Super Casino: Inside the "New" Las Vegas
by Pete Earley
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Book Summary Information
Author: Pete EarleyEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Published: 2001-01-02
ISBN: 0553573497
Number of pages: 512
Publisher: Bantam
Book Reviews of Super Casino: Inside the "New" Las Vegas
Book Review: Super Casino is not so super
Summary: 2 Stars
No, Super Casino is not super. It is very interesting at times, but suffers from being badly disjointed. It roughly tells the story of Circus Circus, and its eventual growth into a huge corporation that owns all kinds of casinos throughout the country. The first 150 pages or so is a history of Las Vegas with an emphasis on Caesars Palace, Circus Circus, Mirage, and Excalibur. The remainder of the book documents a sort of "year in the life of" the Luxor from the late Nineties.
Neither part is all that fascinating. The fact of the matter is that the "New" Las Vegas isn't all that exciting unless you enjoy reading about how these companies can never quite squeeze enough profit from the tourists. Gotta please those shareholders! I guess the author was getting bored as well. In the portion dealing with the Luxor, the author dedicated quite a bit of space to talk about hookers, high rollers, and casino cheats. That doesn't sound like "New" Vegas to me! Even these passages weren't that interesting, because he went right back to talking about corporate management.
I can't recommend this book. There are tons of books on Vegas out there. I am sure there are better options than this.
Summary of Super Casino: Inside the "New" Las Vegas
Former Washington Post reporter Pete Earley, whose several books include a study of Leavenworth Prison, turns his meticulous journalistic eye on yet another notorious venue: Las Vegas. Don't expect him to unearth a spate of scandalous doings, though: Sin City isn't quite what it used to be. "Howard Hughes is now only a historical footnote," Earley writes. "Liberace's trademark candelabra sits in a museum. Elvis has been gone so long that tourists often think his impersonators look more like the King than he did. The old Las Vegas is dead."The new Vegas, however, is very much alive. In two years of visits, with particular access to the Egyptian-themed Luxor Hotel, Earley gathers a comprehensive history of the city's "gaming" industry, including the biographies of such important figures as the Bellagio's Steve Wynn. He also takes a firsthand look into the lives of several Vegas residents and regulars. The book's chapters, often dense with historical fact, are neatly interrupted by fascinating first-person accounts: an old-time dealer talks about being threatened by Frank Sinatra, a hotel manager at a casino gets chewed out by her boss for renting out a $5,000 room to movie stars, and a cab driver talks about falling out of love with this high-rolling town, though he still tries to get his cut of the money. "The money," he says. "There is so much of it in this town that you learn to close your eyes. I hate it but I can't walk away. Who can?" Perhaps the readers of Super Casino will be able to restrain themselves after they read Earley's explanation of how clearly casino odds are stacked against them. --Maria Dolan
In this lively and probing book, award-winning author Pete Earley traces the extraordinary evolution of Las Vegas -- from the gaudy Mecca of the Rat Pack era to one of the country's top family vacation spots. He revisits the city's checkered history of moguls, mobsters, and entertainers, reveals the real stories of well-known power brokers like Steve Wynn and legends like Howard Hughes and Bugsy Siegel, and offers a fascinating portrait of the life, death, and fantastic rebirth of the Las Vegas Strip.
Earley also documents the gripping tale of the entrepreneurs behind the rise and fall and rise again of one of the largest gaming corporations in the nation, Circus Circus -- to which he was given unique access. In his trademark you-are-there style, he takes us behind the scenes to meet the blackjack dealers and hookers, the heavy hitters and bit players, the security officers, cabbies, and showgirls who are caught up in the mercurial pace that pulses at the heart of this astounding city.
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