Brett Abarbanel (International Gaming Institute; Hospitality) was named one of the 25 People to Watch in 2024 by Global Gaming Business, one of the world's leading gambling and gaming industry trade magazines. Honorees are recognized for their past accomplishments and their upcoming potential actions that will have a big impact on gaming in 2024…

Tiange Xu (Hospitality) received a $5,000 research stipend award from the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling for his research exploring the intersection of gambling behaviors and cryptocurrency trading among a large census-based sample of US adults. His mentor for the project is Shane Kraus (Psychology).

Mana Azizsoltani (Hospitality) was awarded a $5,000 research grant from the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling. The grant will fund a comprehensive study that seeks to assess the measurement invariance of the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), which is one of the key diagnosis tools for problem gambling. 

Marta Soligo (Office of Economic Development; Hospitality) was interviewed by Il Sole 24 Ore, Italy's leading newspaper in business and financial information, on the topic of tourism diversification in Las Vegas and Formula 1. Soligo described the ongoing research on spectator sports in Southern Nevada she is conducting with the UNLV Office…

Amanda Belarmino (Hospitality), along with coauthors Fatemeh (Nasim) Binesh (Ph.D.2022) and Yunmei (Mabel) Bai, recently had their article, "Exploring which factors impact restaurant willingness-to-pay by menu course," published in the Journal of Foodservice Business Research. The article examines how food quality, service quality, ambiance,…

On Nov. 10, Marta Soligo (Office of Economic Development and Hospitality) was invited as a guest speaker by the University of Insubria in Italy. She shared her research on film induced tourism, sustainability, and social justice with the students of the course of Destination Management and Marketing. During her lecture, Soligo explained the…

Bo Bernhard and Marta Soligo (both Office of Economic Development and Hospitality) were interviewed by the Las Vegas-Review Journal on the role of the "fun economy" in Southern Nevada. Focusing on the intersection between tourism, entertainment, and sports, they highlighted the importance of economic diversification in Las Vegas. While reflecting…

Seyhmus Baloglu (Hospitality) is recognized as one of the top 2% of Sports, Leisure, and Tourism Scholars in the world based on Scopus data provided by Elsevier, one of the largest academic publishing companies in the world. The distinction is given based on scholars' academic publishing record over their careers. This is the first time faculty…

Marta Soligo (Economic Development; Hospitality) was interviewed by the Las Vegas Review-Journal on the expansion of Area 15 and current tourism trends in Las Vegas. She mentioned topics such as the post-lockdown "revenge tourism," the diversification of the tourism offer, and the experience economy. 

Marta Soligo (Economic Development; Hospitality) was invited as the guest speaker for the Tourism Think Tank, “Tourism and Memory, dark tourism examples and case studies” organized by the University of Bergamo (Italy). She presented the research, “Tourism in Hollywood cemeteries: A critical approach,” which she conducted with David R. Dickens.…

Brett Abarbanel (International Gaming Institute, Hospitality) and Alan Feldman (International Gaming Institute) were awarded a charitable grant from ESPN/Walt Disney Company to study, educate, and advise the global community on aspects of sports betting and the media. Research will underpin evidence-based recommendations for responsibly…

Marta Soligo (Economic Development; Hospitality) published a chapter in the Italian book, Sociology of tourism consumption, published by Pearson. The chapter investigates current tourism trends in North and South America, with an analysis that explores aspects such as the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the emergence of new travel…