Center for Gaming Research
October 2017 Update
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A new survey and collections made available for research.
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New UNLV Gaming Podcast
Massimo Leone
"Praying and Gambling"
In this September 8, 2017 Colloquium Talk, Leone discusses the evolution of the moralizing of gambling by Christian authorities from the Old Testament to the early modern period.
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Harrah's Entertainment Corporate Archives Available to Researchers
The UNLV University Libraries has made the Harrah's Entertainment Corporate Archives available to researchers through the Special Collections and Archives Division at Lied Library.
Caesars Entertainment Corporation, formerly called Harrah's Entertainment, Inc., is a gaming corporation based in Nevada. Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. and its predecessors can be traced back to 1946 when businessman William (Bill) Fisk Harrah purchased a casino in Reno, Nevada and named it Harrah's Reno Club. In 1956 Bill Harrah, the sole owner, expanded the Harrah's brand and opened Harrah's Tahoe Club in Stateline, Nevada. In 1971 Harrah decided to take the company public and Harrah's Inc. made its initial public offering. After Bill Harrah's death in 1978, Holiday Inns, Inc. purchased Harrah's Inc. In 1985 Holiday Inns, Inc. was renamed Holiday Corporation. In 1990 Holiday Corporation created The Promus Companies, a corporate spin-off that included the Harrah's brand. In 1995 Promus rebranded as Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. and continued expanding across the United States. The company was renamed Caesars Entertainment Corporation in 2010.
The Harrah's Entertainment Corporate Archives (dating from 1811 to 2004 with the bulk of the materials dating from 1940 to 2000) contain the promotional and corporate files of Harrah's Entertainment Inc. and its predecessors, as well as Bill Harrah's personal papers, playing card, and card game collection. The collection is primarily comprised of casino and employee periodicals, reports, manuals, promotional files, ephemera, and newspaper articles that document Bill Harrah's casinos in Reno, Nevada and Lake Tahoe as well as Harrah's Inc., Holiday Inns, Inc., Holiday Corporation, the Promus Companies, and Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. Also included are photographs that document the construction of Harrah's properties, business operations, the people who worked and performed at Harrah's properties, Bill Harrah's family, and his automobile collection.
Processing of the collection by UNLV University Libraries Special Collections and Archives was made possible by a $129,600 grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). A complete summary of the items available in the collection can be found online at
https://www.library.unlv.edu/speccol/finding-aids/MS-00460.pdf.
Titled "America's Great Gamble: A Project to Promote the Discovery of Sources About the Expansion of Legalized Gambling Across the United States," the grant funded two temporary archivists who have organized and described four collections: the Gary Royer Papers on Gaming, the Eugene Christiansen Papers on Gaming, the Katherine A. Spilde Papers on Native American Gaming, and the Harrah's Entertainment Inc. Corporate Archives.
For 50 years, UNLV University Libraries Special Collections and Archives has collected and preserved the history of Las Vegas and Southern Nevada, and made it available for researchers. For more information about Special Collections and Archives, visit
www.library.unlv.edu/speccol.
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Eugene Christiansen Papers Now Available for Research
The UNLV University Libraries has made the Eugene Martin Christiansen Papers available to researchers through the Special Collections and Archives Division at Lied Library.
Christiansen is a consultant and chairman of Christiansen Capital Advisors, LLC. He has worked as a consultant for the commercial gaming and entertainment industries since 1976, and written extensively on gambling legalization and regulation, the economic impacts of legalized gambling, taxation of gambling and entertainment, Native American gaming, and pari-mutuel wagering. Christiansen is a member of the National Council on Problem Gambling and the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Nevada, Reno.
The Eugene Martin Christiansen Papers, dating from 1948 to 2017, contain research files, reports, and presentations about gambling written and collected by Christiansen. Most of the collection is comprised of research files and reports about legalized gambling, casinos, hotels, racetracks, and entertainment venues, including the economic impacts of legalized gaming, popularity of off-track betting, horse and dog racing, table games, gambling addiction, gaming regulation, taxes, lotteries, and Native American gaming.
Processing of the collection by UNLV University Libraries Special Collections and Archives was made possible by a $129,600 grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). A complete summary of the items available in the collection can be found online
www.library.unlv.edu/speccol/ead/MS-00561_christiansen.pdf.
