The Players: The Men Who Made Las Vegas [Paperback]

Jack E. Sheehan (Editor)

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: University of Nevada Press (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087417306X
• ISBN-13: 978-0874173062
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #374,795 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Find Out How Vegas Became What it is Today-Read this Book!, June 16, 2000

By 

Philip Wallace (Antioch, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Players: The Men Who Made Las Vegas (Paperback)

I recently visited Las Vegas for the first time and wasmesmerized by what I saw. Every casino appeared to have a story behindit, and upon my return home, I wanted to know those stories.

The Players is a terrific read. The chapters give just ther right information on each topic to develop a working contextual knowledge of Vegas History. I was particularly fascinated by information on the Glitter Gulch rebels like Boyd and Binion. With the development of the Fremont Street experience, Downtown Vegas is a formidable tourist destination once again.

Overall, a great book. Don't let the fact that is published by a university press scare you. The chapters are short and clearly written. The casino business jargon is kept to a minimum, or when it is used, it is explained well. This book deserves more of an audience.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great stories, but a bit dated, July 24, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Players: The Men Who Made Las Vegas (Paperback)

This book is at its best when focusing on the less recent past in it's stories of Benny Binion, Howard Hughes, Jay Sarno, Sam Boyd and the like ... which are all excellent. I found the Kirk Kerkorian and Steve Winn ones a bit lacking, mostly because their stories aren't really over yet.

The last two chapters, not bios, but concept pieces , "How Popular Literature Has Treated Las Vegas" and "The Adult Playground Becomes a Heaven for Families" .. are pretty much a waste since Vegas has now focusing on going back to its "Adult" roots ..and the read no longer makes sense.

However, it you want to get some great and entertaining stories of the "good old days" .. and even a little before the "good old days", the first two-thirds of this book is certainly worth the asking price.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting stories. So-so writing., September 6, 2002

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Players: The Men Who Made Las Vegas (Paperback)

These are great tales of Las Vegas, but the writing drags. The research is clearly of the just-believe-what-someone-told-me school. There's still a great book to be written about the builders of the Strip and Glitter Gultch. This book is not the one.