MGM Mirage and UNLV have had a good relationship for years, so I wasn’t surprised by this news, from Yahoo! Finance:

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and the Invent the Future campaign leadership today announced the largest corporate scholarship donation ever received in the institution’s 49-year history. With a $1 million gift from MGM MIRAGE, the university will establish the MGM MIRAGE Academic Excellence Scholarship Endowment. The funds will be used to underwrite scholarships for National Merit® scholars at UNLV.

“The MGM MIRAGE Academic Excellence Scholarship program will support UNLV’s efforts to attract the best and brightest students from Nevada and throughout the United States,” said UNLV President Dr. David B. Ashley. “The perpetuity of this endowment will allow us to continue attracting these talented students in the future.”

Established in 1955, the National Merit® Scholarship Program is an academic competition that honors individual students who demonstrate exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. Less than one percent of the nation’s high school seniors are selected to become National Merit® scholars.

“At MGM MIRAGE, we believe education has the potential to uplift the lives of individuals and provide a foundation for a community’s growth and development,” said MGM MIRAGE Chairman and CEO Terry Lanni. “This gift reinforces our commitment to higher education in Nevada and helps enhance the academic reputation of UNLV.”

According to Lanni, MGM MIRAGE will consider providing additional annual gifts of $1 million to the UNLV endowment fund for the next four years.

MGM MIRAGE Endowment to Fund National Merit(R) Scholarships at UNLV: Financial News – Yahoo! Finance

Actually, I was really unsurprised to read it because I was at the official announcement this morning. And I’m posting this because it is important to recognize when gaming companies give back to the community like this. This gift will really help UNLV attract top students, which in the end will benefit everyone–accept for the colleges they would have gone to instead.

Remember when I said, in my analysis, that the Internet Gaming “ban” actually legalized Internet and wireless gaming inside Nevada? Well, take a look at the next big thing to hit poker, from Pokernews:

A new wave of interactive gaming devices allowing casino patrons to play poker anywhere on a casino’s licensed property is on the way path to implementation, Progressive Gaming International Corporation [PGIC], a leading provider of technology and services to the brick-and-mortar gaming sector, has teamed up with Harrah’s Licensing LLC, an affiliate of Harrah’s Entertainment Inc., to develop and market the World Series of Poker® ‘Peer to Peer’ Texas Hold’em gaming system.

The new peer-to-peer system is designed to allow poker players to compete on a wired or wireless device, within the casino grounds, connecting to a secure Intranet server that controls and coordinates the action. Whether or not the system is designed to be all-computerized or will work in conjunction with a physically present, PokerTek-styled electronic table is unclear; both options are possible applications of the technology. The PGIC release notes that ‘players will be able to play within the casino property at a bar, restaurant, and even poolside.’ The idea is to create new gambling revenue from ‘unused gaming space,’ and to do so without displacing other revenue streams, such as slots or blackjack.

The system is also designed to be marketed to casino properties lacking the space to implement a physical poker room in other ways, and the announcement cites a ‘potential global marketplace of other 5,000 legalized gaming venues.’ The new system is also planned for submission to various jurisdictional overseers, such as Gaming Laboratories International.

Harrah’s Announces ‘Peer to Peer’ Remote Gaming Systems for Casino Properties | Poker News

This is the real future of remote poker gambling.

For those of you who live outside the Silver State, yes, today is a holiday. It’s Nevada Day. And yes, this is a real holiday. Seriously. Almost no one is working at UNLV today, and most state offices, schools, and even some businesses are closed. The parking lots, which are usually overstuffed (a sore point with many students and faculty) are absolutely empty today.

Don’t believe me? Check out the Nevada Day website. If you want to celebrate, you can eat pancakes, go on a ghost walk, or try your luck in a beard contest.

When I first moved here, I thought this was a joke holiday, but people really do take it seriously. Most people celebrate only by having Halloween parties (the holiday is now celebrated on the last Friday in October), but very few Nevadans (or at least state employees) would be willing to defile the sanctity of Nevada Day by working. Many of them figure that if Sandy Koufax didn’t pitch game 1 in the 1965 World Series because of Yom Kippur, there’s no way that they’re coming in to work on Nevada Day.

I guess that makes me an agnostic Nevadan. That, or I’ve just got a lot of work to catch up on.

Anyway, wherever you are, enjoy our celebration of the 142 anniversary of Nevada statehood.

I’m happier posting my reviews of other people’s books here (see the previous entry) than linking to reviews of my own work, but Tim Peters’ review of Roll the Bones at Card Player was so on-target that I can’t resist. Here’s a sample:

To what seems to be the majority of today’s poker players – the 20-somethings who have cut their teeth online – the phrase “back in the day” might easily refer to Chris Moneymaker, the first online qualifier to win the main event, back in 2003. Or, if they have a keen sense of poker history, they might think “old school” means Stu “The Kid” Ungar, who won his first World Series of Poker main event in 1980. But poker’s real history dates back at least 500 years – and gambling in general “is simply older than history,” writes David G. Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (where else?), in this fascinating new book.

