Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog

It may have been a whole year in the works, but it felt like only yesterday that I had booked my flight as I was sitting impatiently at the airport. This was to be my last hoorah with Vegas until Encore's opening in December. Who knows if I'll hold true to that promise, but I planned this trip to the fullest knowing all too well that these rare opportunities don't come around very often.

(More after the jump...)

Here's another Vegas book, but I'll skip this one:

Double or Nothing: How Two Friends Risked It All to Buy One of Las Vegas' Legendary Casinos, by Tom Breitling

Steve Friess is an award winning Las Vegas-based journalist that regularly writes for the New York Times, USA Today and other national publications... You probably know him as the co-host of one of my favorite podcasts, The Strip. Steve's a great guy and Vegas is lucky to have him.

His new Las Vegas guidebook, 'Gay Vegas' covers Sin City with an emphasis on gay and lesbian travelers, though the tips in here are applicable to anyone visiting Southern Nevada.

Keep reading after the jump for my take on the book and if you want to pick up a copy, this Amazon link is a way to say thanks to us as well:

"Gay Vegas: A Guide To The Other Side of Sin City" (Steve Friess)

It's been awhile but I have a book recommendation: Open Road's Best of Las Vegas.

Now, first off, I need to disclose that the author recommended this very blog in the book but that's where my affiliation with the book ends. I actually didn't even know it was in there until Tim from Five Hundy told me that we were both mentioned.

That inspired me to get the book and I was pleasantly surprised to find a competent travel guide, especially useful to less seasoned Las Vegas travelers. What I like about the book is that it goes further than many others, which often look like they sourced all of their material from hotel press materials.

Not only does it break down travel plans by type of trip (i.e. bachelor party, girls weekend, vintage Vegas, nature weekend), it also features recent and comprehensive details on all the major valley attractions.

If you're looking for a book to guide you on a first, second, or even 10th trip, give this a look.

PS: I know I promised my thoughts on the City Center stuff I saw at the sales pavilion. I started writing it up but I'm not finished yet. I apologize for the delay.

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Roll The Bones is a new book by Dr. David Schwartz, the director of the Center for Gambling Studies at UNLV. His blog, DieIsCast.com is a great source for gambling information and news along with the ever-popular casino carpet gallery.

Dave has written several gambling related books in the past, including Suburban Xanadu, a study of the casino resort's evolution (this book features an in-depth look at Martin Stern, Jr., who's work we have mentioned several times in the past here on this site) and Cutting The Wire, a look at the Wire Act and Internet gambling.

You can buy this book here (and it supports this site in a small way): Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling

Keep reading after the jump...

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Some of you may know Dave Schwartz over at UNLV and also know that his latest book, 'Roll The Bones', a fascinating history of gambling, was recently released.

I've been plowing through it and plan a review soon. In the meantime, he's running a contest for readers to win a copy of his last book, 'Cutting The Wire'. The rules and regs are located here:

http://www.dieiscast.com/2006/11/02/win-a-signed-book/

The basic idea is that you read his latest and write an Amazon or Barnes and Noble review and then you've got a good chance of getting a signed copy of the last book, 'Cutting The Wire'.

Also, if you mention that we sent you, this Web site could get a special write up from Dave, which would be neat but honestly, you should read 'Roll The Bones' anyway - so far it's a great read and very easy to digest.

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I got my review copy of Dave Schwartz's new book, "Roll The Bones" today and I've started to read it. Dave is a friend of mine and I feel lucky to call him that. He's the number one gambling historian and author of several books. He works at UNLV as the Director of the Center for Gaming Research. His Web site is located here, which we are now proudly hosting for him: http://www.dieiscast.com

A full review will follow when I'm done but so far, it's great. Anyone that's seriously interested in gambling should buy this book right now.

The link below is from Amazon.com and not only do you get the book for a great price, but we get a small cut of the proceeds, so you are supporting the site and getting what so far seems like a great book.

Ok, here goes: Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling

Enjoy.

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I spent three nights at Wynn the last week of February, followed by three nights at Bellagio. It was interesting to stay in comparable accommodations at both properties and compare them.

I received a review copy of a new Las Vegas photo book by German photographer Andreas Schmidt. I see a lot of these types of books and most have nice photos but are very cookie cutter. This book is different - click the link to read more to find out about this book.

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I just finished reading an excellent book that I'd like to recommend. It's called Sun, Sin & Suburbia by Geoff Schumacher.

The book is what he calls 'An Essential History of Modern Las Vegas'. The book covers development of various Las Vegas Valley areas such as Summerlin and Green Valley, the cities of Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas and even the recent hi-rise condo market.

What is great is that the book is very easy to read and it is clearly written by someone with a deep understanding of Las Vegas.

If you are interested in Las Vegas history, you shouldn't miss this book.

Buy The Book (Supports This Site)