Welcome to the Pleasuredome: Inside Las Vegas

Reno, Nevada: University of Nevada POress, 1993. Second Printing . Trade Paperback. Very Good. 6" x 9. 275 Pages Indexed. A Book from The Gambling Studies Series. Covers show very light wer to corners and edges. Interior text pages are flawless. In Las Vegas the party is never over, the slots, dice, and wheels never stop rolling, the entertainers are always on stage, and the glitter never fades. David Spanier knows Las Vegas inside and out, and he loves every gilded, dollar-hungry, neon-lit inch of it. Spanier traces the progress of Vegas from its pioneer days as a railroad town, through its heyday in the fifties as the playground of the rich and famous, to its present incarnation as theme park extraordinaire. With humor and keen observation, David Spanier takes us behind the glittering facade of Las Vegas to learn how a modern casino really works, to introduce the flamboyant Steve Wynn, whose casino fantasy, The Mirage, rose up to become, virtually overnight, one of the most dynamic gambling operations in the world. He braves the brothels to talk with the entertainers and examines Vegas's infatuation with high rollers-gamblers who have a credit line of one million dollars or more. Spanier's account of Las Vegas, illustrated with fourteen black-and- white photographs, vibrates with the energy and excitement of the city itself. Contents in Two Parts: Men & Casinos, and Sex & Money. Eight Chapters: Mirage Maker,Trailblazers, Guys on the Block, Signs & Wonders, Soiled Doves, Bottom Line, Noble Art, and Unwise Guys. Plusl Mapo of Las Vegas, Introduction Conclusion, and sources.