Schwartz has traced the roots of gambling back to the earliest forms of civilization. Here’s an early example: In Mesopotamia, some 7,000 years ago, the small hucklebones of sheep and goats (located just above the heel bone) were used to “cast lots,” an essentially religious practice for divination – predicting the future. “When Mesopotamian fortune-tellers filed down their hucklebones and marked them with insignia, they took the first steps towards modern dice,” he writes – hence the origins of “roll the bones,” an expression used by some old-time craps players. But it wouldn’t be too long before people transformed sortilege (the technical term for telling the future by interpreting thrown objects) into a form of gambling, and eventually people realized they could gamble on just about anything, from “rolling the bones” to sports, from lotteries to card games. “At every juncture of history, it seems, the gambler is nearby.”

In fact, Schwartz makes a pretty strong case that the impulse to gamble is a universal one – and that the desire to prohibit the activity is misguided and doomed to fail. Religious leaders have condemned gambling, but bingo accounts for a meaningful contribution to church coffers. Pharaohs, emperors, and kings all formulated laws against it, typically as they raked in gambling-related fees and taxes – not to mention lottery revenues. And with gambling legalized, in some form or another, in most of the United States, recent efforts to criminalize online betting seem particularly hypocritical. Card Player readers following this recent legislation will appreciate Schwartz’s history of gambling suppression; we can only hope that members of Congress and state legislators read the book.
…
When you sit down to play poker, in a cardroom or online, you’re taking part in a drama that spans human history, and Schwartz has written the definitive account of that history in Roll the Bones.
Card Player Magazine – The Inside Straight (scroll down for review)

I don’t think an author can ask for a better review. It’s great to see people who know and love gambling connect with the book like that.

On a related note, I’ve just scheduled a book event at the Global Gaming Expo. For those of you who don’t know, this is the world’s biggest gaming conference and exhibition. If you are in the business, you should definitely be there.

Here are the event details:

WHAT: Reading from Roll the Bones, followed by discussion and signing
WHERE: Las Vegas Convention Center, Room N110
WHEN: Tuesday, November 14, 1:30 PM

We should have books on hand, but if you’d like to get a copy before, visit your favorite bookseller, either online or in person.

If you can’t make that event but want to get a copy signed, I’ve got good news: the Center for Gaming Research will have an exhibit called “50 Years of Dining on the Las Vegas Strip” next to the registration area. When I’m not walking the floor, in session (I’m speaking on a marketing panel on Weds. at 3:15), or having a cheesesteak down at Las Vegas Subs in the Hilton, that’s where I’ll be.

If you haven’t already done so, you can still register for G2E here.

I just got an email press release from MGM Mirage with some new details about Project CityCenter’s residential component. First, there is a “residential gallery” open at Bellagio, which I think has been open for a while now (it was there about a month ago, at least). Second, there are details–and names–for all of the residences in the project. From MGM Mirage PR:

CITYCENTER’S RESIDENTIAL OFFERINGS

Veer Towers

Designed by architect Helmut Jahn, Veer Towers will rise from CityCenter’s retail and entertainment district giving residents unprecedented access to the best of stylish city living. Distinctively designed as two glass towers leaning in opposite directions, Veer Towers represent a truly innovative architectural accomplishment. The 37-story towers will each house more than 350 modern condominium residences ranging from 500 to 2,600 square feet and available in studio, one-and-two-bedroom flats and penthouses. Atop each striking tower, residents and guests will enjoy an amenities floor featuring unparalleled view of Las Vegas complemented by an “infinity edge” pool, fitness center, spa, cabanas and a patio for outdoor entertaining. Steps away, residents can partake in upscale dining, lavish shopping, exhilarating nightlife and entertainment that only Las Vegas can deliver.

Vdara Condo Hotel

Vdara Condo Hotel will be the complex’s sole condo hotel and deliver the ideal balance of access and escape. Designed by RV Architecture LLC, the 50-story ebony tower will feature understated interior designs to complement its open floor plans and spacious windows with spectacular views of the city. Located between Bellagio and CityCenter’s gaming resort, Vdara’s tower will host approximately 1,543 residential units including studios, deluxe studios, one-bedroom suites and one- and two-bedroom multi-level penthouse suites, ranging from 500 to 1,850 square feet. Amenities and services for residents and guests will include a luxurious spa and salon, pool with cabanas for added privacy, a fitness center, a destination restaurant, 24-hour concierge service, state of the art conference and meetings facilities, in-room dining, housekeeping and valet parking. Residents also will have the option to rent out their units on a nightly basis unlike a traditional condominium.

