The Die is Cast - Interview with David Schwartz

Here we go with an interview with the historian who has been managing the UNLV Gaming Studies Research Center since 2001. We'll get to know where he comes from, what he is doing for the reasearch in the field of gaming, how you can keep updated reading everyday is fresh blog. And (maybe) why the cover of his book "Suburban Xanadu" is pink.

Dave was born in Atlantic City (NJ). He got his master at the University of Pennsylvania and his doctorate in US History at UCLA. He worked for the Donald, a.k.a. Mr. Trump, as casino security and surveillance officer. His book, "Suburban Xanadu", was based on his dissertation at UCLA. He is happy about the encouragements he got while researching on gaming. And we are happy to have this book. I have read quite some... dozens of books about gaming; well, those were book you could really buy in pack of dozens (I agree with Dave when he says that 95% of books about gaming are craps; or well, maybe 95% of everything around is crap :-). They were not worth much, because they weren't addressing the issues I was interested about. "Suburban Xanadu" is different from those books, it is an objective analysis of the rise of the gaming industry on the Las Vegas Strip from 1945-1978.

To see what people think about the book, just give a look at comments on Amazon. John Hannigan (author of Fantasy City) highly recommend it, while Hal Rothman (author of Neon Metropolis) says "a must for anyone who cares about culture in the new century!". Similar enthusiastic reviews are posted by other readers.

Dave came to Vegas for career reasons, because he was called to manage UNLV Gaming Studies Research Center. He misses Atlantic City alternatives to casinos, as the ocean. He admires Steve Wynn, one of the few people he feels intellectually challenged by. He sees a bright future for Vegas, and forecasts that casino developers will keep imitating Wynn's strategies. If they have to follow someone, at least they are good enough to follow a clever person.

Dave's new blog (http://www.dieiscast.com/) is a "must" for your favorite links folder, at least if you are interested in Vegas and gaming. The blog is named after the famous words said - or allegedly said - by Julius Caesar when, instead of disbanding his army as ordered by the Senate, he decided to cross the Rubicon river and march toward Rome.

The blog hosts a gallery of casino carpeting in every Las Vegas casino. Flowers and wheels are often used as carpet motives. According to Dave, that may be a way to remember patrons that life, as a flower, doesn't last long, and that we should enjoy the food, drinks, gaming and entertainment around us. The wheel is to remind us that fortune changes; we should take it as it lasts.

And, oh yes, on his blog you can even find the answer to a frequently asked question: "Why is Suburban Xanadu cover pink?" :-)