa, and Hillary Clinton’s in New Hampshire, today’s caucuses are seen as a potential tie breaker. A win today could provide …
Democrats dominate in Nevada Financial Times, UK Opinion polls have been volatile but generally point to a tight race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. The struggling economy, housing and education …
Obama V Clinton At The Casino Anorak.co.uk (satire), UK Hillary Rodham Clinton sees the good in the gaming industry. “There’sa fundamental question here,” said the Rev. Tom Grey, executive director of the …
Why not court the vote in casinos? San Francisco Chronicle, USA During the past week, Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have appeared in the following Nevada locations: Two Mexican …
Gambling and elections Politics on the Hudson, NY As Democrats prepare to caucus Saturday in Las Vegas and throughout Nevada, Hillary Clinton leads the Democratic pack in funds raised from the casino …
Harrah’s Casino & Hotel Resort chain, which also run the World Series of Poker, will have new owners, two private equity firms named Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group, shelling out a whopping $17.7 billion for the acquisition, being complete in early 2008.
“The WSOP will remain a key brand in the Harrah’s portfolio, and one earmarked for expansion on a number of fronts,” said WSOP Communications Director Gary Thompson.
The senior management team, lead by Harrah’s Chairman and CEO Gary Loveman, as well as WSOP Commission Jeffery Pollack and his team, will be kept.
Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc.is a gaming corporation that owns and operates casinos, hotels, and six golf courses under several brands.
Harrah’s Entertainment is the world’s largest provider of branded casino entertainment through operating subsidiaries.
The company known as Harrah’s Entertainment was founded on October 30, 1937 as a small bingo parlor in Reno, Nevada operated by William F. Harrah.
Since its beginning Harrah’s has grown through development of new properties, expansions and acquisitions.
The company went public in 1971 with 450,000 shares. Following that, it was listed on the American Stock Exchange in 1972 and in 1973 Harrah’s becomes the first casino company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Company founder William F. Harrah died in 1978.
Casinos:
Bally’s brand:
Bally’s Atlantic City (Includes Wild Wild West Casino & Claridge Towers)
Bally’s Las Vegas
Caesars brand:
Caesars Atlantic City
Caesars Indiana (being re branded to Horseshoe)
Caesars Palace Las Vegas
Grand Casino brand:
Grand Casino Biloxi (it will be renamed Margaritaville Casino and Resort)
Grand Casino Tunica (to be renamed Harrah’s Casino Tunica)
Harrah’s brand:
Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino
Harrah’s Atlantic City
Harrah’s Cherokee
Harrah’s ChesterHarrah’s Council Bluffs
Harrah’s Joliet
Harrah’s Lake Tahoe
Harrah’s Las Vegas
Harrah’s Laughlin
Harrah’s Louisiana Downs
Harrah’s Metropolis
Harrah’s New Orleans
Harrah’s North Kansas City
Harrah’s Prairie Band
Harrah’s Reno
Harrah’s Rincon
Harrah’s St. Louis
Horseshoe brand:
Horseshoe Gaming Holding Corporation
Horseshoe Bossier City
Horseshoe Council Bluffs
Horseshoe Hammond
Horseshoe Casino Tunica
Other casinos:
Bill’s Casino Lake Tahoe
Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall and Saloon, Las Vegas, Nevada
Sheraton Hotel and Casino, Tunica, Mississippi
Casino Windsor (name to be changed to Caesars Windsor in 2008
Conrad Resort and Casino, Punta Del Este, Uruguay
Flamingo Las Vegas
Imperial Palace
O’Sheas Casino (Operated as part of Flamingo Las Vegas)
Harveys Lake Tahoe
Paris Las Vegas
Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino Las Vegas
Showboat Casino, Atlantic City
London Clubs International, UK
Margaritaville Casino and Resort, Biloxi, Mississippi
Golf club and courses:
Atlantic City Country Club – Atlantic City, NJ – Acquired from the Caesars Entertainment merger
Cascata Golf Course – Las Vegas, Nevada
Chariot Run Golf Course – Laconia, Indiana
Cottonwoods Golf Course – Tunica, Mississippi
Grand Bear Golf Course – Gulfport, Mississippi
Rio Secco Golf Club in Henderson, Nevada
Other assets:
Roman Empire Development (RED) to manage room renovation projects internally.
Bet on the Champions League - Find detailed, continually updated information on the Champions League, together with a history of the event and options for online betting at bet123.net. Other major sporting and betting events are also covered.
Industry: Gaming - Latest news releases for Industry: Gaming from PRWeb
online casino games - at the new Silver Oak Casino? With $750 in Welcome Bonuses, Second Chance Free Chips and great new monthly offers Silver Oak is the place to be!
poker site - More Fantastic Online Poker Signup Bonuses
Sportsbook at Wynn Las Vegas, during Super Bowl XLII, February 2008
The MGM Grand Hotel fire on November 21, 1980 killed 87 people.
Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, picture taken looking north up the strip
Fremont Street by night.
Fremont Street’s illuminated “Space Frame”.
