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Full-Text Articles in Business

Of The Rat Pack, Ashtrays, Cocktail Napkins, And Grateful Losers: The Making Of The Las Vegas Experience As A Historical Process In The 20th Century, Paul Franke Feb 2017

Of The Rat Pack, Ashtrays, Cocktail Napkins, And Grateful Losers: The Making Of The Las Vegas Experience As A Historical Process In The 20th Century, Paul Franke

Occasional Papers

This paper explores how Las Vegas casino executives have successfully produced a unique gaming experience. From the 1950s onwards they were able to use architecture, entertainment and business practices to link games of chance with a specific consumption experience for players. It will examine what sets the Las Vegas consumption experience apart from other gaming locations, what it consisted of, and how it was produced by the casinos. It also investigates how people between the 1950s and 1980s perceived and consumed the Las Vegas experience. Drawing from these observations the paper argues that the special of Las Vegas in gaming …


Elvis Who? Understanding, Attracting And Retaining The Next Generation Of Las Vegas Customers, Oliver Lovat Jun 2016

Elvis Who? Understanding, Attracting And Retaining The Next Generation Of Las Vegas Customers, Oliver Lovat

Occasional Papers

Las Vegas is in the middle of a period of generational transformation. The visitor profile has changed greatly since 2007, however the behavior and attitudes of this new visitor are very different that of previous generations of visitors. By undertaking a survey of this group we identify several key trends that make this group unique. Not only does this new visitor come to Las Vegas more frequently, follow Las Vegas when they are not in the city, they demonstrate planning and spending patterns that are unlike any other group. This paper analyses the next generation of visitor, and suggests methods …


Casino Architecture Wars: A History Of How Las Vegas Developers Compete With Architectural Design, Stefan Al Oct 2014

Casino Architecture Wars: A History Of How Las Vegas Developers Compete With Architectural Design, Stefan Al

Occasional Papers

This paper explores how Las Vegas casino devel opers have competed with architectural design. Throughout history, they emphasized different elements of the casino complex. This paper will examine three of the most heated wars that occurred between casinos over such elements: the swimming pool wars of the 1950s, the sign wars of the 1960s, and the porte cochère wars of the 1970s. This paper argues how, in the face of competition, each of these elements evolved into truly unique forms that differed greatly from other places. In its relentless pursuit to attract visitors, Las Vegas lay on the forefront of …


The Construction Of Spatial Imaginaries: Luxury, Spectacle, Cosmopolitanism, And The Formation Of The Casino-Resort, Robert Miller Jul 2014

The Construction Of Spatial Imaginaries: Luxury, Spectacle, Cosmopolitanism, And The Formation Of The Casino-Resort, Robert Miller

Occasional Papers

This paper examines Monte Carlo in the late-nineteenth century and Las Vegas in the mid-twentieth century, and explores how the cities forged specific identities centered upon their casino-resort industries. Civic planners, entrepreneurs, and tourists contributed to the formation of a spatial imaginary (the conception of a place, laden with symbols and infused with meaning designed to evoke certain feelings or experiences, which is also mediated and re-mediated through the imagination) in these gambling centers. Casino-resorts came to dominate the economies of these cities and casino-concessionaires, business bureaus, and elites consistently emphasized the luxuriousness, spectacle, and cosmopolitanism of their casino-resort towns. …


Learning From Las Vegas: Gambling, Technology, Capitalism, And Addiction, David T. Courtwright Jun 2014

Learning From Las Vegas: Gambling, Technology, Capitalism, And Addiction, David T. Courtwright

Occasional Papers

Gambling has always led to addictive behavior in some individuals. However, the number and types of addicted gamblers have changed over time and in response to specific gambling environments. Recent work by historians, journalists, and anthropologists, reviewed in this paper, suggests that the situation worsened during the modern era, and that it has become worse still during the last half century. Technological, organizational, and marketing innovations have “weaponized” gambling, increasing both the likelihood that people will gamble and that they will gamble compulsively—a phenomenon with parallels to several other consumer products, including processed food, digitized games, and psychoactive drugs.


Family-Friendly Las Vegas: An Analysis Of Time And Space, Diana Tracy Cohen May 2014

Family-Friendly Las Vegas: An Analysis Of Time And Space, Diana Tracy Cohen

Occasional Papers

This paper explores the rise and fall of the “family-friendly” Las Vegas marketing era. Through analysis of casino advertisements, internal and external building infrastructure, and qualitative in-depth interviews with industry insiders, this work investigates the city’s reinvention of the early 1990s. Key factors that set the stage for the emergence of targeted family marketing are identified, addressing why this advertising approach ultimately did not sustain. Unique marketing case studies are identified throughout.


Pyramids Of Pink Shrimp: A Brief History Of Las Vegas Dining, 1940s-1970s, Su Kim Chung Apr 2012

Pyramids Of Pink Shrimp: A Brief History Of Las Vegas Dining, 1940s-1970s, Su Kim Chung

Library Faculty Publications

Restaurant dining has always been one of the great attractions of Las Vegas. From its budget buffets and 99 cent shrimp cocktails, to the showrooms of yesterday's production shows, and today's haute cuisine restaurants run by celebrity chefs, dining has added a rich and tasty dimension to the Las Vegas tourist experience. Local residents have also long been attracted to the wide variety of restaurants that have grown along with the city since the construction of the first hotel/casino resort (El Rancho Vegas) on old Highway 91 in 1941. Hotels along the Las Vegas Strip (and a few downtown) have …