The Residences at Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas

The Residences at Mandarin Oriental will mix the prestige of an internationally renowned resort brand, unparalleled amenities and striking architectural design with a world-class hotel and residential experience. Designed by KPF Architects, The Residences at Mandarin Oriental will feature approximately 227 condominium residences situated on the upper floors of the 400-room hotel tower, with a private owner’s lobby and clubroom. Residences will be available in one-and-two-bedroom plans, or two-and-three-bedroom penthouses ranging from 1,000 to 4,100 square feet.

The Harmon Hotel & Residences

Designed by Foster and Partners and operated by visionary Andrew Sasson’s The Light Group, The Harmon Hotel & Residences will define hip, exclusive living on the Strip and offer the highest standard of service and luxurious amenities for guests and residents. Each room will be unique and offer stylish and fashionable design elements. The hotel’s pool deck will be perched 100 feet above the Strip providing full views of world’s most dynamic street below. Residents will have full access to all hotel amenities including a private lounge in the lobby, dining, the hippest retail offerings in Las Vegas, the luxurious spa (with in-room services available), pool deck, valet parking, in-room dining, housekeeping and much more. The Harmon’s elegant tower will boast 400 hotel rooms and approximately 228 condominium residences from 800 to 4,200 square feet available as one-and-two-bedroom flats and penthouses. The Harmon Residences will be released for sale in mid-2007.

THE COMMUNITY

Residents and guests to CityCenter will enjoy the urban community’s gaming resort and retail district. Designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli, the iconic 60-story, 4,000-room hotel/casino will become the focal point of the Las Vegas skyline. At the heart of CityCenter, the retail and entertainment district by Studio Daniel Libeskind will feature high-end retailers, fashionable clubs, gourmet restaurants, galleries and more under a crystalline canopy of unprecedented brilliance. For the interior architecture, David Rockwell and Rockwell Group will create an experiential environment to complement the overall city scene.

To inquire about residential opportunities at CityCenter, which is scheduled to open in late 2009, please call (702) 590-5999, or toll-free (866) 708-7111. CityCenter’s Residential Sales Pavilion will open in January 2007.

That’s a total of 2,698 residential units, including the condo hotel. I really like the name “Veer Towers,” because the towers do look like they are veering. I don’t know what a Vdara is, but it should be a nice place to live. Actually, it looks like a screen name. Maybe it’ll start a trend, and we’ll start getting high-end residential towers with names like ‘vgsdude77″ and “qtgrrl474.” As long as there’s no “maf54,” people should be fine with it.

And the infinity edge pools on top of the Veer Towers should be really, really neat.

As of today, the South Coast has become the South Point. From the LVRJ:

The corporate gaming world didn’t suit Michael Gaughan’s tastes.

But this morning, he gets to be his own boss again.

Gaughan, who built Coast Resorts into a locals’ casino giant before selling the business to Boyd Gaming Corp. for $1.3 billion two years ago, takes over as sole owner and operator of the 10-month-old South Coast. In July, Boyd agreed to trade Gaughan the property in exchange for his stock in the company, valued at $512 million.

The casino is getting a new name — Michael Gaughan’s South Point — and a slight makeover. Signs will change gradually, but new gaming chips and other casino equipment, advertising and the Web site already bear the new name.

The 63-year-old Gaughan said he was never comfortable in the corporate environment, although he remains close with Boyd Gaming Chairman Bill Boyd. The chance to run his own “joint” has given the gaming industry pioneer a passion similar to one he felt in 1979 when he opened his first casino, the Barbary Coast.

“I’m having a good time. I’ve got a little bit of a spring back in my step,” said Gaughan, who resigned his position as a director of Boyd Gaming in the transaction.

He also agreed to give up control of the Coast Casinos brand, which included the Barbary Coast, Gold Coast, Orleans and Suncoast. Boyd Gaming has since agreed to trade the Barbary Coast to Harrah’s Entertainment in a Strip land swap.

“This is actually tougher than opening up a new place,” Gaughan said. “You have to empty out all the slots, change out all the chips and take down all the stuff while keeping it open.”

Most of the modifications happened early this morning, beginning shortly after midnight.

The South Point’s 2,200 employees became Gaughan’s workers upon the transfer. He said he asked Boyd for permission to take about 70 key corporate employees with him.
…
When he decided to cut his ties with Boyd Gaming, Gaughan had to give South Coast a new name.

He wanted to keep “South” in his casino’s title and toyed with “South Strip.” But he didn’t think that name would work if he ever decided to take the brand elsewhere.

Going from “Coast” to “Point” seemed like the easiest solution, he said.

“Five letters; that’s the cheapest way to change out those big signs,” Gaughan said, adding that his name will only appear in the property’s advertising and not its exterior signs.
reviewjournal.com — Business – MAKING A POINT

Gaughan’s been successful with virtually everything else he’s done, so it wouldn’t be too surprising if he really turns the erstwhile Coast around. With all the new construction down there, I’ve got to think that in a few years it will be a real live spot.

In other news, I wasn’t tabbed for jury duty–this time. I’m supposed to wait for another summons, and then go through the reporting/not reporting lottery again. Fun stuff.