Tag Archives: Roll the bones

Lucky 13 for Roll the Bones

September 28, 2010 1:22 pm

Roll the Bones has made another list…CasinoOnline.co.uk’s list of the top 50 gambling books of all time. At #13, it’s near enough the top to be respectable:

In Roll the Bones, David Schwartz has compiled one of the most thorough historical accounts of gambling available. Schwartz manages to include gambling’s development in different areas of the world including Native America, China, Western Europe and the U.S. Events are set out in chronological order, which makes the book very easy to read, and all forms of gambling are covered. Towards the later stages of the book, the author moves to more modern issues and offers some enlightening discussions about gambling’s importance and place in society. Also of note is the thought-provoking musings about the future of gambling and how it might change. All in all, Roll the Bones is strongly recommended to anyone interested in the history of any form of gambling, or even anyone just looking for a good read.

via Top 50 Gambling Books of All Time – CasinoOnline.co.uk.

It’s nice to get some recognition…the is the second list like this the book has made in the past few weeks, coming on the heels of Joe Mazur’s “Top Five Gambling Books” list at the Wall Street Journal.

So it’s not just me telling you that if you want to read a good book about gambling history, you should give Roll the Bones a try.

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Roll the Bones in Polish

October 29, 2009 8:51 am

It’s a happy day in my writing career. The Polish translation of Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling is out at last. For those of you who speak Polish, here’s the first bit of the prologue:

Jak feniks z popiołów

Był 5 czerwca 1637 r. Purytańscy osadnicy, przybyli niedawno ze starego kontynentu, posuwali się naprzód zajmując coraz to nowe tereny, zaś dla Indian z plemienia Pequot (Pekoci), z doliny rzeki Connecticut, oznaczało to koniec świata.

Słowo pequot w języku algonkińskim znaczy „niszczyciel” i tylko podkreśla reputację tego plemienia. Wieki temu Pekoci i Mohikanie wyemigrowali razem z doliny rzeki Hudson i udali się do Connecticut, po czym rozdzielili się na dwa wrogie sobie plemiona. Pekoci zajmowali się wyłącznie walką z Mohikanami i Narragansettami, bądź łupieniem okolicznych wiosek, których mieszkańcy drżeli na samą myśl o tym plemieniu i jego wodzu, Sassacusie. Kiedy jednak wielka migracja białych, mówiących po angielsku kolonistów rozlała się po równinach wzdłuż Zatoki Massachusetts, zagrażając dominacji Pekotów, konfrontacja stała się nieunikniona.

Zaczęły nasilać się akty przemocy: porwania, napady i rozboje, co prowadziło do otwartej wojny między Anglikami a Pekotami. Jeszcze kilkanaście lat wcześniej biali przybysze na swoje pierwsze Święto Dziękczynienia zaprosili swoich sąsiadów, Indian, by wspólnie z nimi zajadać się pieczystym z dzikiego indyka i innej upolowanej zwierzyny. Teraz stara przyjaźń ustąpiła miejsca ekspansji, zaś angielska broń palna miała okazję zmierzyć się z legendarnym okrucieństwem Pekotów.

Historia Hazardu – książka.

It is my first written work to be translated into any language, which I guess means something. In any event, if you’ve been wanting to get a copy of Roll the Bones for a friend but their lack of English reading skills has been a problem, you are now in luck–if they can read Polish.

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Pole the Bones

October 8, 2008 4:43 pm

HUGE publishing news: Roll the Bones is going to be translated into Polish very soon. I’ve been told that the agreement has been signed, and that after I write a brief introduction they will be good to go.

This is tremendously good news for all of the Roll the Bones fans in Poland, who can now enjoy the book in their native language.

It’s the first time any of my work has been translated and sold overseas (that I know of), so this officially makes me an “internationally-known author.” I won’t let it go to my head.

I know there’s a lot of people waiting for the Hungarian version to come out, but for now they’ll just have to…keep waiting, I guess.

Does this now make me the only historian of gambling to have a book translated from English into Polish? If it does, is there any more obscure mark of competency that I can try to garner next?

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Win RtB (and Rush)

June 26, 2008 2:39 pm

There’s a great contest happening over at VegasTripping. Win, and you could get a very rare and obscenely valuable signed copy of Roll the Bones, plus and unsigned copy of the mostly-overlooked Rush CD, Roll the Bones. It’s a good deal, even if Alice in Chains’ Dirt is the real theme album for the book–at least that’s what I was thinking when I wrote it.

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Less corrupt? Not likely

February 27, 2008 4:39 pm

I don’t usually like to quote myself, but it’s been a while since I’ve done this interview, so I actually forgot what I said, and was amused to see that it actually made it in print. It’s in an article about a potential Chicago casino that’s pretty good. From NEWCITYCHICAGO.COM: Street Smart Chicago“>New City Chicago:

“To think a state-run casino would be less corrupt is laughable,” says David Schwartz, Ph.D., author of “Roll The Bones: The History of Gambling.” Corruption and gambling are no strangers, even around here. In 1999 a casino project in Rosemont was scrubbed because a few made men were investors. Ironically, the idea of taking casino ownership out of the private sector and moving into the citys hand is to rid the industry of corruption.
NEWCITYCHICAGO.COM: Street Smart Chicago

You can probably tell that I don’t have a blind faith in big government. Later in the article, I self-consciously reference “fiscal discipline,” knowing that I sound like a guy running in a Republican Congressional primary.

Being born and raised in Atlantic City at a time when 3 out of 4 (or it might have been 4 out of 5) mayors ended up in jail, let’s say that I’m skeptical of the notion that elected and appointed government officials are, ipso facto, above reproach.

I think I found the idea that a government-owned casino would somehow be corruption free in the land of “vote early, vote often” particularly whimsical at the time. Some people don’t learn much from history, do they?

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You can still bid

February 11, 2008 5:18 pm

…on those 3 signed copies of Roll the Bones that KNPR is auctioning. Better yet, buy it now for a mere $120.

It’s rare that you get the chance to a) buy a comprehensive history of gambling and b) support public radio with one click of the mouse. In fact, this is the first time in history that such an opportunity has presented itself. If you are a true pioneer, you will make yourself proud–and KNPR a bit richer–by buying it now.

Of course, you can also bid on the other cool stuff, too. But if you could drive up the bidding on Roll the Bones, you’d really be doing me a favor. Right now, Shelley Berkeley is completely kicking my ass–her signed cookbook is up to $55. And she didn’t even write the cookbook! Of course, she’s had a distinguished career in local, state, and national politics, which might explain the book’s popularity.

Still no bids on the Rock Lobster sign…and I thought that thing would be shooting through the roof by now.

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Support KNPR! Buy stuff

February 7, 2008 3:21 pm

Radio stations aren’t cheap to run, particularly public radio stations dedicated to quality programming. Nevada’s Public Radio, KNPR, is hosting an online auction that’s live right now, and among the items up for bid are three priceless signed copies of Roll the Bones.

Interestingly, the book isn’t in the crowded “Books and Music” category (89 items), but in the elite “names in the news” section (14 items), where you can bid on the following:

- lunch with KLAS investigative icon George Knapp
- lunch and and art tour with Nevada Cancer Institute founder Heather Murren (wife of MGM Mirage president Jim Murren)
- a “Congressional Club Cookbook” autographed by Shelley Berkeley
- the chance to report the weather at noon with KLAS’s Sherry Swensk
- a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol, courtesy of Harry Reid
Nevada Public Radio – Names in the News Auction Items

There are also quite a few entertainment packages, mostly dinner-and-a-show, international vacations, and tons more, including a whole segment devoted to Wynn Las Vegas.

The best news is that there are some actual essentials available. You can now get that autographed Yanni poster that your home has been incomplete without. I’ll be sure to leave a Luxor wearables and mug packagefor Rate Vegas’s Hunter Hillegas to bid on.

The showstopper of the auction, though, has to be the actual neon sign from Rock Lobster, one of the original restaurants at Mandalay Bay. As the blurb says, it’s 16 feet of whimsical cool.

I’m going to flip through and see if there’s anything that I want to bid on, but I’ll tell you this–if they had a Tom Baker/Fourth Doctor scarf, I’d definitely be the winning bidder. But that’s public television, not public radio.

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New Hughes Reviews

February 5, 2008 4:46 pm

The headline is actually a lie: I’m not reviewing Geoff Schumacher’s new Howard Hughes book…yet. I’ll get to it as soon as I’ve gotten a few other pieces out of the way. But it sounds pleasant and I’m short of time.

But I wanted to tell everyone that the book is out, and it’s worth reading:

Amazon.com: Howard Hughes: Power, Paranoia & Palace Intrigue: Books: Geoff Schumacher

If nothing, you’ve got to praise Stephens Press for their aptitude in picking back cover blurbers. They chose this quote from me to follow Bob Maheu’s:

“Anyone who wants a better idea of the man behind the myth should read this book. There are many, many books on Hughes out there, but few are as lucid as this one.”

Furthermore, I’m identified as “David Schwartz, Ph.D., author of Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling,” so there’s another plug for Roll the Bones out of the way.

Part of the incentive for finishing my next book is that I’ll have something new to plug.

Seriously, you should really check out Geoff’s book–it actually makes sense of what Hughes did in Las Vegas.

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RTB in paperback

September 28, 2007 3:05 pm

The well-oiled media machine that is Gotham Books publicity is gearing up again, now that Roll the Bones is nearly available in paperback. Yes, all of you dedicated readers who were too cheap to spend $30 on 566 pages worth of gambling history (or you were saving your money for keno) now only have to pay $18 for the privilege. Or $12.24 on amazon:

Amazon.com: Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling: Books: David G. Schwartz

I say if you haven’t gotten a copy yet, now is the perfect time. You’re not going to get a better price than this. If you’re waiting for someone to pay you to read the book, you’ll probably end up disappointed, so you might as well kiss that $12.24 goodbye.

I will make mention of my media tour on these pages, so stay tuned: I might be coming to a radio or TV station near you.

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News alert: Canada radio

May 25, 2007 12:06 pm

I’m going to be on several Canadian radio stations–CBC affiliates I think–this afternoon, talking about a recent casino cheating case. These are the times (Pacific) and cities, with the names of the hosts, too.

12.50
HALIFAX
Carmen Klassen – Host

1.00
CALGARY
Jeff Collins – Host

1.10
TORONTO
Matt Galloway – Host

1.20
THUNDER BAY
Heather McLeod – Producer & Host

1.45
Yellowknife

2.00
WHITEHORSE
Russell Knutson – Host

2.20
WINDSOR
Barbara Peacock – Host

2.40
EDMONTON
Peter Brown – Host

2.50
WINNIPEG
Margaux Watt – Host

So if you’re up in Canada and want to spend 5 minutes listening to me talk about casino cheating, your wish might come true, depending on where you live.

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