Gaming and Casino Operations Management Commons^™

Introduction To “Las Vegas As Command Center” Special Section, Donald Snyder

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

No abstract provided.

Regulating Gaming In The New South Africa, Baby Tyawa

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

No abstract provided.

The Boomerang Effect: Asia's Casino Industry Growth Can "Fly Back" To Benefit Las Vegas, Jonathan Galaviz

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

Boomerangs are an interesting invention. These remarkable devices can be thrown into the sky, for long distances, and then they do something amazing: they fly back to the thrower. Metaphorically speaking, the Las Vegas-based casino resort industry has thrown its "boomerang" to places like Singapore, Macau, and many other casino markets throughout the world over the last decade, with great success. Of course, many question whether this "boomerang" will indeed fly back to the thrower in the form of economic benefits. In this paper, I will lay out some key strategic concepts that argue that Las Vegas is indeed benefitting …

Cultural Indicators Of Internet Sports Betting Policy, Brett L. Abarbanel

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

No abstract provided.

The Evf Model: A Novel Framework For Understanding Gambling And, By Extension, Poker, Arthur S. Reber

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

There are several senses in which the term gambling is used. All have liabilities, problems that have muddied the waters in scientific research, generated conflicting legal decisions, compromised debates over ethical and moral issues, and have led to uneven legislation. Here, a novel framework for the term is offered, based on two continuous variables: a) the Expected Value (EV) of any arbitrary game and, b) the inherent Flexibility (F) of that game. This EVF model produces a classification system for all the enterprises that can or have been called gambling. It is one that allows for more measured decisions to …

Pennsylvania Casinos’ Cannibalization Of Regional Gambling Revenues, Simon Condliffe

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

Gambling opportunities are expanding rapidly in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic area. Fifteen gambling venues have opened since 1996. The introduction of these venues has the potential to shift the balance of gambling activity away from New Jersey, which had enjoyed a monopoly position in the area for decades. Delaware and, more recently, Pennsylvania have entered the marketplace, raising the question of whether aggregate gambling activity has increased in the area, and whether all states have benefited. Contrary to previous research, a multivariate analysis reveals that aggregate gambling revenue among the three states has not increased with the introduction of Pennsylvania gambling …

Clustering High Dimensional Sparse Casino Player Tracking Datasets, Ross Iaci, Ashok K. Singh

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

In this article, we propose an iterative procedure for clustering sparse high dimensional transaction datasets, specifically two casino player tracking datasets. a common problem in clustering sparse datasets with very large dimensions is that in addition to classical techniques of clustering being unable to provide useful results, latent variable methods used for clustering often do not lead to sufficient data reduction to yield useful and informative results either. initially, we propose a straightforward resorting of the full dataset and then define an information based sparsity index to subset the sorted data. this new dimension reduced dataset is less sparse, and …

The Market For Online Poker, Ingo Fiedler, Ann-Christin Wilcke

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

The recent events of the “Black Friday” – the biggest online poker networks in the USA were shut down – demonstrated the necessity to make decisions about the regulation of online poker. But although online poker is a gold mine of data, until now nobody knows where the players and their money come from. It seems that the knowledge about the online poker market has not been able to keep up with the speed of its evolution in the past years. This paper is the first to shed light on this matter. We use data of 4,591,298 poker identities from …

The Internet Gaming Industry For Newbies, Cory Nebel

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The United States internet gaming industry is one which, while many people are aware of its existence, very few fully understand. There remains a tremendous amount of confusion amongst the American public regarding whether or not gambling online in the U.S. is a legal activity. While most would claim to have heard reports that U.S. internet gambling is against the law, just as many people are able to quickly reference both friends and family who regularly gamble online. Through the use of secondary research, this paper will explore a wide range of pre-existing literature on both the internet gaming industry …

The Effect Of Casino Tax Policy On Short-Run Gaming Development, Kahlil Philander

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examines the effect of casino tax rate structure on investment by casino operators. Using a panel data set consisting of all states with legal commercial casino gambling from 1998 to 2009, a fixed-effect model with two-stage least squares is estimated to examine the effect of gambling taxes on firms' short-run behavior. The study finds that maximum casino tax rates decrease casino employment, with an estimated average elasticity of -0.5. This result is noted to be robust to several different model specifications and data subsets. No robust relationship is found between maximum tax rates and casino wages. No significant …

The Legalization Of Casino Gambling In Mainland China, Xi Liu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The study of growth in the international casino gaming is currently fascinating. Local residents do not view casino operations negatively anymore. The great success of the regulation of the gaming industry and the resulting highly profitable returns in areas such as Las Vegas has encouraged jurisdictions to introduce gaming into their local economies. Various studies have been done to assess the potential reasons behind the introduction of the gaming industry into regions that have previously banned it; however, only a handful of research has been done regarding the potential gaming industry in mainland China. Given the huge success observed in …

Halos, Alibis And Community Development: A Cross National Comparison Of How Governments Spend Revenue From Gambling, Lynn Gidluck

Occasional Papers

This paper provides a cross-national comparison of how governments around the world distribute revenues from state-directed gambling and how these choices have been justified by proponents and vilified by critics. Case studies where governments have popularized gambling expansion by “earmarking” revenues for particular good causes and where the state has collaborated with the voluntary sector to deliver programs from this revenue stream are examined. Lessons learned from challenges of various approaches are considered.

