David G. Schwartz
Director, Center for Gaming Research
Vice President of Research and Analytics for Santo Gaming
Expertise: History of Gambling, Gaming Statistics, Casino Surveillance and Security, Gaming Technology, Casinos and Social Media
Biography
David G. Schwartz directs the Center for Gaming Research at UNLV, a hub for scholarly analysis of gambling and gaming issues. The center is part of University Libraries and boasts the largest repository of English-language materials on gambling and has an unparalleled repository of books, journals, and primary materials for gaming research. The center also maintains casino corporate archives including the Harrah’s Entertainment, MGM Resorts, and Boyd Gaming Corporate Archives, gaming-related manuscript collections such as the Sands, New Frontier, and Binion’s Horseshoe collections, and a growing number of collections obtained under the Problem Gambling Pioneers initiative, which collects and preserves the papers of the pioneers of the problem gambling treatment and advocacy movement.
In addition to his work at UNLV, Schwartz is an active consultant. As vice president of research and analytics for Santo Gaming he assists the Las Vegas-based gaming management and consulting firm with a range of projects.
Schwartz is the author of three books about gambling, including Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling, Suburban Xanadu: The Casino Resort on the Las Vegas Strip and Beyond, and Cutting the Wire: Gaming Prohibition and the Internet. He currently writes the biweekly Green Felt Journal column for Vegas Seven magazine and was named gaming and hospitality editor of Vegas Seven.
Education
- Ph.D., American History, University of California, Los Angeles
- M.A., American History, University of Pennsylvania
- B.A., Anthropology and History, University of Pennsylvania
Related Links
David G. Schwartz In The News
October 17, 2019
Circus Circus opened in the late 60s but remains a Las Vegas institution today.
September 24, 2019
Fourteen years after acquiring the family-friendly Circus Circus, MGM Resorts International is in talks to sell the property to the IT owner: Phil Ruffin.
September 24, 2019
Fourteen years after acquiring the family-friendly Circus Circus, MGM Resorts International is in talks to sell the property to TI owner Phil Ruffin.
September 24, 2019
Her colors have faded, but when this place opened in 1990, like its namesake--The Rio, was hot.
Articles Featuring David G. Schwartz
Campus NewsMarch 2, 2018
A U.S. Supreme Court a decision that would grant New Jersey the right to offer sports wagering would be a net positive for Nevada—as well as Boyd’s Gaming Law program.
Campus NewsDecember 8, 2015
National Archives grant helps University Libraries' Special Collections Division preserve archival collections on expansion of gaming in America from 1970 to 2010.
Campus NewsOctober 27, 2015
Five national scholars will study aspects of gaming and gambling during residencies at the University Libraries Center for Gaming Research.
ResearchOctober 15, 2015
The discoveries made in the Libraries' Special Collections challenge the way that people think of Las Vegas and its place in the American landscape. Here's a taste.