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Title: Running Scared: The Life and Treacherous Times of Las Vegas Casino King Steve Wynn by John L. Smith ISBN: 1-56858-190-4 Publisher: Four Walls Eight Windows Pub. Date: 02 March, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 2.81 (16 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Running Scared is an important book about an important man.
Comment: This book really needed to be written. It's well-documented, impeccably researched, and it's about time somebody stood up to the mighty Steve Wynn and the gambling industry. Where else but Nevada can Wynn and Governor Bob Miller state, in the libel trial on this book, that they recently spent the weekend with Michael Milken, a convicted felon, without anyone taking notice? Book readers, take note! Wynn is placing all his finances into stopping this book from printing. He has already put the publisher of this book out of business. The First Amendment must prevail, and all of us must be vigilant so we don't lose those rights to write and/or read what we please.
Rating: 3
Summary: Relentless Slam Job of Steve Wynn
Comment: I read this book with an open mind - my only prior knowledge of Steve Wynn was that he was the guy that built the Mirage, Treasure Island and Bellagio - the Mirage having ushered in the new era of modern luxury casino hotels in Vegas, and the $1.6 billion dollar Bellagio having upped the ante.
That said, I can see why Steve Wynn fought so hard to prevent this book from being released. Wynn sued the the original publisher and apparently helped force it into bankruptcy.
Any reader of this book will likely come away believing that:
1) Wynn rubbed elbows with mob figures, and may have served as a front man in some of his early dealings, before he accrued enough juice on his own,
2) Wynn leveraged his money-making capacity into a large measure of control over the local and state government and judiciary,
3) Wynn is an egomaniac,
4) Wynn kicks puppies....
You get the idea. Although the book makes a fair attempt at biography, its real purpose is to be an expose'. After 350 pages, it has the effect of beating a dead horse.
Wynn may indeed be all of those things, and certainly some of the things he's accused of could result in the loss of his Gaming License - although it seems Nevada is far too invested in him to ever let that happen. I wish there was a more balanced, well-rounded account of Steve Wynn's story out there.
Rating: 2
Summary: Inaccurate and biased
Comment: I have always had a fascination with Steve Wynn's hotels and was looking to learn more about him when I came across this book. However, after reading Mr. Smith's depictions of Steve Wynn, the only thing I know for sure is that Smith REALLY doesn't like Steve Wynn. He criticized his every move, looking only at the negative "hidden agendas" associated with things such as the Mirage Dolphins and the Bellagio Art Gallery that the rest of the world is grateful that Steve Wynn brought to us. He repeatedly tries to link Wynn to the mob, but can never make a convincing arguement. He only briefly touches on the building of the hotels, their success, and fails to mention how the Mirage, Treasure Island, and the Bellagio were innovators in three different generations of Vegas theme hotels. Despite the books 2001 copyright date, is now about 9 years out of date. It pre-dates the MGM-Mirage merger, and even cites the Fremont Street Experience as being "set to open in late 1995." A postscript to the paperback edition attempts to bring it up to date, but it feels rushed, with misspelled words and inaccurate details.
Smith seems to have about 100 pages of relevant information, and 254 pages of stories that are so loosely linked to Wynn that at times I forgot who I was reading about. Smith goes so far as to imply that the deterioration of the UNLV basketball program is due to Steve Wynn deciding that Jerry Tarkanian projected the wrong image for the university and that he had to go.
In addition to the anti-Wynn take on every story, Smith illustrates some stories with details that aren't even accurate. He implies that opening the Bellagio was a huge risk because of the increased competition for the "well-heeled gambler market" with the opening of the Venetian, Paris and Mandalay Bay in the ensuing years since the Mirage opening, implying that the market Wynn was seeking was already captured by these hotels. This seems to be a viable argument, until you realize that those three hotels opened AFTER the Bellagio's October 1998 opening.
Smith's writing is often biased. He frequently quotes his employer, the Las Vegas Review-Journal positively, and their rival newspaper, the Las Vegas Sun, negatively. Smith apparantly is not interested in providing an accurate portrayal of Wynn. Rather, he seems content try to pull every skeleton out of his closet, no matter how big of a stretch it is, to bring down Wynn's image. No wonder Wynn didn't want this book published.
If you are a Las Vegas history buff like me, there are a couple of interesting tidbits, but if you are looking for an accurate biography of Steve Wynn, this is not it.
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Title: Super Casino : Inside the "New" Las Vegas by Pete Earley ISBN: 0553573497 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 02 January, 2001 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: No Limit: The Rise and Fall of Bob Stupak and Las Vegas' Stratosphere Tower by John L. Smith ISBN: 0929712188 Publisher: Huntington Press Pub. Date: July, 1997 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: The Money and the Power : The Making of Las Vegas and Its Hold on America by Roger Morris, Sally Denton ISBN: 0375701265 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 12 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Of Rats and Men: Oscar Goodman's Life from Mob Mouthpiece to Mayor of Las Vegas by John L. Smith ISBN: 0929712986 Publisher: Huntington Press Pub. Date: October, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: The Players: The Men Who Made Las Vegas by Jack Sheehan ISBN: 087417306X Publisher: Univ of Nevada Pr Pub. Date: November, 1997 List Price(USD): $17.09 |
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