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Roads from the Ashes: An Odyssey in Real Life on the Virtual Frontier, by Megan Edwards

Archive for March, 2008

Chips and Fish

I’d been looking forward to seeing 21, the film based on Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions, Ben Mezrich’s best-selling tale of beating Vegas casinos at blackjack. I make a point of seeing every new film about my favorite city, and my interest increased when I met Mike Aponte the other day at the airport…

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Book Review: Double or Nothing

The books I always remember the longest are those in which the author shares a story about a place or event that draws me into the narrative in a personal way. Whether it’s about battling a white whale or taking a road trip with a poodle named Charley, a great story pulls readers in and takes them on a virtual journey that leaves them wanting more at the end. Double or Nothing: How Two Friends Risked It All to Buy One of Las Vegas’ Legendary Casinos, a new book by Tom Breitling and Cal Fussman, is one of these marvelous books…

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Pinball Wizards

I stopped by the Pinball Hall of Fame this evening. Okay, come on! Tell me you aren’t envious that I live in a city that has a freakin’ PINBALL HALL OF FAME! Unless you live here, too, I’m willing to bet you can’t just casually drop into an ordinary-looking strip mall and find 200 pinball machines from every decade since their invention, all in working order and waiting for you to drop in a quarter (well, sometimes a couple more) and start the ball bouncing…

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Book Review: Breaking My Silence

Breaking My Silence: Confessions of a Rat Pack Party Girl and Sex Trade Survivor, by Jane McCormick and Patti Wicklund
I just finished reading this disarming and painfully revealing memoir of a high-end Vegas callgirl. I followed Jane McCormick, ably assisted by the writing talents of Patti Wicklund, through her childhood, which was marred by her stepfather’s horrible abuse. It’s difficult to read about a full-grown Marine molesting a three-year-old, and even more depressing to follow along as the sexual mistreatment continued over a period of years. Sadder yet is the…

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The Elfman Cometh

The Las Vegas Review-Journal has been part of my morning ritual since I moved here. Early on, I noticed that the music reviews by Doug Elfman were always excellent. Not only did the guy write with a fluid pen, he said stuff that was worth paying attention to. And in addition to posting brilliantly creative negative opinions, his accolades were marvelous, too. It’s rare that a reviewer is equally gifted at panning and raving, but Elfman had the knack…

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