License to Steal : Nevada's Gaming Control System in the Megaresort Age - Hardcover

Burbank, Jeff

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0874173396 ISBN 13: 9780874173390

Publisher: University of Nevada Press, 2000

Synopsis

Murder, the Mob, prostitution, drugs, innovative (but illegal) financial dealings, and the brilliant use of technology for ill-gotten gain, all have been involved in the schemes of unscrupulous casino owners, employees, and gamblers throughout the decades of legal gambling. Gaming in Nevada is more stringently controlled than anywhere else in the United States, and in License to Steal, investigative reporter and editor Jeff Burbank provides a lively and highly readable case history account of some of the most significant--and most fascinating--cases adjudicated by the Nevada Gaming Control Board and Commission during a pivotal time for the growing gaming industry.

It is the responsibility of these two agencies to review the licensing of new and established casinos, investigate reports of suspected wrongdoing, and punish those found guilty. In providing a balanced and objective yet very entertaining account of these sometimes complex cases, Jeff Burbank uses legal documents, meeting transcripts, insider interviews, and contemporary newspaper reports. The book is enhanced by the author's lively and informative recent interviews with key figures in gaming regulation, past and present.

About this title

About the Author:

Jeff Burbank has covered the casino industry for the Las Vegas Sun, the Las Vegas Review Journal, Newsweek, and the International Gaming & Wagering magazine. He has been an instructor in journalism at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a city editor for a supplement to the Los Angeles Times, and is currently the managing editor of Las Vegas Business Press.

Review:

"It's a fascinating book. Rich in story and the kind of historic detail one hears from casino professionals at the end of a long night. In using the state's gaming control institutions to tell the story of Las Vegas, however, Jeff Burbank gets the truth and from the sources and people who can document what happened. For fans of Las Vegas, and I am one, start reading and you can't stop." -- Nicholas Pileggi, author of Casino and Wise Guy

Burbank looks at the world with the eye of an experienced journalist: he presents facts, not speculation or opinion. -- I. Nelson Rose, author of Gambling and the Law

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Nevada Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0874173396
• ISBN 13: 9780874173390
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288