I've been thinking about Las Vegas a lot recently. Mainly how much I want to take another trip out there.
While there are still plenty of sights to see on "The Strip", I'd really like to have more a nature-themed trip. By this, I mean I'd like to visit Red Rock Canyon and hike through and photograph all of the amazing trails mapped on Red Rock's Website.
I also perused some Flickr galleries of Red Rock, which made me want to visit all the more.
I'd really love to stay right there at the Red Rock Station casino, but that swanky property is a bit beyond my price range. And then I'd also love to do a Lake Mead and Hoover Dam tour as well.
Anyway, I found a book review that I wrote a year ago on Wall Street Journal reporter Christina Binkley's much-hyped book: Winner Takes All...and the Race to Own Las Vegas. That was a good book. Consider reading my review:
Anyone familiar with pre-1989 Las Vegas probably remembers it as cheap entertainment; crappy (albeit nearly free) buffets; oh and of course, the gambling. Many have attempted to popularize Sin City's shady past-a time when the mob and organized crime ruled the city.
Fast forward to present day and you'll see Las Vegas has shined up its image. Gone are the mob bosses running casinos. In their place, the short section of Las Vegas Boulevard South, commonly called "The Strip," has become inundated with shining Tower-of-Babel-esque hotels and casinos. This "new era" was ushered in circa 1989, with Steve Wynn opening his Mirage mega resort. Las Vegas was transformed beyond just a gambling mecca and into a land of high-end retailers, haute restaurateurs, and swanky nightlife. A price tag to match followed.
Christina Binkley has spent the better part of the past decade immersed in reporting for the Wall Street Journal on business dealings and the general explosion of growth in the Las Vegas valley. In addition to her reporting, Binkley has also conducted painstaking research on the madness ensuing southern Nevada. She has sought out casino moguls, developers, key witnesses, incriminating documents—all of which she assembled into her first-ever book venture: Winner Takes All: Steve Wynn, Kirk Kerkorian, Gary Loveman, and the Race to Own Las Vegas.
To fully appreciate Binkley's work, I highly suggest reading this only if you've visited and/or are familiar with present-day Las Vegas. While you certainly can capture the essence of what she is trying to communicate, actually stepping foot inside the casino resorts referenced is the only way to comprehensively grasp what she's trying to say.
Winner Takes All explores the behind-the-scenes workings of the developers and casino execs referenced in the full title. It weaves a captivating tale of how the current MGM-Mirage empire came to be, and where Harrah's Entertainment, Mandalay Resorts, and even Las Vegas Sands Co. all fit in. While the mob may not have been running the show anymore, there certainly were back-door deals, dangerous investments, and hostile take-overs transacting that eventually turned Las Vegas into a corporate-America-run tourist destination.
Anyone with a business and marketing background will also appreciate this book as it outlines in a semi case-study format the painstaking methods Harrah's Entertainment continues to use in promoting its loyalty program, Total Rewards. Total Rewards card members will be surprised (and quite possibly horrified!) at the level of data that are collected and analyzed every time a guest's card slides through a slot machine. Think of it as grocery store loyalty card on steroids.
Some may criticize Binkley's "big-words" writing style used in this book. While she does make use of a profound vocabulary, I thought it to give the book a very educated and authoritative tone. While her opinion is sometimes blatantly stated (such as when she calls the motif of the Excalibur ridiculous—hey, I think the castle is cool), she often utilizes a more objective writing style. Sure, her sarcasm and wit shine through plenty, but she doesn't seek to really paint any of the executives that she writes about in either a glowing or a skewed light. What she does do is matter-of-factly explain how things transpired and lets the reader form his/her own opinions. For example, she tells the tale of Steve Wynn bursting into song during an address to Mirage Resorts shareholders, and the consequent losses the company took that day on Wall Street. Her overall style always foreshadows just enough to keep the reader engaged.
If you take an interest in business, marketing, economics, or are just curious about how Caesar's Palace has gotten to the state it's in today, Winner Takes All is a phenomenal read. There are a lot of investors, executives, and other characters introduced, and it does require a slightly slower pace in order to absorb all the information. That said, this book had me riveted from the day I picked it up. Binkley deserves high accolades for the amount of research and work she put in to crafting this well-written documentary-style literary drama. My take in a nutshell: it's worth a read.
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