Roll the Bones, a gambling history

In a little experiment on price sensitivity in the ebook format, I've decided to slash the price of the e-version of Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling by nearly 20%. The list price for all versions of the RTB ebook is now $7.99. You can learn more or buy it at your favorite ebook retailer:

Kindle Edition available from  Amazon.com

Nook Book available from Barnes & Noble

eBook available from Kobo

There is now another place to get Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling (Casino Edition).

The Gamblers Book Club, probably the biggest seller of books about gambling in the world, is now stocking signed copies of the book. 

You can buy them in person at the store (5473 S Eastern Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89119) or purchase them online. 

You got a glimpse of it in the photo of the print proof--here is the cover in all of its glory.

I got the print proof in the mail yesterday, It's everything I had hoped it would be.

The small island nation of Antigua capitalized on online gaming by encouraging early sports betting sites to set up business there. Like earlier resource-poor jurisdictions such as Monte Carlo and Nevada, it hoped to leverage its tolerance of gambling into substantial development.

To learn more about the early days of online gaming, see Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling. 

Author David G. Schwartz summarizes chapter 17, "Reinventing the Wheel," of Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling (Casino Edition). This chapter covers the events of the last decade or so in the gambling world, minus the rise of Asian casinos, which was covered in chapter 16. It begins with a discussion of how Las Vegas casinos changed their approach after the 9/11 recession, becoming less dependent on gambling. This led to a mid-decade boom that was followed by a crash from which the Las Vegas industry has still not recovered. The second half of the chapter discusses the short history of online gaming, beginning with the first sites in the mid-1990s and covering most of the regulatory and legal challenges it has faced. Finally, the author discusses the epilogue that closes the books with thoughts on the present and future of gambling. For more information about the book, visithttp://www.rollthebonesbook.com

Pachinko machines in Japan take in an estimated $300 billion in ball rental fees--about three times the total gaming spend in the United States.

To learn more about Japanese gambling, see Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling. 

If you don't see a video, go here: http://youtu.be/sxWHmPafsGc

Author David G. Schwartz summarizes chapter 16, "All In: Gambling's Global Spread," of Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling (Casino Edition).

This chapter includes the background of casino gambling in a number of nations, including China (Macau), Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, North Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Germany, Great Britain, and more.

If you don't see a video, it's here: http://youtu.be/EqZ82UwJuBQ

Author David G. Schwartz summarizes chapter 15, "A Clockwork Volcano: Las Vegas Strikes Back," of Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling (Casino Edition).

This chapter starts by discussing some of the technological changes that made possible the rise of slot machines, like the introduction of video poker and wide area progressive games like Megabucks. It then talks about The Mirage, which opened in 1989 and kicked off the 1990s boom for Las Vegas. Although it completely changed the Las Vegas Strip, before it opened, many were skeptical that it would succeed.

We then learn about other important companies like MGM Mirage and the Mandalay Resort Group, which, through a series of mergers (including one with Mirage Resorts) became MGM Resorts. Las Vegas Sands, which owns the Venetian and Palazzo, is also profiled.

When the "new" MGM Grand opened in December 1993 with 5,005 rooms, it was the biggest hotel-casino in the world. That marked the third time majority owner Kirk Kerkorian has opened the world's biggest hotel-casino. He did it with the International (1969) and original MGM Grand (1973).

For more about Las Vegas casinos, check out Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling. 

Bernard Goldstein, former owner of the Alter Companies, was influential in lobbying for the legalization of riverboat casinos in Iowa in 1988 and 1989. Goldstein's riverboat casino company eventually became Isle of Capri.

You can learn more about riverboat casinos in Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling. 

I've successfully migrated Roll the Bones from Lulu to CreateSpace, which means that the book is available directly from the print on demand vendor again.

The upshot of all this for you, the reader, is that the retail price has dropped from $26.00 to $21.95. Thanks for CreateSpace producing books less expensively than Lulu, I'm able to offer them at that new, low price. 

I've also made a few slight interior changes, including modifying the title page and cleaning up a few typos, and the spine of the book is now much better looking. I'll try to post a picture later.

This printing will be working its way into other distribution channels over the next week or so, so if you're planning on buying from Barnes and Noble, wait until you see it for $21.95 retail. At Amazon, it's now on sale for $20.85. Follow this link and you can't go wrong!

Author David G. Schwartz summarizes chapter 14, "Runaway American Dream: Gambling in the public interest," of Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling (Casino Edition).

This chapter describes how casinos expanded from two states, Nevada and New Jersey, to being found nearly nationwide. It starts by discussing the origins of Indian casinos, and also handles the rise of riverboat gambling, limited gaming in South Dakota and Colorado, land-based casinos, urban casinos, and racinos.

If you want to buy this book in paperback, I've got some good news and some inconvenient news.

The good news: I'm changing my print-on-demand vendor from Lulu to Create Space, which will substantially lower the cost of the paperback ($26 retail to $21.95).

The bad news is that it will take a little bit of time for the change to go through, so you may have difficulty ordering the book over the next week or so. As of now it's still for sale on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, but is no longer available directly on Lulu. 

With the help of CreateSpace's great technical services team, I'm hoping to have the CreateSpace store open within the next two weeks, with the book's availability at its new price on Amazon and Barnes and Noble soon after.

The upshot? If you're thinking of buying Roll the Bones, hang on for a week or two. If you want something of mine to read in the meantime, I've got two options: here's my archive of Vegas Seven writing, which runs to tens of thousands of words, and here's some info about Cutting the Wire: Gambling Prohibition and the Internet, which is also a fun read.

The late-1970s Strawman investigation, an FBI underworld inquiry based in Kansas City, Missouri, discovered widespread skimming at Las Vegas casinos.

You can learn more about how the feds and Nevada regulators chased the mob out of Nevada casinos in Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling. 

Author David G. Schwartz summarizes chapter 13, "The Burger King Revolution: Las Vegas bounces back for the first time," of Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling (Casino Edition).

Donald Trump's first Atlantic City casino wasn't wholly his own--it was a joint venture with Harrah's, and was initially called "Harrah's at Trump Plaza." 

For the full story of how Trump gained sole possession of that property and two other Atlantic City casinos, read Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling.