Suburban Xanadu : the casino resort on the Las Vegas strip and beyond / David G. Schwartz.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schwartz, David G., 1973-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Casinos--Nevada--Las Vegas.

Casinos.

Gambling industry--Nevada--Las Vegas.

Gambling industry.

Suburban life--United States.

Suburban life.

Lifestyles--United States.

Lifestyles.

Leisure--United States.

Leisure.

Las Vegas (Nev.)--Social life and customs.

Las Vegas (Nev.).

United States--Social life and customs.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 243 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Casino resort on the Las Vegas strip and beyond

Place of Publication:

New York : Routledge, 2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Urban gambling, linked to poverty, crime and corruption, was once considered a blight on US cities. Gambling then followed the exodus of Americans into the suburbs after World War II and now, at the beginning of the 21st century, most Americans live within a four-hour drive of a casino. What explains the success of places like Las Vegas? The self-contained casino resort removes gambling and its social problems from cities and provides Americans with the comfort of gambling in a setting matched to their suburban lifestyle. In a detailed look at the growth of the earliest casino resorts to the 'pleasure palaces' and riverboat casinos of today, 'Suburban Xanadu' locates the rise of the casino resort in suburbanization and the significance of this development for today.

Contents:

ch. 1. The righteous and the wicked

ch. 2. The unwholesome allure

ch. 3. A fruitful containment

ch. 4. Organizing luck

ch. 5. Wiseguy empire

ch. 6. When the suits come marching in

ch. 7. The casino archipelago.

Notes:

Based on his Ph.D. thesis in history, presented to the University of California, Los Angeles.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-136-75740-6

0-429-23662-X

0-203-82145-9

1-136-75741-4

9780429236624

OCLC:

857278111