Trouble In Sin City: Protecting Sexy Workers' Civil Rights, Ann C. Mcginley

Scholarly Works

While Las Vegas has always been known for its libertarian attitudes toward gambling and sexually provocative shows, after a short, failed attempt during the 1990’s to characterize itself as a family destination, the City has turned up the heat. Las Vegas, which relies increasingly on selling sex appeal to promote its value to the public, has become the number one adult entertainment destination in the United States. There is, however, trouble in paradise. A number of the casino-based clubs (both day and night) have been sued; others have closed due to illegal prostitution; some have paid large fines to the …

Betting On The U.S. Market A Discussion Of The Legality Of Sports Gaming Businesses, Glenn Light, Karl Rutledge, Quinton Singleton

Occasional Papers

Over time, the US sports gaming industry has progressed dramatically beyond what the US anti-gaming law drafters envisioned. The result is a system of mostly antiquated laws controlling modern industry causing confusion across the board. This discussion, therefore, intends to shed light on the US sports gaming legal framework, including analysis of the preeminent US laws that regulate the sports gaming industry and a brief review of various sports gaming businesses that fall within the US legal rubric.

Nevada Gaming Licensing Qualifications, Standards, And Procedures, Robert D. Faiss, Gregory R. Gemignani

Occasional Papers

The process of acquiring a Nevada gaming license is long and consists of several procedures. Although the process is time-consuming, it is far from Byzantine or obscure; each step, as defined by statute and precedent, flows logically from the one before. This paper provides an overview of licensing process in Nevada, with additional information on the reasoning behind several of the procedures involved.

Jackpot! A Legal History Of Indian Gaming In California, Aaron Peardon

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Indian Gaming has transformed the economic, political, and sociological landscape of California. The growth of Indian casinos has had a profound impact on both Indian and non-Indian communities alike. California tribes took the lead in legalizing Indian Gaming throughout the nation. The efforts of California tribes in the legislative and political process have enabled many tribal groups to rise out of poverty and to gain prosperity that would otherwise be impossible to achieve. They have also brought increased revenue to local communities and have provided thousands of jobs to all Californians.

This thesis discusses the historical relationships between Native American …

Regulation Of Gaming Device Software Development: Nevada’S Paradigm Shift On Independent Contractors, Dan R. Reaser

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

On April 22, 2010, the Nevada Gaming Commission (hereinafter the “Commission”) adopted a number of amendments to Regulation 14 governing the manufacture of gaming devices. A subset of these amendments were promulgated pursuant to changes to the Nevada Gaming Control Act (hereinafter the “Act”) during the Seventy-Fifth Session of the Nevada Legislature. The rules relate to “control programs” and the independent contractors who design, develop, program, produce, or compose software, source language or executable code compiled into the control program of a new gaming device or of a modification to a gaming device submitted for approval. These particular rules became …

Keeping It Clean: Richard H. Bryan And Nevada Gaming, Leslie M. Niño

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

When Nevada legalized gaming in 1931, few observers could have predicted the extent to which the gaming industry would grow and evolve. The modern gaming industry has expanded across the globe, and is now regarded as a dynamic avenue of commerce. However, during the industry’s infancy, many Americans denounced gaming as a pariah. Legalized gaming was not viewed as a legitimate industry; rather, it was a haven for swindlers and cheaters. How did Nevada turn this negative perception into a positive one? Legislators and regulators resolved to create and enforce gaming regulations with the highest standards of ethics and integrity, …

Has The Time For Large Gaming Property Involved Reits Finally Arrived?: A Review Of The Potential For Reit Investment In Destination Gaming Resort Properties, Simon Johnson

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

Destination gaming resorts demand massive amounts of capital in order to fund their investment in real property, much of which comprises areas where they realize predominantly passive business, including the hotel tower. Consequently, they generate substantial income from passive business, such as fees for hotel occupancy, even as most of their income is attributable to active business, such as gaming and personal services. Because they blend separable passive and active real property, a REIT can theoretically acquire all or some of the real property, realizing income under an operator lease with a substantially unrelated gaming or hotel lessee. Alternatively, a …

Dice Or No Dice: The Casino Debate In Massachusetts, College Of Management, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Financial Services Forum Publications

The debate on casinos has intensified over the last few years. Governor Deval Patrick tried to get approval for three casinos back in September 2008, which was rejected by the then Speaker Salvatore Dimasi. However, two years ago, the Governor stood in the way of casinos by vetoing the bill passed by the House and the Senate.

With the economy still recovering from the aftermath of the “Great Recession”, there are talks about job creation and consumer spending all over Massachusetts. Currently, the three most critical players in the government of Massachusetts - Governor Deval Patrick, House Speaker Robert DeLeo, …

Not Out Of The (Fox)Woods Yet: Indian Gaming And The Bankruptcy Code, Emir Aly Crowne, Andrew Black, S. Alex Constantin

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

The recent economic downturn has caused Foxwoods Resort Casino, one of the largest casinos in the world, to seek a restructuring of nearly $1.5 billion in debt. Ordinarily, bankruptcy proceedings are triggered when a typical commercial enterprise defaults on its debt. Under these proceedings, creditors step in and collect monies owed to them before any residual equity is dispersed amongst owners. The rub here is that Foxwoods is owned and operated by the Mashantucket Western Pequot Tribal Nation, a sovereign nation under U.S. federal law. This triggers questions of paramountcy; namely, whether tribunal sovereignty can trump federal bankruptcy law.

These …

The Gaming Industry Developing Concept In Taiwan-From The U.S. Experience, Jean Ling Lee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

With the recent success experience of gaming-related investments made in Macau and Singapore, it also can be a good inspiration of developing the gaming industry in Taiwan. As the passing of the new legislation from the Taiwanese government, Taiwan could be the next potential country to join the Asian casino gaming market. The purpose of this study is to determine the appropriate direction of developing the casino gaming industry in Taiwan, according to the successful experience from U.S. The findings indicated that the six factors of developing gaming business in Taiwan are geography environment, accessibility, human resource, tourism resource, tourist …

Online Gaming: Prohibition Vs. Regulation, Andrew Montgomery

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Since online gaming began in 1995, the industry has been unsettled. Despite online gaming being viewed as illegal by the United States government, revenues generated from players in the U.S. grew consistently and rapidly from 1995 to 2006. U.S. lawmakers believed they clarified the legality issue by passing the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006 (UIGEA); however, this legislation did little to discourage people in the U.S. from engaging in online gambling. U.S. lawmakers have long debated prohibition vs. regulation of the industry. Given the apparent ineffectiveness of online gaming prohibition via UIGEA, lawmakers favoring legalization and regulation of …

Gaming In Britain And America: Some Historical Comparisons, Nicholas Tosney Ph.D.

Occasional Papers

This paper compares the development of gambling in Britain during the late 17th and 18th centuries with the emergence of gambling in Nevada during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Drawing on the existence of similar themes and ideas in different contexts, the author demonstrates several benefits of comparative studies of gambling. Focusing principally on gambling games played with cards and dice, this paper begins by examining approaches to taxing gaming before moving on to consider regulatory strategies.

Unlv Magazine, Tony Allen, Shane Bevell, Donna Mcaleer, Ched Whitney, Cate Weeks

UNLV Magazine

No abstract provided.

International Encyclopedia Of Gambling, J. Cory Tucker

Library Faculty Research

An update to the author's Gambling in America (CH, Apr'02, 39-4347). this excellent encyclopedia provides detailed information on the gambling phenomenon throughout the world. In more than 300 entries, this two-volume set covers a wealth of information on a wide variety of topics related to gambling.

Nation, Corporation Or Family? Tribal Casino Employment And The Transformation Of Tribes, Theodor Gordon

Occasional Papers

Since its modest beginnings in the early 1980s, tribal gaming rapidly developed into a $25 billion industry that generates over a quarter million jobs. However, the increasing employment of non-Indians in tribal casinos prompts new cultural and political challenges. This paper analyzes tribal and commercial casino trade publications in order to demonstrate how tribal casino employee relations play a significant role in transforming public policy and perceptions of tribal government in the United States.

Not Undertaking The Almost-Impossible Task: The 1961 Wire Act’S Development, Initial Applications, And Ultimate Purpose, David G. Schwartz

Library Faculty Research

For a Camelot-era piece of legislation, the Wire Act has a long and unintended shadow. Used haltingly in the 1960s, when the Wire Act failed to deliver the death blow to organized crime, 1970’s Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) became a far better weapon against the mob. Yet starting in the 1990s, the Wire Act enjoyed a second life, when the Justice Department used to it prosecute operators of online betting Web sites that, headquartered in jurisdictions where such businesses were legal, took bets from American citizens. The legislative history of the Wire Act, however, suggests that it was …

College Sports Wagering: A Case Study About Gambling On College Athletics And The Motivations And Consequences Surrounding Legislation Wanting To Ban Wagering On College Sports, Neil H. Huffey

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Sports wagering is the largest form of gambling in the world. In the United States, the practice is largely illegal. Nonetheless, it has sustained incredible growth both legally and illegally throughout the twentieth century. Current legislation in Congress would revise a 1992 federal law that banned legal sports wagering in this country with the exemption of four particular states, Nevada included. The state of Nevada is the only place in which wagering on college sports is legally practiced. The State of Oregon runs a small sports betting game out if its lottery. Proponents of the legislation suggest that passage is …