There
are people in this country who just love to gamble and travel-They
do it by RV, car, and plane, and often ask which state has what
casinos, riverboats or tracks; what are their address; do they have
web site, what games they offer; and often want to know room prices,
type of entertainment or if an RV campground is on site. These people
have specific needs and the fresher the information the better.
With a great
sense of timing comes Gambler's Digest, edited by Dennis
Thornton (312 pages, paperbound, $24.95), answering all those questions
and the some. Thornton's book offers gambling advice-basics for
the most part--introducing the newcomer to the differences between
wagering in an Indian casino or on a riverboat before presenting
Las Vegas, Atlantic City, the Internet (online) casinos and a handy
little section on collecting chips and where to find out more about
this intriguing, sometimes profitable hobby.
Beginning on
page 90, he lists casinos from Arizona to West Virginia. On page
187 you'll find the Riverboat listings from Illinois to Washington.
Racetracks begin on page 207-again, with location, phone numbers,
addresses; the web site; what days they are closed (dark); if slot
exist; with similar listings for greyhound tracks; Jai-Alai frontons
(primarily in Florida); casino cruises (which are usually in international
waters to remain legal). For those who just want to isolate their
attention on a particular state, the book focuses on all alphabetical
listings in each state with their web site, from Alabama to Wyoming.
Six pages list
online casinos in alphabetical order, with phone numbers listed
if known; with similar information available for online sportsbooks.
A final section indicates what states have what type lotteries.
but does not list how to contact anyone for further information.
This 2002 edition
was published only a few months ago. It's an excellent time saver
and resource to help you plan a vacation or ask for information.
Ricky Jay, one of the world's most respected close up magicians-he's
also an actor (remember the famous poker "tells" scene
in the great movie about conmen titled House of Games, where a water
pistol turns out to be a vital prop?), has produced a labor of love
for anyone who want to know more about the history of dice, their
origins, how they're made, how they decay and how people have cheated
with them since the ancient days.
The book, titled
Dice, Deception, Fate and Rotten Luck (63 pages, hardbound,
$12.95) describes how Jay, and a super photographer, Rosamond Purcell
concentrate on celluloid dice (the first commercially manufactured
plastic), which remain stable for decades, which eventually begin
to crack, crystallize and implode.
Jay traces gambling
with dice from its earliest days (when dice were called "astragali")
and made from the heel bones of hoofed, four-legged animals, to
their use in modern times. He reminds us the way
|