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Gary W. Royer Collection on Gaming Available Now
The UNLV University Libraries has made the Gary W. Royer Collection on Gaming available to researchers through the Special Collections and Archives Division at Lied Library.
Royer is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) who served as an auditing agent, supervisor of internal control for the Nevada Gaming Control Board, and President of the Casino Control Corporation. In the late 1970s, Royer founded the Casino Control Corporation (CCC), a management consulting firm that focused on researching and creating management and internal control procedures for facilities and corporations involved in the gaming industry, particularly in Nevada and New Jersey. CCC provided management services to casinos, manufacturers, distributors, and regulatory agencies involved in the gaming industry both in the United States and internationally.
The Gary W. Royer Collection on Gaming, dating from 1950 to 2009, contains research files, legal files, reports, and manuals about gaming written and collected by Royer throughout his career. Files related to his work withduring his time at the Nevada Gaming Control Board. These files primarily document the legislation and regulation of gaming in Nevada, but include information on other states in the US and some international locations.
Processing of the collection by UNLV University Libraries Special Collections and Archives was made possible by a $129,600 grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). A complete summary of the items available in the collection can be found online at
www.library.unlv.edu/speccol/ead/MS_00658_royer.pdf.
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New Esports Webpage Launched
In June, the Center launched its new Esports research portal:
The
page is designed to assist research into the phenomenon of competitive video gaming, or esports. It is intended to provide researchers at all levels with some secondary sources (research and analysis) about the topic, as well as primary sources for new original research.
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Updated Reports--Monthly
National
Monthly combined win totals for (nearly) every U.S. commercial casino and racino
Nevada
Revenue trends for Statewide, Las Vegas Strip, Downtown Las Vegas, Boulder Strip, and Washoe County for the month for the past ten years
Rolling summary for the past half-year
Annual hold percentage averages, with monthly maximum and minimums, 2004-17
Annual and Monthly Hold Percentages, 2004-2017
An Analysis of Monthly Statewide Results
New Jersey
Monthly and Year-to-Date Revenue Results
Other States
Table and Slot Machine Operating Statistics
Gross Terminal Revenue, Number of Machines, and Win/Unit/Day
Monthly Handle, Win, Promotional and Other Totals
Units, Credits In, Promotional Credits, Net Revenues, and Other Metrics
Revenues, Year/Year Change, and Market Share by Casino
Slot, Table, and Total Revenues by Month, 2012-present
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Latest Book: Tales from the Pit
Dealing in a casino presents challenges and rewards not seen in many workplaces. With hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake every minute, casinos are high-stress workplaces. Managing a casino workforce brings stresses of its own. Drawn from these interviews and edited by CGR Director David G. Schwartz,
Tales from the Pit
provides an overview of how the interviewees felt about a variety of topics, ranging from their experiences breaking in as new dealers to their transitions to management and the changes the industry has seen over their careers. The current and former managers speak candidly about the owners, bosses, dealers, and players who made each day challenging.
Tales from the Pit: Casino Table Games Managers in Their Own Words
edited by David G. Schwartz
Paperback
List Price: $23.00
Our Price: $18.00
Buy Now
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| Sharing Expertise with the Media
Last month, Center Director David G. Schwartz spoke with approximately 9 print, online, radio, and television media contacts about a range of topics.
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Get Involved
We are always seeking donations of materials that document the history of gambling and Southern Nevada. If you would like to discuss donating company or personal papers, photographs, or documents, please call or email
Dr. Schwartz
If you would like to donate money to support new book acquisitions or the
Eadington Fellowship
program, please visit
this page
and specify "Eadington Fellows" as the designation.
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About the Center for Gaming Research
Located within Special Collections at UNLV's state-of-the-art Lied Library, the Center for Gaming Research is committed to providing support for scholarly inquiry into all aspects of gaming. Through its website,
http://gaming.unlv.edu, the Center offers several unique research tools and information sources.
About the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
UNLV is a doctoral-degree-granting institution of 29,700 students and 3,300 faculty and staff. Founded in 1957, the university offers more than 220 undergraduate, masters and doctoral degree programs. UNLV is located on a 332-acre campus in dynamic Southern Nevada and is classified in the category of Research Universities (high research activity) by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
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