Writer: John L. Smith

11/07/17 5:01 AM

New Mexico educator lived large in Vegas at expense of his charter schools

  • John L. Smith, CDC Gaming
Southern Nevada’s professional educators and administrators regularly search for new ideas to improve our struggling school system. But... more
10/31/17 1:41 AM

Continuing to learn about the pluses and perils of legalizing sports betting

  • John L. Smith, CDC Gaming
In Australia and Great Britain, sports betting is not only legal, taxed and regulated, but experiencing a variety of stresses that won’t be... more
10/25/17 3:04 AM

Las Vegas tragedy sent seismic reverberations through Southern California, too

  • John L. Smith, CDC Gaming
I experienced much of the aftermath of the nightmare of 1 October at a distance. A family medical issue sent me to Southern California just... more
10/04/17 1:07 AM

Diana Bennett made her own name in gaming, but shows true character through philanthropy

  • John L. Smith, CDC Gaming
Maybe one day someone will write a book about the second-generation casino operators Las Vegas has produced. No doubt it would be filled... more
09/26/17 1:22 AM

Mel Wolzinger made a fortune in Las Vegas, but has never lost the common touch

  • John L. Smith, CDC Gaming
The last time I saw Mel Wolzinger he was zipping on a scooter through the lobby of the 57-story Vdara at the brand new CityCenter and... more
09/19/17 1:50 AM

Legalizing sports betting: Odds improving for the next big thing

  • John L. Smith, CDC Gaming
Like the flashing numbers on the board at your favorite Las Vegas sports book, the odds of legalizing American gambling’s last taboo are... more
09/13/17 1:30 AM

With investigative report’s damning findings, ongoing Okada scandal continues

  • John L. Smith, CDC Gaming
It occurs to me lately that I may be taking the ongoing scandal involving Japanese billionaire gaming machine king Kazuo Okada too... more
09/04/17 10:35 PM

Black Book Series: One retired gangster’s memory of Johnny Vaccaro

  • John L. Smith, CDC Gaming
In a business in which stabs in the back are real as well as metaphorical, it’s not often you’ll find one mob guy expressing a sincere... more
08/22/17 12:06 PM

Christenson’s ‘Rock Vegas’ a lively, entertaining history

  • John L. Smith, CDC Gaming
Before anything else, understand that Pat Christenson is a fan. A very big fan. That’s part of what makes Christenson’s new book, Rock... more
08/15/17 4:01 AM

Salerno is gone, but his view of the legalization of sports betting still resonates

  • John L. Smith, CDC Gaming
These days you’ll occasionally catch glimpses of the late organized crime gambling expert Ralph Salerno in mob documentaries. For years he... more